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1、On the Effects on Translation of the Difference between Chinese and Western Patterns of ThinkingI. Introduction“So far as the definition of translation is concerned, it is easy for us to copy one from dictionary; translation is a rendering from one language into another, but that seems to be too sim
2、ple.”(Hornby 65) Actually, translation concerns with not only the rendering between the original and target languages, but also the communication between the two cultures. And the most difficult thing in translating is just the translating of the two cultures. notes that the most essential differenc
3、e between Eastern and Western cultures lies in the different “ patterns of thought”. Language is the reflection of the thought. andthoughtcontrols language. So language expressions result from the relation between language and thought. The process of translating is not only the transfer of language
4、forms but also the transfer of thought. Making the transfer of thought patterns with purpose in the course of translation we have to have the knowledge of“ the differences of the patterns of thought” is contributive to the natural and idiomatic translationPorter and Samovar point out that thought is
5、 the process which uses the conceptions,judgment and reasoning to reflect the objective world. It is proved by psychologists that thoughtcan process all kinds of information which enters the human brain and what we think can reflectthe material essences and solve the problems. For pattern of thought
6、, there have been many other expressions to denote the same meaning: “mode of thinking”, “ways of thinking”, “thinking style”. “The form of reasoning prevalent in a society may be called the pattern of thought in that society, which has been an aspect of culture that influences social perception.”(P
7、ribram 121) Karl Program notes that mutual understanding and peaceful relations among the peoples of the earth have been impeded not only by the multiplicity of languages, but to an even greater degree by differences in patterns of thoughtthat is, by differences in the methods adopted for defining t
8、he sources of knowledge, and for organizing coherent thinking. The most striking differences among philosophical doctrines are attributable to deep-seated divergences the methods of forming fundamental concepts and of defining the functions of Reasonthat is, the cognition power of the human mind and
9、 the extent and validity of that power. “The research on Chinese and Western patterns of thinking, especially on the contrastive study of Chinese and Western patterns of thinking, is not only a kind of old subject but also a new one.”(Deng 63)In the past 20 years,Many previous renowned scholars such
10、 as Yam Fu and Lin Yutan as well as many have been done on the issue and some have been used in studies from the past study. Contemporary specialists and scholars both in China and abroad have had their incisive ideas, which produce far-reaching influence in this field of study. The following discus
11、ses mainly the researches carried out by Chinese scholars.“The first person who gave a fairly complete comparison of Chinese and Western patterns of thought in China was Yam Fu. His study covered the following three aspects. (qtd. in Zhang 23): Firstly, Chinese world outlook was a backward one in th
12、at it regarded things as going round and round again, while Western world outlook was an advanced one in that it regarded things as going forward continuously.Secondly, Chinese people were used to assumptions before making a decision, while Western people estimated things by experiments.Thirdly, Chi
13、nese were stagnant because they did not find a logical system like that of Westerners. They only stayed on the basis of the experiences accumulated in earlier times. Yam Fus points of view have a profound and lasting influence on later generations. It was after Yam Fu that Chinese people began to pa
14、y attention to the lack of logic in Chinese patterns of thought in the contrastive study of Chinese and Western patterns of thought.During the period of “May 4 Movement”, the new cultural movement asked for “democracy and science”. Its purpose was to reveal the shortcomings of traditional Chinese pa
15、ttern of thought as displayed in feudal society. Therefore, the contrastive study of Chinese and Western patterns of thought went deeper and further.According to Go Hanging, the famous scholar, “the European people should learn from us Chinese people at the aspect of way of thinking.”(qtd in Lian 57
16、) In favor of this point of view, Deng Summing tried to prove that traditional Chinese culture was superior to democratic Western culture in philosophy in his book Oriental and Western Cultures and Their Philosophies. In Hun Shis opinion, he disapproved of Dengs point of view. “He believed that ther
17、e were great differences between Chinese and Western cultures. He noted that the functions of humans mentality were roughly the same, so schools of thought were on the whole the same with only slight differences.”(Wang 75) Differences in Chinese and Western patterns of thought were due to the fact t
18、hat their social surroundings in which they came into existence were different. If the social surroundings of China were the same with that of the West, China would have had the same culture with Western culture. It is obvious that the comparative study done by Liang Summing and Hun Shi went one ste
19、p further than before. They demonstrated the similarities and differences in Chinese and Western patterns of thought, and proposed the question of “How to unite the two together so as to form a new pattern of thought”. Their answers to the question were not the same, though. Liang Summing was in fav
20、or of “going eastward”, while Hun Shi in favor of “going westward”.How the patterns of thought are formed is still not known. For the psychologists, the patterns of thought restricted and influenced by physiological bases especially the brain structures are mainly the products of cultures, particula
21、rly influenced synthetically by the modes of production, historical tradition, geographic conditions, and philosophy. . Comparison between Chinese and Western Parent of ThinkingOn the basis of researches done by earlier scholars, the major features of Chinese and Western patterns of thinking are sum
22、marized in this chapter. Mutual understanding and peaceful relations among the peoples with different cultures have been impeded not only by the multiplicity of languages but also to an even greater degree by differences in patterns of thinking.A. The Integral Pattern of Thinking vs Western Pattern
23、of ThinkingAs mentioned in Chapter One, the relative stability of agricultural society made Chinese people in harmony with nature. Chinese people were clear that everything came from nature and that their existence was dependent upon the bestowal of nature. The integral pattern of thinking has been
24、developed gradually. Chinese people considered it to be an indivisible and interactive whole between man and nature, human order and universe order, individual and society, between spirit and substance, thought and existence, subject and object. In the opinion of Shaanxi, the great ancient Chinese t
25、hinker, life would disappear once there were some clear classifications in it. This is also a Chinese national character. They are afraid of establishing a clear-cut definition of the world. Rather, they would like to get a general comprehension of the matter, which resulted in ambiguity sometimes.I
26、n the West, Plato first proposed the thought of “separation between subject and object”. Since the latter half of the 15th century, the natural science has adopted the induction on the basis of observing and experiments, and thus metaphysic thought took the dominant part. The logic of Western patter
27、n of thought puts emphasis on the research on appearance on the basis of nature, which resulted from analyzing the whole things. The analytical pattern of thought is prevailing in the West. The Western systematic world and analytical pattern of thought often leads to clarity. From the above, it can
28、be concluded that one of the major differences between Chinese and Western pattern of thought is that: Chinese people carry out a pattern of thinking in which man and nature are regarded as an integral whole. The ideal of life is to unite man with nature, since they are originally a whole unit. This
29、 pattern of thinking is applied in analyzing nature, society and human beings. “While the Western people implement a pattern of thought in which man and nature are separate, the world is composed of ego and non-ego.”(Baugh 83)Such a difference comes from the different systems feudal society and capi
30、talistic society, natural economy and commodity economy. In natural economy, nature is an object for man to worship and observe. The highest standard is the “Nature-Man Oneness”. In commodity economy in the West, nature and society are only the objects for man to make use of. The relationship betwee
31、n man and nature is: a) Man is above nature and outside nature, granted with the right to govern nature; b) Man and nature are opposites, nature is the object for man to win over, analyze, and realize; c) Man can only exist in the struggles for conquering nature. As a result, different attitudes tow
32、ard nature lead to the basic differences in Chinese and Western patterns of thought. These differences have produced two different culturescollectivistic culture and individualistic culture. In the collectivistic culture of China, the individual will connect him or her to a large group. So Chinese p
33、atterns of thinking tend to consider it more important to comply with direct requests from others, to maintain self-control in front of the others, and to share credit for the successes and blame for the failures of the others. While members of Individualistic culture in the West would be much less
34、likely to show these characteristics. They tend to think of themselves as separate and independent entities. As restated above, the agricultural society of primitive Chinese people enforces the idea that man is dependent upon nature, needs the protection and the bestowal of nature. Natural condition
35、s are closely related with their existence. They love their land as well as wind, rain, sea, lake and trees. Man does not want to show his own strength and power in front of nature. He is easily satisfied with what he is bestowed by nature. The Taoist, whose basic philosophy is based upon the need t
36、o achieve harmony with the cosmos, observes nature in order to achieve this relationship. Taoist philosophy states that human life is conditioned and not free. Only when man recognizes this limitation and makes himself dependent upon the harmonious forces of the cosmos can he achieve success. It als
37、o emphasizes the unity of opposites, such as the unity of Heaven and Earth, the unity of Nature and Man, the unity of Male and Female, the unity of Yin and Yang.The Western people hold that nature is an adversary against man rather than a protector. It is an object to be fought against, employed and
38、 conquered. With such a belief, the Western people pay more attention to differences and conflicts inside the world. They take struggle for granted and believe that everything is got by means of struggle. Although they also think harmony as praiseworthy, the harmony as a combination of things in con
39、flict instead of pure harmony, is acquired through countless struggles. Substance and spirit, subjective world and objective world, knowledge and behavior are all opposing sides full of conflicts. The tradition of Western pattern of thinking is to seek conflicts.“The different points of view as for
40、the question of whether man is in harmony with nature or man is in conflict with nature lead to different kinds of traditions in Chinese and Western patterns of thinking:a) Chinese patterns of thinking emphasize the preservation of tradition. In a social sense, the notion of “Nature-Man Oneness” bas
41、ically means the adaptation of people as individuals to the community. In emphasizes the development of harmonious human relations. A society that emphasizes conformity to tradition may stagnate. In Chinese culture, a conservative pattern of thinking is encouraged and a liberal pattern of thinking i
42、s not permitted. Originality and reconstruction of the known theories are fairly rare. While Western patterns of thinking emphasize questioning and criticizing the already-existed theoretical framework. They encourage the kind of liberal thinking which is likely to produce creative work. New theoret
43、ical thought is set forth and traditions are surpassed continuously.b) As a result of stress on “harmony”, moderation has been a typical characteristic in Chinese pattern of thought. Nothing is absolute and extremity should be avoided. All the opposing sides take harmony as their ultimate goal. The
44、ultimate purpose of all the changes in things is to achieve stability and balance. On the other hand, Western patterns of thinking are easy to go to extremes, for they start from a well-classified system. They avoid the doctrine of “the Golden Mean”. The answer to a yes or no question in Chinese pat
45、terns of thinking may be both “yes” and “no”; but in Western patterns of thinking, the answer has tube either “yes” or “no”, without the least vagueness in expression.c) Since harmony is highly appreciated in Chinese culture, “part” is certainly included in the “whole”. Therefore, Chinese patterns o
46、f thinking are likely to follow a general-particular order, observing things from the whole to the part. While Western patterns of thinking go in the opposite direction with conflict in mind. They are likely to follow a particular-general order, observing things from the part to the whole.”(Nida 265
47、)B. The Concert Pattern of Thinking vs the Abstract Patterns of ThinkingOn the basis of integral concept of “Nature-Man Oneness” and “the unity between subjective world and objective world”, Chinese traditional patterns of thinking advocate “the unity between everything and man”, put stress on the g
48、aining of images by observing objects. Instead of using logical argumentation of conception judgment reasoning,Chinese are used to forming a picture in the mind by imagination. In short, Chinese are accustomed to embracing a special thought into a certain concrete image, embodying abstract things in
49、 terms of images. The concrete pattern of thinking employed by Chinese people is an “informal logic” without form that is abstract and imposing, it is free from abstractness of Western formal analysis. Concreteness is a concentration of all life and an effectiveness of thought.On the other hand, Western traditional patterns of thinking emphasize that “Man against Nature”, “separation between subjective world and objective world”. Westerners are used to viewing the objective world with the kind of objective
