外文翻譯--中國文化的基本特征（節(jié)選）

1、<p>　　1970單詞，9700英文字符，3079漢字</p><p>　　Basic Characteristics of Chinese Culture</p><p>　　Joseph S. Wu</p><p>　　Introduction</p><p>　　Chinese culture is so substanti

2、ve in content, so comprehensive in varieties, and has had so long a history, that to its outsiders, it is very similar to the elephant before the blind men in the ancient story. The blind men could not grasp the elephant

3、 in its entirety. They held onto some part, and from this vantage point they attempted to describe the whole animal. The man who has Chinese culture by the feet may say that Chinese people are conservative and this expla

4、ins why it is so difficult fo</p><p>　　Nevertheless, an insider of Chinese culture may not be able to grasp a complete and accurate picture either, nor is he able to present it to its outsiders. This is simp

5、ly because that the one who is actually involved may still have the problem of failing to get clarity and objectivity. A lover being in love is usually unable to describe his own feeling until he has stepped out of it. T

6、his author was born in China, educated in Chinese schools and colleges. No doubt, he had direct contact and subs</p><p>　　Agriculture as Economic Foundation</p><p>　　The term "agriculture&q

7、uot; as a mode of production, or as a way of economic life, does not seem to bother with any explanation. But I would like to point out some of the qualities of this mode of life because they have shaped the character of

8、 Chinese culture.</p><p>　　Compared with the life of tradesmen and herdsmen, a farmer’s life is relatively fixed, settled, and relaxingly permanent. This is commonly referred to as "the lack of mobility

9、." Because this style of life is more settled and at rest, it is easier for a farmer to raise children, and to develop a family up to a large population under one roof. Due to the lack of mobility, a farmer’s life i

10、s relatively free from risk and adventure. This may account for the origin of Chinese conservatism which will </p><p>　　This kind of "attached to earth" and "dependent on land" attitudes

11、also account for some moral qualities of the Chinese people, particularly, the virtue of patience. A farmer’s efficient production very much depends on the cooperation of nature. The process of the growth of a plant, fro

12、m seed to full maturity, needs a certain period of time which can hardly be speeded up by human effort. In a technological society, attempts have been made to shorten the period of time needed for production. The </p&

13、gt;<p>　　From the development of the Chinese language, we have discovered many ancient characters which were names of agricultural products or natural botanical items. A very interesting phenomenon is that, the Ch

14、inese term for society is an "agricultural product." it is called she chi (or, she ji, 社稷? while "she" means "the god of the earth," and "chi or ji" means "the god of the crop

15、s". These usages really mirror the significant role of agriculture in traditional Chinese life.</p><p>　　Another strikingly interesting fact is the name of the founder of Chinese medical tradition. This

16、 person was a legendary figure among the ancient tribal kings who were said to have contributed significantly to Chinese culture. This legendary king was called "Shen Nung Shih" (or shen nong shi, 神農(nóng)氏). "s

17、hen" means "spiritual," "holy,"or "divine." "Nung or nong" means "agriculture" or "farmer." "Shih or shi" does not have any specific meaning exce

18、pt denoting a person, or a person of prominence. So t</p><p>　　Naturalistic View Of Life</p><p>　　A naturalistic view of life is the direct offspring of the agricultural society. Farmers work on

19、 land in the open air rather than working on papers in an enclosed air-conditioned office. Closeness to nature and direct contact with plants and animals easily develop a naturalistic view of life which is hardly found i

20、n an industrialized society.</p><p>　　In spite of the fact that China has gradually become modernized during the last one hundred years, this naturalistic view of life is still rooted deeply into the Chinese

21、 mind of the contemporary era. Many Chinese overseas in the American Continent have saved enough money to purchase a Cadillac, but they do not even buy a Pinto or Tercel. This is simply because they still believe that wa

22、lking is a more natural way of life than operating a motor behind the wheel. In a modern society, sleeping-pill</p><p>　　In some modern Chinese cities like Hong Kong or Taipei where an average family can aff

23、ord to buy a refrigerator. But very often Chinese people do not make the full use of this modern technological device. In many families, a refrigerator is primarily used for keeping drinks such as coca-cola, milk, and be

24、er. They still prefer shopping their meat and vegetable afresh and transfer them directly from the market to their wok (pan) They would be surprised and even shocked if they learn that some Amer</p><p>　　The

25、 naturalistic view of life has gained supports from ancient Chinese philosophers such as Laotzu (老子) and Chuangtzu (莊子). It was emphatically pointed out by Laotzu that Tao is a naturalistic principle. [1] Chuangtzu, in a

26、 mythical story, disclosed the futility of human effort to change nature.[2] According to this story, there was once a legendary emperor who had two intimate friends. This emperor treated both of them kindly and generous

27、ly, so they always thought of repaying his favor. One day</p><p>　　Confucian philosophers also share this naturalistic view of life. Mencius told us a story about a stupid farmer who did not have sufficient

28、patience to wait for the growth of the rice plants. He went to the field to lift up each of the plants by an inch and was under the illusion that he had helped them grow. After a few days, all the plants died.[3]</p&g

29、t;<p>　　In ordinary Chinese language, there are many sayings which reveal this attitude of life. The most popular one, t’ing ch’i tzu jan (ting-qi-zi-ran, 聽其自然), "following the natural way" or "let

30、it be as it is" has become deeprooted in the ordinary Chinese mentality, and serves as a guiding principle of the life of Chinese people, including all varieties of life style.</p><p>　　3. Simplicity an

31、d Contentment</p><p>　　The principle of simplicity follows closely the naturalistic view of life. According to the philosophy of Taoism, simplicity is the way of nature, so it should also be the way of man.

32、This principle is also known by the principle of wu-wei（無為）or non-action. "Nature does nothing, but everything is done."</p><p>　　Modern life, however, is a life of complication. It is complicated

33、by both technological devices and social or political institutions. An average person in modern American society can own an automobile, a home with air-conditioning, heating, refrigerator, washer, dryer, and many other a

34、ppliances in the kitchen. But from the Chinese viewpoint, the possession of these technological devices will generate tension and anxiety rather than happiness. Say, car troubles alone will be sufficient to cause </p&

35、gt;<p>　　The social and political relations of a modern man are complicated by the increased complexity of our system and the enactment of new laws. You have to meet tax deadlines, to observe the expiration dates

36、of your different types of insurance. Above of all, you have to meet with the liabilities as a citizen and as a member of the community. This type of complication and the problems generated by technological devices usual

37、ly reinforce each other. Take for example, if you own an automobile, you are</p><p><b>　　中國文化的基本特征</b></p><p>　　Joseph S. Wu</p><p>　　中國文化源遠(yuǎn)流長，博大精深，對于外行人來說，它就像古時候盲人摸象故事里

38、的盲人一樣。盲人不能完全看到大象的全部。他們只摸到大象的一部分，便從這個角度來描述來整個大象的形狀。摸到中華文化這頭大象腳的人可能會說中國人是保守的，這也解釋了為什么中國接受現(xiàn)代化是如此的困難。而摸到大象尾巴的人認(rèn)為中國社會的本質(zhì)是它的家族制度，這就解釋了為什么中國的近代政治家試圖建立公共生活制度失敗。摸到大象耳朵的人則認(rèn)為中國人是天生的藝術(shù)家，而這也許是中國人在科技領(lǐng)域不發(fā)達(dá)的原因。這些對中國文化的解釋也許不是錯誤的，但他們都犯下了一

39、個共同的謬誤：選擇重點(diǎn)的謬誤，或者說管中窺豹的謬誤。</p><p>　　盡管如此，一個中國文化的參與者可能無法完整而準(zhǔn)確的掌握中國文化，他也無法將它展示給外人。這很簡單，因?yàn)橐粋€實(shí)際參與的人可能仍然并不能清晰和客觀的看待問題。戀愛中的情人通常無法描述自己的感情，直到他從戀愛中走出。作者在中國出生，在中國的學(xué)校和大學(xué)中受教育。毫無疑問，他與中國文化有著直接的聯(lián)系和大量的參與。但是，當(dāng)他是文化的一個參與者，如果有人

40、問他這種文化的性質(zhì)，他會感到驚訝和困惑。這是因?yàn)橹袊幕撬畹囊徊糠?，他從來沒有質(zhì)疑或懷疑它。在美國大陸多年的教學(xué)之后，他有了一個機(jī)會來反思中國文化。他現(xiàn)在站在一個可以更加清晰以及更大程度的客觀的了解中國文化位置上，因?yàn)樗辉偕婕捌渲?。同時，他可以相對自由地從身在深山不知山的盲區(qū)中走出來，因?yàn)樗?jīng)是一個參與者，有一個完整的和直接的對文化本身的接觸。有了這個優(yōu)勢，作為一個參與者的局外人，他冒險把他對中國文化的理解傳遞給他在英語世界的

41、讀者。他將要呈現(xiàn)的是他作為一個參與者的局外人所觀察到的。這包括在這篇文章中提出的十二個特點(diǎn)。</p><p>　　一、農(nóng)業(yè)為經(jīng)濟(jì)的基礎(chǔ)</p><p>　　“農(nóng)業(yè)”一詞作為一種生產(chǎn)方式，或是作為經(jīng)濟(jì)生活的一種方式，似乎沒有任何解釋。但我想指出的是，這種生活方式的一些特質(zhì)，因?yàn)樗麄兯茉炝酥袊幕奶卣?。與商人和牧民的生活相比，農(nóng)民的生活是相對固定和放松的。這通常被稱為“缺乏流動性”，因?yàn)檫@種

42、生活方式更為穩(wěn)定和安逸，更有利于農(nóng)民撫養(yǎng)孩子，并在同一個屋檐下發(fā)展一個家庭。由于缺乏流動性，農(nóng)民的生活是相對遠(yuǎn)離風(fēng)險和冒險。這可能解釋了中國保守主義的起源。</p><p>　　這種“依附于地”和“依賴于土地”的態(tài)度也解釋了中國人的道德品質(zhì)，尤其是忍耐的美德。一個農(nóng)民的高效生產(chǎn)取決于大自然的合作。一株植物生長的過程，從種子到完全成熟，需要一段時間，人類的努力難以加快這個過程。在一個技術(shù)社會中，嘗試縮短生產(chǎn)所需的時

43、間。流行詞匯“即時”如“即時咖啡”和“方便面（方便面在英語中譯為即時面條）”的流行使用充分揭示了現(xiàn)代生活中的人們?nèi)狈δ托?。但是這種“即時”的生產(chǎn)很難適用于一個傳統(tǒng)的農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)過程。我已經(jīng)認(rèn)識到，在當(dāng)代美國社會，除了速溶咖啡和方便面，電腦約會服務(wù)可以產(chǎn)生一個“即時的女朋友”或“即時的男朋友”。同樣，一個商業(yè)化的大學(xué)可以產(chǎn)生一個即時的學(xué)位。但是，我從來沒有聽說過任何“速溶蘆筍”和“即時的櫻桃樹”，或“即時紅木或松樹”。這表明，農(nóng)業(yè)生產(chǎn)需要時間

44、和耐心，這是作為一個農(nóng)民所必需的條件。</p><p>　　從漢語的發(fā)展過程中，我們發(fā)現(xiàn)了許多古老的文字，這些文字都是農(nóng)產(chǎn)品或天然植物的名字。一個很有趣的現(xiàn)象是，中國的社會是一個“農(nóng)產(chǎn)品”，它被稱為“社稷”。這些用法確實(shí)反映了農(nóng)業(yè)在傳統(tǒng)中國生活中的重要作用。</p><p>　　另一個引人注目的有趣的事實(shí)是，中國傳統(tǒng)醫(yī)學(xué)的創(chuàng)始人的名字。這人是一個傳說中的古代部落的國王，據(jù)說他對中國文化有著

45、巨大的貢獻(xiàn)。這個傳說中的國王被稱為“神農(nóng)氏”（或神農(nóng)氏，神農(nóng)氏）?！鄙瘛敝傅氖恰熬瘛薄吧袷ァ薄！稗r(nóng)”的意思是“農(nóng)業(yè)”或“農(nóng)民”。“氏”除了表示一個人之外沒有任何特定的含義。因此，這個傳說中的國王的名字，可以翻譯成英語為“神圣的農(nóng)民”或“精神農(nóng)民”，這是說，這個農(nóng)民嘗試各種草藥，以發(fā)現(xiàn)他們的醫(yī)療功能，從而建立了中醫(yī)藥和藥學(xué)的傳統(tǒng)。我還記得，在我的童年在廣州，當(dāng)我感冒的時候，我服用一種草藥稱為“神農(nóng)茶”。這揭示了這個傳奇人物的意義，這反過

46、來又揭示了農(nóng)業(yè)在中國傳統(tǒng)中的重要性。</p><p>　　二、自然主義的人生觀</p><p>　　自然主義的人生觀是農(nóng)業(yè)社會的直接產(chǎn)物。農(nóng)民在露天的土地上工作，而不是在一個封閉的有空調(diào)的辦公室里工作。親近自然和動植物，很容易發(fā)展一種自然的觀點(diǎn)，這在一個工業(yè)化社會中很難產(chǎn)生。</p><p>　　盡管中國在過去一百年中逐漸走向現(xiàn)代化，這種自然主義的人生觀仍深深植根于

47、當(dāng)代中國的思想觀念中。在美國大陸的許多海外華人已經(jīng)存了足夠的錢來購買凱迪拉克，但他們甚至不買平托或雄鷹。這很簡單，因?yàn)樗麄內(nèi)匀徽J(rèn)為行走是一種更自然的生活方式，而不是在車輪后面操作一個馬達(dá)。在現(xiàn)代社會，安眠藥是如此的流行，以至于在超市里甚至沒有醫(yī)生的處方就被賣了。但從中國的觀點(diǎn)看。這是違反自然觀點(diǎn)的生活，因?yàn)樗麄儾幌嘈潘邞?yīng)該是人為的。</p><p>　　在現(xiàn)代中國中的一些城市，如香港或臺北，一個普通家庭能買得起

48、一臺冰箱。但中國人往往不充分利用這一現(xiàn)代技術(shù)設(shè)備。在許多家庭中，冰箱主要用于保持飲料，如可口可樂，牛奶和啤酒。他們還喜歡購買新鮮的肉和蔬菜，然后直接加工。他們了解到一些美國家庭保存他們的牛排、豬排和龍蝦許多天甚至超過一個月時將會感到驚訝，甚至震驚。</p><p>　　中國古代哲學(xué)家老子和莊子支持自然主義的觀點(diǎn)。特別是老子，他強(qiáng)調(diào)指出道是一種自然的原則。莊子在一個神話故事中揭示人的努力來改變自然是無用的。根據(jù)這個

49、故事，曾經(jīng)有一個傳說中的皇帝有兩個親密的朋友。這個皇帝對他們兩人都很和善而且很慷慨，所以他們總是想報答他。有一天，他們想出了一個主意。所有男人都有七個開口，這樣他們就可以看到，聽到，吃到和呼吸。但皇帝出生缺陷，沒有他們。所以他們決定給他一些。在他們完成這個巨大的使命之前，皇帝很慘地離開了這個世界。這個故事說明了大自然賦予的重要性?；实郾淮笞匀毁x予了沒有感覺器官，但他能以自然的方式快樂地生活。盡管如此，他的朋友們，有著一個好的動機(jī)和善良的

50、心，試著努力去改變自然，從而導(dǎo)致了一場災(zāi)難。</p><p>　　儒家哲學(xué)家也表達(dá)這種自然主義的人生觀。講了一個關(guān)于一個愚蠢的農(nóng)民的故事，他們沒有足夠的耐心等待水稻的生長。他到田野去，把每一株植物都提起來，并在他幫助他們成長的幻覺之下。過了幾天，所有的植物都死了。</p><p>　　在一般的漢語中，有很多的諺語，揭示了這種生活態(tài)度。最流行的一種，順其自然， 遵循自然或“使它成為它”在普通

51、中國人的心態(tài)中是根深蒂固的，作為一個中國人生活的指導(dǎo)原則，它包括各種各樣的生活方式。</p><p><b>　　三、簡單和滿足</b></p><p>　　簡單原則與自然主義的人生觀息息相關(guān)。根據(jù)道家哲學(xué)，簡單是自然的方式，也應(yīng)該是人的方式。這一原則也被稱為“無為”或“不行動”。大自然什么都沒做，但一切都做了。</p><p>　　然而，現(xiàn)代

52、生活是一種復(fù)雜的生活。這是復(fù)雜的技術(shù)設(shè)備和社會或政治機(jī)構(gòu)?，F(xiàn)代美國社會中的一個普通人可以擁有一輛汽車，并且廚房里有空調(diào)、冰箱、洗衣機(jī)、烘干機(jī)和許多其他家電。但從中國的觀點(diǎn)來看，擁有這些技術(shù)設(shè)備將產(chǎn)生緊張和焦慮，而不是幸福。他們認(rèn)為汽車將會使你感到頭痛。如果兩三個設(shè)備同時不工作，這些設(shè)備將會給你的生活帶來巨大的壓力。</p><p>　　隨著我們的系統(tǒng)復(fù)雜度的增加和制定新的法律，一個現(xiàn)代人的社會和政治關(guān)系是復(fù)雜的。