Analysis on Two Chinese Versions of Gulliver’s Travels from the Perspective of “Faithfulness， Expressiveness and Elegance”

【Abstract】With the development of translation criteria， the practice of translating has greatly advanced. Many translators retranslated some famous English literary works. This thesis firstly gives you a panorama for the history of literature translation in China， and then mentions the significance of literature translation in promoting indigenous literature. Secondly it mainly talks about the appearance and development of “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance”. Then based on the well-known translation criteria： faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance， it is necessary to compare the two Chinese translations of Gullivers Travels from three aspects： comprehension， expression and the representation of stylistic and aesthetic features.

【Key words】translation criteria； comprehension； expression； stylistic； aesthetic

【作者簡介】喻馨锐（1983.11-），女，汉族，新疆库尔勒人，现就职于柳州城市职业学院，广西师范大学硕士研究生在读，讲师，研究方向：国际教育、国际交流、涉外事务。

1. Introduction

Gullivers Travels is a very good book written by writer Jonathan Swift in the mid-1700s. He is very cautious about his choices and uses it to express irony. Swift uses a large number of vocabularies， especially when describing characters， places， or events. So this is a book worth translating.

Because Yan Fu put forward “faithfulness， expression and elegance”， it became the cohesion of ancient Chinese translation theories and became the focus of modern translation studies. Every celebrity in the translation circle has expressed his own views， derogatory or derogatory， but no one can surpass them. Therefore， some people think that studying “faithfulness， expression and elegance” is equivalent to studying the whole translation theory of China.

2. Literature translation in the new era

In the new era， the cognition towards the value of literature translation became more and more comprehensive. Literature translation is a window through which you can look around other parts of the world， a carrier which can enlighten your ideology， a bridge communicating souls and a therapy curing the misconceptions in the traditional literature. Literature translation is in accordance with the requirements in the new era and also benefits literature in this period.

2.1 The history of literature translation in China

Literature translation in China can be traced back to the classical literature in Zuozhuan Biography. Sutra translation which began in East Han Dynasty contained abundant literary contents. In the new era， because of the urgent requirement of inaugurating a new field for literature in this period， and also because of the quick development of press and publishing industry and education， literature translation turned to a brand new page， achieved unprecedented success and entered a new era.

2.2 The reasons of why literature translation can exist and prosper in China

Since learning foreign languages is very popular in China， learning culture is indispensable， and literature is a good shortcut. In addition， literary translation can facilitate cultural exchanges.

3. The theory of “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance” of Yan Fu

3.1 The appearance of “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance”

The translation principle “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance” is firstly proposed by famous Chinese translator Yan Fu in 1897 in the Evolution and Ethics. Yan stated that “there are three difficulties in translation： faithfulness， expressiveness， and elegance”. He did not set these three difficulties as general standards for translation and did not say that these were independent from each other. However， since the publication of that work， the phrase “faithfulness， expressiveness， and elegance” has been attributed to Yan Fu as a standard for any good translation and makes a lot of contribution to the systematic and theoretical development of translation criteria.

3.2 The importance of the theory

“Faithfulness， Expressiveness and Elegance” is accepted by most of scholars in our country. Moreover， the criterion has developed by some famous translators， and its influence could not be neglected. The criterion is practical， but it is very general. According to three different layers， the criterion has been specified， which is beneficial for our translation.

4. Analyze the two versions from the theory of “Faithfulness， Expressiveness and Elegance”

4.1 From the perspective of faithfulness

Faithfulness is an important principle of translation. All theorists maintain that translation should be faithful to the original. However， there are disparities between one language and another——disparities in the lexicology， in the linguistic structure or even in the tradition， history and culture. So “absolute faithfulness” is impossible. Two translators of Gullivers Travels reveal some differences.

…and made a sign with my hand that was loose.

張译：我用那只松着的手作了个手势。

杨译：我用空着的那只手作了一个手势。

“Loose” and “empty” are totally different. In Oxford English-Chinese Dictionary， “loose” means unstuck and unfettered. According to the plot， after the ministers arriving， one of Gullivers hands is unlocked， he can move then. So Zhang understands the original properly.

Six of his majestys greatest scholars should be employed to instruct me in their language.

张译：还派了六位最大的御用学者叫我学习他们的语言。

杨译：雇六名最伟大的学者教我学习他们的语言。

“派” refers to giving a command to the person who is lower than you. “雇” means a monetary relationship of employing and being employed. From the context， we know that Lilliput King employs the six greatest scholars and gives them reward. So here， it reveals a relationship of employing and being employed. Yang has an extraordinary understanding and translates better.

4.2 From the perspective of expressiveness

“Expressiveness” mainly refers to using target language in a standard way， which means the target language should be easy to understand， and shouldnt be ambiguous or obscure.In order to achieve “Expressiveness”， Yan Fu demands that the translator， should comprehend the whole passage exactly， and could express the content by the target language. Sometimes we even should pay less attention to the grammar.

…which （chains） were locked to my left leg with six and thirty padlocks.

張译：用三十六把锁把链子锁在我的左腿上。

杨译：用三十六把锁把我的左腿锁在链条上。

Different languages will lead to distinctions between thoughts. They say that chains are fastened to an object in English-speaking countries， while Chinese are accustomed to saying that an object is fastened to chains. Yang is aware of this difference， so he transfers the two languages successfully， while Zhang just translates it very constrainedly according to the original.

In choosing persons for all employments， they have more regard to good morals than to great abilities.

张译：他们选用各项事务人才时，优良的品行比卓越的才干更被重视。

杨译：在选人任职方面，他们更注重优良的品德，而非卓越的才能。

Passive sentences are widely used in English， while active sentences are mainly used in Chinese. Zhang translates it into a passive voice， which is not in accordance with Chinese habits， but Yang transfers it into active voice， which is understandable and fluent.

4.3 From the perspective of elegance

“Elegance” means expressing the meaning of the original vividly and exactly. It is well-known that there are a lot of long sentences in English and the translator couldnt find the matched words or phrases in Chinese. Today it means that translation version can remain the style of the source language style to the writing. So to be a proficient translator， one must master the skill of being elegant.

Lifting up his hands and eyes by way of admiration.

张译：他举起两手抬眼仰视表示惊讶。

杨译：举起双手，抬起双眼，一副惊羡的样子。

Comparing with “惊讶”， “惊羡” combines the meaning of astonishment and admiration. According to the original text， here refers to that the Lilliput person meets Gulliver who is sixty times bigger than himself， thus the Lilliput person carries a sense of astonishment and admiration. Yang uses “惊羡” better translating the connotation of being admiring.

Observing the person and gesture of him who was to speak.

張译：看到了要说话人的风采和表情。

杨译：也得以看清要说话的那人的样子。

“风采” has a commendatory meaning， which reveals that Gulliver has some admiring attitudes with the person speaking. Actually， here Gulliver just makes acquaintance with the Lilliput person， not to mention contempt or appreciation to that person. So Yang chooses “样子”， although unromantic， but revealing the authors deep meaning vividly.

5. Conclusion

From three aspects， comprehension， expression and the representation of style， the two translation versions have each features and strong points. Comparatively speaking， Zhangs version is a little constrained and lengthy， and his use of language is not as flexible and elegant as Yangs. Yang masters the stylistic features and intentions of the original very profoundly. He grasps the verve of the original and always keeps the original purport in mind， thus he uses more proper and accurate words which make translation version fluent and smooth. However， Zhangs version appears before Yangs. He introduces Gullivers Travels to Chinese readers， which also means a great contribution to the propagating western literature and culture to China. Yang， who translates it on the base of Zhang can fully takes advantage of retranslation. Weighing every word， Yang Haocheng has improved the translation of Gulliver Travels to a higher level.

References：

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[2]Zhang Jian.Gullivers Travels[J].Peoples Literature Publishing House，2003.

[3]Ji Jianhua.“Faithfulness，Expressiveness and Elegance” of Yan Fu and “Transmi - gration” of QIAN Zhongshu[J].Journal of Xinyang Agricultural College，2008.