Filtration or Remolding:The Role of the Translator as an Intentional Mediator1

Tomoyuki TANAKA

Osaka University

Abstract As a new Japanese translator of the Chinese classical novel Jin Ping Mei,in this paper,I will review some practical translation difficulties arising from translating a work belonging to a different time period,culture,and language.For instance,there is no single correct way to translate wordplays or puns.Additionally,if the original Chinese text contains certain first-person pronouns,the change of one fictional character’s tone expressed by shifting pronouns is difficult to directly reproduce in English.Arranging original expressions into new forms that are appropriate in the target language,the translator should,when possible,transmit the original feel of the text without sophistication.In a sense,translators are asked to be a conservative advocate for the target language; yet at the same time,they should also act as aggressive explorers of the target language.

Keywords:classical literature; full-length novel; Chinese-Japanese translation; Jin Ping Mei

1.Bond with Chinese classical works—From a reader to a translator

Recently,I published the first volume translation of a Chinese classical novel.Instead of being an expert in translation studies,my knowledge on translation is practical,rather than academic.Therefore,I fear my speech1This paper is based on a keynote speech at the International Symposium on Translation of Classical Chinese Novels on 20-30 October 2019 at Beijing Foreign Studies University in Beijing.will be somewhat misplaced.However,I believe the theme of translation is also open for nonexperts,so I courageously decided to give this speech in front of distinguished professors in this field.

I shall begin with personal memories.The very first,complete translation of a Chinese classical novel that I read was a Japanese version ofXiyou ji西游记 (Journey to the West).It was translated in the 1970s by two late professors,Ota Tatsuo and Torii Hisayasu (Ota & Torii,1971).Ota and Torii both were famous researchers in Chinese vernacular literature.Ota was also a famous linguist,known for his books such asA Historical Grammar of Modern Chinese,published in 1957,which still maintains its value.It was reprinted posthumously in 2013 (Ota,2013).Their translation was based on an abridged Qing edition of the novel.Not only because of the interesting story,but also because Ota and Torii’s translation style is crisp,the translation totally fascinated a ten-year-old boy living in Yokohama.Xiyou jiis one of the “Four Masterworks” of Ming novels.Thirty years later,the boy became a translator of another of the “Four Masterworks”,Jin Ping Mei金瓶梅 (Plum in the Golden Vase),and is now giving a speech before you.

Although a translation of the unabridged Ming version ofXiyou jiwas already completed in the 1990s,and despite the fact that I can read the original novel now,my impression of this novel till date is greatly influenced by Ota and Torii’s translation.Similarly,students of foreign literature often begin their research after being motivated by the translations of that literature in their own language.The role of translators is crucial,not only for readers,but also for future researchers.

Sometimes,a good translation also inspires non-native readers of either the original or target language.As a researcher ofJin Ping Mei,I am greatly indebted to Professor David Roy’s English translation (1993-2013).

When I readJin Ping Mei’s Japanese translationfor the first timein the 1970s,I felt that it was a very boring work elevated to a false fame only due to its erotic scenes.In fact,most “obscene” scenes are omitted without annotation in that version,but I was not aware of this at the time.

When I learned about a new English translation of this work by David Roy,I began to read it mainly for my graduate school entrance exam.The examination included readings of both English and classical vernacular Chinese,and therefore the translation was eligible for this dual purpose.Apart from being study material,the work also interested me as a piece of literature.Most notably,since my Chinese reading ability was not adequate,I felt Roy’s translation was even more stimulating than the original text.

In his introduction to the first volume,Roy declares that this work is a landmark in the development of narrative art in a world-historical context.He insists that,apart fromTale of Genji源氏物语 andDon Quixote,there is no earlier work of prose fiction of equal sophistication.He also quotes Mikhail Bakhtin’s theoretical essay to discuss the rhetoric of this work,which I believed was very novel at that time.At the end of the introduction,Roy quotes the following moving words by David Hawkes,who is the translator ofHonglou meng红楼梦(Story of the Stone),“If I can convey to the reader even a fraction of the pleasure this Chinese novel has given me,I shall not have lived in vain.” As a translator in this field,I strongly aspire to utter the same phrase with sincere sympathy.

A most remarkable virtue of Roy’s translation is his thorough research of sources.The sources have been researched for years by many scholars.In addition to quoting several poems,lyrics,and songs; the original novel includes proverbs,couplets,jokes,and even plot elements from existing works.These include,for example,dramas,short stories,and vernacular novels.Based on such research,we can understand the position of the work in the entirety of its contemporary literary spectrum.

For example,there is a poem in Chapter 20,which reads in his translation:

To sleep with every casual flower,when they number in the millions;

Is not as good a plan as going home to share a bed with your wife.

Even though,beside your pillow,she may leave something to be desired;

She will sleep with you until the morrow dawns without demanding money.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.427)

ST：宿尽闲花万万千，不如归去伴妻眠，虽然枕上无情趣，睡到天明不要钱。（Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng,1995,p.566）

He noted that this quatrain occurs in two anthologies of excerpts fromchuanqi传奇 drama,and that in both cases the excerpts containing this quatrain appear to be from versions of the dramaXiuruji绣襦记.Further,he pointed out that standard editions of this play do not contain the quatrain.As per my knowledge,he was the first to identify the source clearly.This discovery is also interesting,as it suggests the existence of at least one lost and more detailed edition ofXiurujiat that time.

Sometimes Roy even revised the wrong text based on its supposed original.In Chapter 29,a physiognomist surnamed Wu examines the protagonist’s wife and concubines.After having scrutinized a concubine,Wu says:

“As for this woman:

[…] One whose countenance is upright and correct,

Will be the virtuous matron of a prominent house.”(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.2,p.239)

The original text corresponding to “a prominent house” issu men素门,which means “poor house”.When I first read these sentences comparing with the original text,I could not understand why Roy adopts such an opposite word to interpret the term,as he just notes the source without commenting on the revision.However,referring to the book of physiognomy quoted here by myself,I found that Roy,based on the source,at first revised the original text tohao men豪门 (“prominent house”),and then translated his own revision.In my opinion,in this case,it would have been better to explain the change.Nevertheless,apparently mistaken parts of his translation are often the result of his research.

Based on such intertextuality,we can also understand the underlying meaning of the text.Here,I will adduce another translator’s example.There is a sentence in Chapter 14 of Roy’sJin Ping Meithat reads:“Even if I were made of iron,how many nails could you get out of me?” 浑身是铁，打得多少钉儿？(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.282).In this context,it expresses the limits of one’s capacity.A similar expression occurs in Chapter 32 ofXiyou ji,but the context is slightly ambiguous there.As a result,a certain Japanese translator (not Ota and Torii) misunderstood the meaning and translated the second phrase as “you can get many nails”.The translator overlooked the roughly contemporary example inJin Ping Mei,and as a result,the meaning became the very reverse.In translating a full-length novel,some mistakes are almost inevitable,but careful research will certainly reduce them.

Another virtue of Roy is his consistency in wording.He states in his introduction:

Since I believe that these repetitious elements are not fortuitous,but part of the author’s conscious artistry,I have striven,to the extent possible,to render all such passages in exactly the same way whenever they occur or recur.Occasionally this may produce a slight awkwardness in English,but I hope that the reader will put up with this flaw in order to better appreciate one of the salient features of the text.(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.xlviii)

He translates every repetition very faithfully to the original text,and this translating attitude contributes much to reproducing the character of the Chinese text.For example,there are many repetitions of the termzhijian只见 when introducing a character who has newly arrived in a scene.Roy basically translates the word as “who should appear at this juncture but [someone]” or “whom should they see but [someone]”.The frequent use of such translations may be a little verbose for normal English style,especially as the original word itself is a kind of fixed expression.Nevertheless,we should admit that they also successfully reproduce a kind of the original taste and rhythm.Frankly,in my own translation,I attempt to imitate this tactic,but for the termzhijian只见,I gave up on applying only a single Japanese word as that sounded too unnatural in my language.

Another example of Roy’s technique for translating recurrent words is taken from chapters 1 and 20.There are two depictions of snow in the original text.

Ch.1:只见四下彤云密布，又早纷纷扬扬，飞下一天瑞雪来。（Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng,1995,p.18）

Ch.20:只见天上彤云密布，又早纷纷扬扬，飘下一天雪花儿来。（Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng,1995,p.563）

It is not easy to notice that the two depictions are very similar,as they are separated by some text,and the depictions themselves do not stand out.However,according to Zhang Zhupo 张竹坡,an influential classical commentator on this novel,such repetition is often based on intentional design over the entire novel,so translations should echo each other.Roy does not annotate this repetition,but his translations are ideal.

Ch.1:In every quarter what should appear but:

Dense masses of dark clouds,

And all of a sudden:

Fluttering and swirling,

A skyful of auspicious snow came flying down.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.36-37)

Ch.20:Lo and behold:

Dense masses of dark clouds,

appeared in the heavens,all of a sudden:

Fluttering and swirling,

A skyful of snowflakes came drifting down.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.422)

He not only noticed this similarity,but also tried to reproduce it.He also slightly changed nearby words such as “auspicious snow” into “snowflakes”,and “flying down” into “drifting down” to reflect the subtle differences between the two depictions; such an unnoticed but invaluable effort is seen almost everywhere in his translation.This,I believe,is the work of a true translator.

Although not at par with Roy,as a translator of the new Japanese translation (of which only the first of three volumes was published),I also attempted to introduce novel practices in my own effort.First,affected by Roy’s translation,I tried to translate everything.For example,as much as possible,I translated jokes and puns in the Chinese original into jokes and puns in Japanese translation.For instance,in Chapter 12,there is a joke mocking a madam in the licensed quarter.After being treated badly,a mason,who was commissioned to repave the courtyard,stuck a brick in the madam’s drain and made her courtyard fill with water.The madam changed her attitude toward him,and he removed the brick from the drain.Asked by the madam what was the problem,he replied,in Roy’s translation:

The problem with your drain was the same as it is with you:

It’s only dough that makes things flow;

Without the dough,there’d be no flow.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.229)

The coupled phrase in the original is:you qian bian liu,wu qian bu liu有钱便流,无钱不流.Here,the verbliu流 (to flow) is a pun withliu留 (to detain someone),and therefore,this joke becomes a sarcastic criticism of the madam,who only detains the guests who have money.I translated the verb into a verb,hiku引ffk,which has the meanings of “to recede” and “to tout”.

I also placed illustrations in footnotes to help readers interpret unfamiliar clothing accessories,musical instruments,and so on.In footnotes,I quoted the classical comments of Ming and Qing Period to introduce classical understandings of the text.On the source research,my contribution is limited.However,I found that the opening poem in Chapter 37 is,with some textual variation,originally the work by Li Yu 李煜,the last ruler of the Southern Tang state.The poem reads,in Roy’s translation:

Time passes languidly abroad the light vessels on the waterways of Wu;

Parting cups were refilled and you indulgently supported my unsteady gait.

On the blue sea you may be assailed by sorrow as light flickers lambently;

Among scattered peaks I can hardly object to the colors of divergent shades.

As you are propelled forward by your orchid oars how full are your feelings;

While I am reduced to leaning on the balustrade as the sun sets in the west.

Amid misty waves,so near and yet so far,how vast is the distance between us;

There is no need for you to harbor in your breast a sense of redoubled sadness.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.2,p.360)

A certain Chinese researcher interpreted this to be a poem depicting the sentiment of a wife far away from her husband; that researcher found no appropriate reason why this poem should be placed at the top of Chapter 37,as there is no such story in the chapter.However,as the original poem is written to see off Li Yu’s young brother,who is going to his new post,1The title of the original poem is “Song Dengwang ershi di Congyi mu Xuancheng 送邓王二十弟从益牧宣城”.the author must quote it,because it is appropriate to put after the parting scene depicted at the end of Chapter 36,in which two male guests say farewell to the protagonist of the novel,Ximen Qing 西门庆.With the aid of electronic databases,such research will continue to make progress hereafter.

2.Remolding—Translating untranslatable

Now,I shall discuss the more general problems in translation.

Many difficulties emerge when translation works originate from a different time period,culture,and language.For instance,there is no single correct answer on how to translate wordplays or puns.As mentioned above,I tried to translate original puns and jokes into Japanese puns and jokes,but some strict critics may fault me for not translating faithfully word for word.

Additionally,if the original Chinese text contains certain first-person pronouns,the speaking tone of a character may change by shifting the pronouns.However,the change in tone expressed by the shifting is difficult to reproduce directly in English,

I will give an example from Chapter 16 ofJin Ping Mei.One of the three female protagonists of the novel,named Li Ping’r 李瓶儿,was originally a wife of Hua Zixu 花子虚,who himself was one of the best friends of Ximen Qing.Ximen Qing fell in love with Li Ping’r at first sight.His successful attempt to seduce her resulted in her husband’s early death,and Ximen Qing promised to take her as a concubine after her mourning.

One day,Li Ping’r burnt her deceased husband’s spirit tablet.This act symbolizes the end of her mourning period,and now she could remarry with Ximen Qing.That night,Ximen Qing visited Li Ping’r.Under such a situation,Li Ping’r’s speech was,at least superficially,relatively solemn at the beginning of this scene.She said:

Today the spirit tablet of my poor husband has been burnt.If you,sir,deign not to reject me,I will enjoy the pleasure of:

Waiting upon you with towel and comb,thereby:

Fulfilling my desire for connubial bliss.(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.333)

ST：今日拙夫灵已烧了。蒙大官人不弃，奴家得奉巾栉之欢，以遂于飞之愿。（Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng,1995,p.453）

But as their wine continued to flow,her attitude changed clearly,and Ximen Qing observed that “her drunken demeanor invited license; and her passionate eyes expressed desire”.At last she embraced him and said;

My darling,if you really do plan to marry me,make it as soon as possible.It’s inconvenient for you to have to come and go this way.Don’t leave me here to long for you day and night.

(Roy,1993-2013,Vol.1,p.336)

ST：我的亲哥！你既真心要娶我，可趁早些。你又往来不便，休丢我在这里日夜悬望。（Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng,1995,p.454）

Roy’s translation is very faithful,but he was forced to omit an effect in the original text.In this scene,before the last frank speech I cited above,Li Ping’r unalterably used the first personnu奴 ornujia奴家,which means “(your) slave”,referring to herself.In contrast,at the last speech above,she suddenly changed the first person towo我,the most ordinary first person.Apparently,the original author used the shift of first person to show her for what she really was.However,in English translation,this simple effect is difficult to interpret as the target language has only one first person,“I”.In Japanese,in which first person forms are abundant,the problem still remains.I translatednuornujiaintowatakushi私,a relatively polite first person,andwointoatashi☆▽し,an intimate variation ofwatakushi,to convey this contrast.However,I did not go so far to translate everywouttered by a female character intoatashi,as this Japanese word is too chatty for the usual first person.

On the contrary,“I” in English is a troublesome word for a Japanese translator,as there are many Japanese words from which to choose.Recently,a Japanese linguist,Kawazoe Ai,published a short essay in a newspaper and introduced her personal experience (Kawazoe,2019).She watched a comedy TV drama when she was studying in the United States.After coming back to Japan,she saw the Japanesedubbed version and reacted strongly against the protagonist’s Japanese first person.Then she pondered which first person pronoun fits to him.However,she reached the conclusion that no Japanese first person is fit.She remarked that Japanese has no first person like English “I” that is applicable to everyone and that evokes a kind of imagination,in spite of (or because of) the abundance of first person.She suggested that in Japanese,the selection of the first person itself designates the type of the speaker to some extent,but in English,the first person does not serve this designative function (as no one can “select” it); so,one has to imagine what kind of person the speaker is,without the aid of the first person.

A Japanese translator,Kida Minoru,who is known as a translator ofEntomological Souvenirsby Jean-Henri Fabre,once said to Kaiko Takeshi—a famous novelist,that Japanese vocabularies on rain are much richer than those in French (Kaiko,2009).According to him,there are about two hundred words depicting various kinds of rain in Japanese,while,there are just six or so in French.In fact,a 250-page dictionary solely collecting Japanese idioms concerning rain was published after Kida’s death (Kurashima & Harada,2014).Kida said that,even if the original French text was just a simple word meaning “rain”,Japanese translators should refine it into a more sensitive Japanese word.

Many translators,including me,might not support Kida’s idea from the viewpoint of faithfulness,but this is a more difficult problem than it seems.There also must be groups of words for which French or European vocabularies are much more developed than Japanese,for example,on various kinds of carriage.In Japanese,carriage,coach,wagon,and cart all have the same translation.If we really need to make a distinction,we shall add explanatory adjectives.

Let us examine a depiction of “a carriage running through rain”.If we imagine a fusion language of French and Japanese,the language including all idioms of French and Japanese,“a carriage running through rain” would be depicted more vividly than two real languages.But in Japanese-translated French text,carriage becomes indistinguishable from coach,and rain remains as simple rain,if the translator chooses to be “faithful”.

In a sense,the original writer of the text depicts the world through a filter of her or his mother tongue:the filter is dense in some fields and sparse in others.Then the role of translator is the second filtration.The second filter also has its own uneven thickness of vocabularies in various domains.Through the double filtration,the original words are inevitably reduced into somewhat dull expressions,and originally dull expressions,alas,remain dull,even if the target language has abundant words to depict it.Is that true faithfulness? Of course,this is a simplified thought experiment,but the act of translation sometimes introduces this kind of tragicomedy.

One way to interpret untranslatable aspects is a kind of remolding.For example,in Goethe’s tragic playFaust,in a certain scene of love,Margarete changes her second person pronoun to address Faust,using the more intimate pronoun,dich.This shift of second person expresses her growing emotion to Faust.In an old Japanese translation by Takahashi (Goethe,1967),the translator uses Japanese second personanta☆ん▽ to interpret it.This second person is a little too crude and does not sound very suitable for the character of Margarete,but maybe he had no other option.In a certain recent translation by Ikeuchi (Goethe,1999-2000),the translator chose to omit the second person,giving up word-to-word translation and changing the whole line to a very frank expression of love.We can say what he translated here is the whole effect of this line,not the respective words themselves.

No matter how we position the role of translator,as that of filtration or remolding—arranging the original expressions into new forms that are appropriate in the target language—he or she should,as much as possible,transmit the original feel of the text without sophistication.In a sense,translators are asked to play the role of a conservative advocate for the target language.Yet,at the same time,they should also act as aggressive explorers of the target language.

3.Translation—An activity of multiplicity in nature

For conclusion,I’d like to observe the multiple nature of translation from another viewpoint.

A few years ago,I wrote an article on Chinese classical fiction commentary,where I compared two famous critics,Jin Shengtan 金圣叹 and Zhang Zhupo (Tanaka,2013).Jin Shengtan is famous for his critique ofShuihu zhuan水浒传 (Water Margin),and Zhang Zhupo is famous for his critique ofJin Ping Mei.In his critique,Zhang Zhupo followed the pattern of forms and terminology used in Jin Shengtan’s critique,although some differences in perspective did exist between the two critics.For instance,Jin Shengtan stated that Shi Naian 施耐庵,the hypothetical author ofShuihu zhuan,was able to depict various fictional characters inShuihu zhuanso realistically because he altered his state of mind in order to identify with the characters as he was writing.On the contrary,according to Zhang Zhupo,the success of the character depictions inJin Ping Meiis dependent upon the author’s understanding of his characters’emotions and reasoning.In general,Jin Shengtan appreciated the author because of his transparency or unintentionality,while in Zhang Zhupo’s critique,the author is presented as a manager who controls every detail of the novel through his intentions.

Their discussion is applicable to the discussion on the role of translator.Like Shi Naian in Jin Shengtan’s eyes,an ideal translator should be a transparent one:a translator who does not contaminate the original work by mixing his own interpretation,and who merely plays the role of the original author,speaking the target language.Ironically,this ideal will never be achieved without numerous intentional tactics,calculations,and research,which are somewhat similar to the management of details,as taken by the author ofJin Ping Meiin Zhang Zhupo’s mind.Such a two-sided attitude is essentially included in the act of translating,as it consists of understanding,conveying,and expression.

In some ways,a translator is like a classical music player.Each has the unchangeable original to interpret.They study,they research,and then they understand it.They do not simply understand it,but embody this understanding,and above all,tell the truth.To tell the truth,the medium must be modulated incessantly.