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I've read eg. different translations of Crime and Punishment written more than 100 years between each other and I still feel that I read the same book and the m
by Vt71fcAqt7 3y ago
I've read eg. different translations of Crime and Punishment written more than 100 years between each other and I still feel that I read the same book and the meaning, even if somewhat blurred, as been perserved. There is no definite meaning to many passages in classical Chinese so all you have is the text itself. It's not a question of if the author can take the meaning from the original and use that to write a new text in a different language with the same meaning but if the author has the meaning to begin with. A better way would be to give every possible translation of each line where needed, starting with the various relevant translations of each character and then what the phrase probably means literaly and then what the author meant by it (which is another point I havn't even mentioned until now).
- vitiral 3y agoIt's funny to say there is "no definite meaning" when the action proposed is non-action, the meaning defined is un-meaning, the way is wuwei.
- hnfong 3y agoGP is talking about Confucian text for f's sake... Whatever the meaning of the text that GP quoted, there is a definitely clear call for action, something to do with studying hard and taking on official duties.
- Vt71fcAqt7 3y agoYeah the only ambiguity here is if learning is being promoted or if officialdom is. That is, is it saying that "Learning and excellence leads to officialdom" ie. that the end goal of studying is to become an official or is excellence in learning just a prerequisite for officialdom but that is not it's main goal. I think the common usage tends to imply that studying is a means of becomimg an official.