There are three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance.

Qing Dynasty Yan Fu's "Tianyan Lun·Translation Examples". Translation: Translation work. Letter: Accurate, means faithful to the original text. Da: fluent, the text of Cuo is fluent, and the expression of Yixi is full and detailed. Ya: Exquisite, referring to being rich in literary talent. The main idea of ??this sentence is: There are three difficulties in translation work: accuracy, smoothness and elegance. Different languages ??not only have different word order and syntax, but also do not necessarily have one-to-one corresponding words and phrases. At the same time, even if they are the same language, ancient languages ??and contemporary languages ??often have the above problems. Therefore, translating a foreign language into a Chinese language, or translating an ancient text into a modern language, requires not only being faithful to the original text, but also having smooth writing, detailed meaning, exquisite language, and rich literary grace. It is truly not an easy task. Here Yan Fu not only emphasized the difficulties of translation work, but also talked about the joys and hardships of translating foreign languages, and also put forward the requirements for translation work. Quotations are available to illustrate the difficulties of translation work and the standards for good translation work.

Yan Fu, a bourgeois enlightenment thinker in the late Qing Dynasty, "Tianyan Lun·Translation Examples"

Without translation, there would be no world literature. Ma Yueran, Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize for Literature

In the past, whenever I translated a work, people would guess which writer would win the Nobel Prize for Literature. Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature

It is literary value and literary quality. uncertain. Literary value means that quality is the only criterion. The quality of the translation is also important.

Reporter: In principle, what are the important conditions for winning the Nobel Prize in Literature? Does it have anything to do with quantity?

Swedish Sinologist, one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature, Ma Yueran

I think (some of his works) are really too long. In 2004, "Shanghai Literature" published Mo Yan's short story "Nine Paragraphs of the Novel". After reading it, I immediately translated it into Swedish and began to try to write my own micro-novel. From this article on, I felt that Mo Yan was very interested in words. The control ability is very good. His "Ship" also reminds me of the short stories written by Shen Congwen in the 1930s, which are very similar. Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature

People who can create inventions and translate between nature and humans are more boastful than those who can only recite other people's books. A person is like an object facing a mirror. Compared with the impression it produces in the mirror, one itself is a real thing, while the other is just illusory. Those who derive little benefit from nature, except that they happen to have human form, would be numbered with brutes if it were not for this. Famous quotes about translation by Radar Vinci

The Swedish Academy consists of 18 academicians. I am the only academician among them who can speak Chinese. In addition to literary works written in English, German, French, Spanish, Italian, and Russian, academicians rely on translations. Fortunately, in recent decades, more and more Chinese literary works have been translated into foreign languages ??that academicians understand. The academy often commissions well-known translators to translate individual works, and also invites experts to write reports on the most outstanding writers of a certain country.

Reporter: Is the language barrier the reason why Chinese literature and the Nobel Prize for Literature are isolated from each other? Among the 18 academicians of the Swedish Academy, you are the only one who can directly read Chinese literary works. The others have to use translation. Will the obstacles, errors and even deterioration in language conversion become a major obstacle?

Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature

"Water Margin" was translated in the 1970s, but "Journey to the West" was published in 1996 , one to five volumes, relatively thick, including all poems. Because Wu Chengen's lyrics are very good and he is a great lyricist. Apart from these two works, I have translated novels and poems from the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s in the past ten years. I hope Westerners, especially Swedes, can appreciate Chinese literature. This is my responsibility. Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature

I don’t understand. I do not understand. Because I know quite a few sinologists who are very interested in Chinese literature. Some of them also translate literary works themselves. But the question is: can Western readers who do not understand Chinese and need to rely on translations appreciate Chinese literary works? Of course it depends on the quality of the translation. Therefore, the translator's responsibility is very heavy. In the 1970s and 1980s, I criticized the contemporary novels or ancient novels published by foreign language publishing houses in China. The translation quality at that time was not good enough.

Reporter: Can you analyze why many Chinese writers believe that sinologists cannot understand Chinese literature? Why do they think so?

Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature

In my personal experience, there are many people who are obsessed with their appearance; In medicine, it is called religious psychosis, and there is no way to treat it. Not only are there many such people in Buddhism, but in all religions, there are some believers who do not pursue the teachings, but only have blind faith, which has turned into religious psychosis. In Buddhism, there is a saying that is too attached to the form. Therefore, the Diamond Sutra is translated as "Able to break the Vajra Prajnaparamita", which means that it is the achievement of wisdom. It is not attached to the form and cannot meet the Tathagata in the body. This is what it means.

Translation of the famous Chinese classics master and poet Nan Huaijin's "What the Diamond Sutra Says"

Because fate allowed me to learn ancient Chinese and modern Chinese. Let me read a lot of excellent literary works. So I realized early on: I have a responsibility to let my compatriots read the Chinese literary works that I love to read. Therefore, I began to translate ancient, medieval, modern, modern and contemporary works forty years ago. In the past, I mostly worked on ancient and medieval literary works, but in the past twenty years, I can say that I have specialized in contemporary works. ah! For contemporary works, I have also translated "Water Margin" and "Journey to the West".

Ma Yueran, a Swedish sinologist and one of the 18 lifelong judges of the Nobel Prize in Literature