Back-translation Studies On Overseas Sinological Works

Overseas sinology is gaining significance in academic studies. With the publicationof a series of sinological works and their Chinese versions, overseas sinology not onlyoffers a frame of reference to China studies and comparative literature, but also expandsthe realm of Chinese culture, enriches our understanding on Chinese classics andstrengthens our recognition of cultural identity with its “distant observations” and “foreignperspective”(Yue Daiyun,2001, p.46). However, the promising scene has another side:due to some translators’ limited scope of knowledge and their lack of careful examination,the translation of sinological works still has a lot of room to improve, especially in theback-translation of proper names, allusions and quotations. This results in a paradoxbetween the prospect of overseas sinology and the difficulties in translating it. In order tofix the paradox, the translator should grasp features of sinological works, examinemeticulously their cultural elements and historical materials, and then do the translationand make annotations in accordance with academic standards. Only in this way canoverseas sinology be developed to prmote cultural interaction between China and theWestern world.This report, based on the translating practice of “The Chinese Attitude towards thePast” and “An Introduction to Confucius” in The Hall of Uselessness by sinologist SimonLeys, mainly discusses back-translation and the role of annotations as a supplement intranslating sinological works. The review chapter arranges theoretical concepts and majorfocus of back-translation studies, as well as the research and translation of sinologicalworks in China. Perspective of comparative literature and requirement of academictranslation are introduced, thus giving a preliminary yet detailed review on theback-translation studies on sinological works in China. Under this guidance, the practicechapter then discusses traditional challenges in the back-translation of names and terms inthe selected sinological essays, and introduces concepts such as “the degree ofback-translation” and unity of style to address back-translation of sentence style. In particular, the chapter values a comparative perspective on the back-translation ofsinological works and establishes a complementary relation between back-translation andannotations. In this regards, the chapter discusses in detail the role of annotation inback-translating names and places, quotations, especially in correcting the source text (ST)and ideological misunderstandings.