The Relationship between Translation Theory and Practice —the “Tao” and “Implement” in Translation

周莹娜

【Abstract】There are four kinds of attitudes towards the relationship between translation theory and practice， and the Tao and Implement of the translation play an irreplaceable role in translation. In order to understand the relationship between translation theory and practice， through the relation of Tao and implement this paper focuses on discussion about their roles in the translation process： complementary or irrelevant？

【Key words】translation theory and practice； relationship； the Tao and Implement

1. Introduction

On December 29， 2016 I was fortunate enough to listen to the professional lecture which was entitled “The Tao and implement in translation” by the professor Zhao Yanchun. Zhao explained the nature of Tao and implement in translation：“道” should be translated “word”， but not “Tao”. （While here the author also translated the “道” to “Tao”， that is the official call.） But what is “Tao”？What is the “implement” and whats the roles they play in translation？This sentence “The Tao that can be trodden is not the enduring and unchanging Tao. The name that can be named is not the enduring and unchanging name.” made me lost in thought. How do “Tao” and “implement” exist and use in translation？This paper studies the relationship between translation theory and practice from the perspective of “Tao and the implement” in order to has a deep understanding of its relationship in TS.

2. The Tao and Implement in Translation

This sentence “道可道非常道，名可名非常名” is the opening sentences in Tao Te Ching. but whats the meanings of this sentence？

2.1 The Tao in Translation

What is “Tao”？“Tao” means the rule—the rule of nature and life. The opening sentences in Tao Te Ching means that the law of life can be known and grasped， but it is not what we usually know. In translation， “Tao” refers to the standard of translation， in translation theory， it refers to “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance”.

2.2 The Implement in Translation

《周易·系辭上》：“形而上者谓之道，形而下者谓之器。” “Tao” refers to the law by which heaven and earth or yin and yang change and its intangible， so called “metaphysical”， “the Implement” refers to the tangible things and objects， so its called “physics”. “The implement in translation” guides the translation process and translation criticism by combing “meaning， construct and spirit”.

2.3 The Relationship of the Tao and Implement in Translation

“天下唯器，道者器之道，无其器则无其道” which belongs to the ancient native materialism， and the implement refers to material， the Tao refers to the consciousness. The world is composed of material， and consciousness is just the embodiment of the material， so there is no consciousness without material. For example， the blade is very sharp， which “blade” is “implement” and “sharp” is “Tao”. So there is no sharp if without the blade ，sharp means that the blade is sharp， it can not exist independently. So “Tao” and “Implement” is complementary， not be away.

3. The Possible Relationship between Translation Theory and Practice

Since several discussions about the relationship between the Tao and Implement in translation， the attitudes towards to the relationship between theory and practice can be divided into four types： practice priority， people stick to the practice and they hold that the theories come from the practice and guide practice， but the practice always place the first， the theory second； theory and practice hold the equal proportion， it emphasizes that role of theory guiding the practice； theoretical priority， the theory can not only be limited to “how to translate”， the role of theory is to improve the cognitive ability， to emphasize the promotion of the academic value and theoretical innovation； theory useless， theory is just theory， practice is just practice， theory has no guiding role to practice.

Tao and implement are linked together， they cannot exist independently. So in the translation process， translation theory and practice are interdependent with each other， they can not exist without the other. The theory comes from practice， in turn， theory guides the practice.And practice paved the way for theory. Basing on translation practice， people promote their translation abilities. They two supplement each other.

4. Conclusion

In the study of translatology， the theory of “faithfulness， expressiveness and elegance” is “Tao”， the translation process and translation criticism are guided by the “triple play” of “meaning， construct and spirit”. This theory of translation contributed to a deep understanding of the relationship between translation studies and practice. Translation theory and practice are linked together by direct or indirect way. Whether from view of philosophy or literary translation， the Tao and implement are inseparable， translation theory and practice can not be completely separated， they supplement each other， the theory guides practice， and practice paves the way for the theory.

References：

[1]Herman Paul（1880）.Principles of Language History.Andesite Press.