Thick Translations Of Tan Jing In English

Buddhism was introduced into China in about 67 A.D.and has been blended with traditional Chinese culture ever since.Up to now,it has become an integral part of Chinese culture.Dhyana Buddhism,as one of the most typical schools of Buddhism,is regarded as a native Chinese Buddhist school,which is also known as Han Chinese Buddhism.It has not only a far-reaching impact on Chinese philosophy and art,but also an inseparable relationship with Japanese philosophy,tea culture and many other cultural aspects of the nation.After World War II,Dhyana Buddhism was brought to the United States by D.T.Suzuki for the first time,and later became popular in European areas,thus pushing the influence of Dhyana to the whole world.Huineng is the most important representative of Chinese Dhyana Buddhism,whose life and conversations were compiled into Tan Jing,the only local Buddhist work that was recognized as a sutra.This classic contains the most important thought of Dhyana Buddhism in South China,and is favored by many researchers as a research object.As one of the few Chinese Buddhist classics known to the Westerners,this thesis attempts to take this ancient Buddhist work with strong Chinese characteristics as the research object to explore the path conducive to Chinese Buddhist culture going global.As an effective strategy of interpreting culture,thick translation is often applied in translating classics,which is especially true in the translation of Tan Jing.Therefore,this thesis chooses three representative versions namely rendered by Wong Mou-lam,John R.McRae and Thomas Cleary,aiming to summarize the features of thick translation of these three translators who come from different times,different regions and have completely different identity attributes.By analyzing the gains and losses of the three translations,we seek to conclude effective ways of achieving thick translation.This thesis firstly finds that thick translation,as a translation strategy,is a common strategy adopted by the three translators.Secondly,the thick translation strategies of McRae,Cleary and Wong Mou-lam are characterized by academic,communicative and classical natures respectively.The specific features of McRae's translation are the truth-seeking of the original information,the emphasis of both Buddhist culture and traditional Chinese culture,and the visibility of the translator.However,from a comprehensive point of view,the truth-seeking of McRae's translation has led to the embarrassing situation of low readability.The thick translation of Cleary's translation shows the invisibility and the pursuit of readability of the translator,which has made the book of Buddhist Scriptures a highly accessible Buddhist primer.Wong Mou-lam,as a Buddhist,plays a role as Buddhist missionary in his translation.His concern for the para-texts and Buddhist cultural-loaded words has shaped Tan Jing into an ideal Buddhist textbook with both faithfulness and readability.