On the Translation of Humors in Fortress Besiegedwith Reference to G. Steiner’s Hermeneutic Translation Theory

HongYan?Cheng

Abstract: Humors in Fortress Besieged are like pearls in a jewel that are inseparable from the whole text. Once removed, the value of the work, whether in terms of culture or art, indisputably, will be dwindled to a large extent. To be specific, when we strip humors from the whole story, whats left for us is no more than a simple and somehow plain picaresque novel. Under the guidance of the Fourfold Translation Motion Theory proposed by G. Steiner on the basis of philosophical hermeneutics, and taking Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Maos translation of Fortress Besieged as the research object, this essay approaches the translation of humors in light of Steiners four concrete translation steps—“trust”, “aggression”, “incorporation” and “compensation” so as to explore whether or how the humorous effect is preserved in the English version and how much room there remains for improvement for later versions.

Keywords: Fortress Besieged； translation of humors； Steiner； Hermeneutic Translation Theory

1.             Introduction

Acclaimed as New Scholars, Fortress Besieged, which was finished in 1947, is a long and the only novel written by Qian Zhongshu, who is widely recognized as a prestigious scholar in China with an erudite knowledge of both Chinese and English. In 1979, the English version was published by Indiana University Press in the United States. Jeanne Kelly, with adequate experience in translating modern Chinese literature, rendered the first draft, which was then revised and polished by Nathan K. Mao, a renowned sinologist, who added comments on the novel, wrote a long preface for it and refined the footnotes as well. The version finished in 1979 by Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao, is still the sole complete English version of Fortress Besieged up to the present.

In the novel, Qian Zhongshu employs a large quantity of unique words, wordplay, sentences, figure of speech and the like, which not only endows the novel with high cultural and artistic value, but also poses great challenges to most translators. In the process of sorting out previous relevant literature, it comes to the conclusion that most of the research results in this field focus on the forms and characteristics of the translation of humors on their own, as well as the problems existing in the English version of Fortress Besieged with a focus on the discussion of strategies and relevant theories concerning the translation of humors. And there are seldom researches on the translation of humors from the perspective of Steiners Hermeneutic translation theory.

2.             Steiners Fourfold Translation Motion Theory

In his After Babel—Aspects of Language and Translation, George Steiner  divides the translation process into four steps—trust, aggression （also termed invasion）, incorporation and compensation （also termed restitution）. It not only presents an exact and detailed description of translation process but also embodies an inherent continuity and coherence. It is based on Heideggers hermeneutic thoughts. Steiner has a firm belief in that “Understanding is translation” （2001: 312）, endowing translation with a broader meaning. He also holds that the process of translation—misappropriation and the transformation of meaning is an act of hermeneutics.

In regard of the theory, trust comes as the first phrase. Specifically, based on previous experience, the ought-to-be translators need to have faith in “the meaningfulness and seriousness of the text” （2001: 312）. The translators should be convinced that there is something the author wants to offer that is worthy of translating. Trust is influenced by many factors, including the translators understanding and selection of the original work, their evaluation of the original text, their own linguistic and cultural competence, personal interests and translation purposes. Among them, the first three are the most influential ones. In short, all translation activities begin with trust without exception with regard to the Fourfold Translation Motion Theory. In the stage of trust, the translators cognitive system leans toward the source text.

Then comes aggression. According to Steiner, the second step of translation is “inherently appropriative” and “violent” （2001: 313）. The translators initiate their attack like soldiers on the fortress—the text for translators in order to besiege it. Besides, comprehension is featured by aggression. The meaning of the source text can be seen as the captive brought home by translators. According to Steiner, understanding, interpretation and hermeneutic are the micro and inevitable invasion of behaviors （2001: 315）. Affected by factors like the translators acceptance of the original culture, religious consciousness, and personal understanding of the source text, the translators whole cognitive system is off-tilt again.

After aggression we come to the third phrase—incorporation. In Steiners mind, no matter whether it is meaning or form of a text, they are not transferred into a vacuum. The target language, having existed for a long time with multiple meanings, will incorporate new ideas in different degrees. Any language or culture may develop facing the risk of being engulfed when they absorb something foreign. Translating injects new energy and vigor into our previous perception. After translators aggression, it is crucial to lay stress on the way of conveying the original meaning into the target text, or rather, how to deal with the trophies. The trophies that translators bring home may have trouble in fitting in the circumstance of the target language. Consequently, the risk is that what the translators have taken from the battlefield may make themselves deformed. Thats why the last step—compensation is essential.

Compensation, as its name has suggested, is to catch up on what is lost for the translation. It is depicted by Steiner as the “piston stroke” （2001: 316）. In the process of translation, due to the differences between the two cultures, it is impossible for translators to wholly translate the cultural connotation of the original text into the target language if they are lack of cultural consciousness. Therefore, when doing translation, loss is almost inevitable. What is left for translators is nothing but to take different translation strategies to make up for the loss. To be specific, the hermeneutic motion wont be complete if the translation process is deprived of the last stage. As mentioned above, the initial phrase “trust” has made us lose our balance, leaning toward the source text. Then, we invade and absorb the text. With a great harvest we lose our balance again, leaning toward the target text. As translators have added what they think should be there or deleted what bewilders them, we are required to strike a balance between them. To this end, compensation comes as the last stage.

To sum up, Steiners Fourfold Translation Motion is an integrated theory to provide guidance for translation process, with all of the four steps inseparable, which are both coherent and logical in their connectivity. It avoids binary opposition of author-centered and text-centered, literal translation and free translation, descriptive translation and stimulative translation. If translators follow these steps one by one, their translations are likely to be improved.

3.             Case analysis with Reference to Steiners Fourfold Translation Motion Theory

3.1  The Translators Trust

As mentioned above, in Steiners mind, understanding is the beginning of translation while understanding initiates with trust. To this end, trust is indirectly the beginning of the translation. To be specific, the translators trust can be generally divided into two separate parts, the trust in the selection of the original work and the trust in their own linguistic and cultural competence.

3.2 The Translators Aggression

After trust comes aggression, the comprehension procedure, also the act of “penetration” into the source text, which is “incursive and extractive”. It can be interpreted as three substeps—“invades, extracts, and brings home” （2001: 314）. Specifically, to invade, in its original sense, is to “enter a country by force with or as an army, especially in order to conquer it” （2001: 314）. Here, Steiner employed a metaphor, indicating the state of entering the original work by violent means. The purpose of invasion is to conquer the source text. To extract is “to obtain something from a source, usually by separating it out from other material” （2001: 314）, which refers to the process of absorbing the source text. Then, to “bring home” is to bring the form and meaning of the source text into the target text. To sum up, aggression is an act of understanding, breaking the shell of the source language while digging the meaning out, which is aggressive and violent in essence. It is an act initiated by translators in an attempt to have a penetrating understanding of the source text. George Steiner points out in After Babel—Aspects of Language and Translation that translators all comprehend and explain the text with prejudice, since they cannot escape the influence of previous experience, including their unique social environment, cultural backgrounds and personal stock of knowledge. As a result, no translators can reproduce the source text or perceive it as exactly as the original author. As translators all have their own distinct interpretation of a text, it is an embodiment of aggression.

How the translators, Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao, crack the nut of translation of humors in Fortress Besieged is an interesting question deserving further study and analysis. Driven by such curiosity, the author of the thesis intends to address the issue both from theoretical and practical perspectives. The research finds that aggression is achieved by such translation skills as reconstruction, omission, amplification, conversion, replacement and rewriting.

3.2.1 Reconstruction

Due to the differences of Chinese and English, when Chinese is translated into English, in some cases, translators are required to intrude into the source text by restructuring the sentence and reorganize the sentence pattern in an attempt to be faithful and expressive.

Example 1:

ST: 这种预备并不费心血，身血倒赔了些，因为蚊子多（Qian, 2004: 72）。

TT: This kind of preparation did not tax his brains any, though he did lose some blood to the mosquitoes （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 73）.

Analysis: The translators invade the original text by restructuring the sentence with the conjunction “though” to make it more logical for target readers to comprehend. However, in this case, “身血” here is a parody of “心血”, a new term coined by Mr. Qian. The utilization of parody produces strong humorous effect. Here, Fang was besieged by mosquitoes at night when he was preparing for the next-day lectures and cursed these nasty creatures to death. However, he could do nothing but ridicule himself by thinking that it is a physical torture rather than a mental toil. The English version “tax his brains” and “lose some blood”, with the deliberate preservation of alliteration of b in “brains” and “blood”. Yet, loses the rhetorical effect of end rhyme and lessens its humorous effect.

3.2.2 Omission

Omission is a translation strategy utilized by translators to delete unnecessary information so as to make the text more readable and understandable. When the translators penetrate into the source text, they sometimes appeal to the translation strategy of omission.

Example 2:

ST: 可怜他们这天饭都不敢多吃，吃的饭并不能使他们不饿，只滋养栽培了饿，使饿在他们身体里长存，而他们不至于饿死了不再饿（Qian, 2004: 356）。

TT: They didnt dare eat much that day and what they did eat couldnt keep them from feeling hungry. It only nourished and fostered their hunger, prolonging it indefinitely in their bodies so they never reached the point of starvation, which could have put an end to it （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 357）.

Analysis: It is our common sense that when we are hungry, we will eat to relieve ourselves from hunger, but in this case, what they take, instead, only nourishes their hunger as they are short of food. The paradoxical situation presented here delivers humorous effect. In Chinese, commentary is more frequently used than in English. “可憐” here shows the attitude of Mr. Qian and arouses readers emotion. English articles, however, in most cases, tend to present facts and illustrate what is going on. By omitting the unnecessary information, the translators invade the original text and convey the basic meaning into the target text.

3.2.3 Amplification

Amplification is applied when some essential information is missing. When the translators provoke aggression upon the source text, they sometimes resort to the means of amplification.

Example 3:

ST: 俾斯麥曾说过，法国公使大使的特点，就是一句外国话不会讲；这几位警察并不懂德文，居然传情达意，引得犹太女人格格地笑，比他们的外交官强多了（Qian, 2004: 6）。

TT: Bismarck once remarked that what distinguished French ambassadors and ministers was that they couldnt speak a word of any foreign language, but these policemen, although they did not understand any German, managed to get their meaning across well enough to provoke giggles from the Jewish woman, thus proving themselves far superior to their diplomats （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 7）.

Analysis: Fortress Besieged is more than a book narrating a simple-structured story. It has examined many aspects of our society. Here Mr. Qian generalized the common characteristics of French ambassadors in the ship with piquant strokes, ridiculing their language ineptness. He seemed to give high praise of these policemen, but in fact he laughed at the inaction of both these policemen and diplomats, since these policemen, just like their fellowmen, did nothing but flirt with the Jewish woman as well. In this case, Mr. Qian provided us a panoramic view over the political circles and diplomatic circles at that time. We cannot help smiling when we grasp the intention of Mr. Qian.

In Chinese, run-on sentence is a typical sentence pattern without obvious linking words to make clear its logic. By adding conjunctions “but”, “although”, “thus” here, the translators invade the text by organizing it in a more logical way and get across the original meaning into the target readers more smoothly. The target readers, as lucky as the original readers, are able to savor the humors thanks to the appropriate selection of translation strategy of Jeanne Kelly and Nathan K. Mao.

3.2.4 Conversion

As there are differences in the structures, grammar, and expressions between Chinese and English, conversion is of absolute necessity when translators intrude upon the original text.

Example 4:

ST: 高松年身为校长，对学校里三院十系的学问，样样都通——这个“通”就像“火车畅通”，“肠胃通顺”的“通”，几句门面话从耳朵里进去直通到嘴里出来，一点不在脑子里停留（Qian, 2004: 488）。

TT: Kao Sung-nien, as president, was “fluent” in the disciplines of all three colleges and all ten departments of the school. “Fluent,” that is, in the sense of flowing smoothly, as in “the free flow of trains” or “a smooth intestinal flow.” A few “brief remarks” would go in through the ears and flow directly out of the mouth without stopping for a moment in the brain （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 489）.

Analysis: In the source text, “通” is repeated for six times. When the same Chinese character with more than two different meanings appears in the same text, comic effect is generated. “通” in “样样都通” means that one is skillful in something. However, Mr. Qian, on purpose, equals it as “通” in “火车畅通” and “肠胃通顺”. Such deliberate wordplay is utilized to mock the way that Kao Sung-nien pretends to be erudite, knowing everything. Humorous effect is produced in this sense. However, in the English version, the same Chinese character is respectively rendered into “fluent”, “flow smoothly”, “smooth”, “free flow”, “smooth” and “flow directly out of”. The different allocation demonstrates the discrepancy of the two languages. As for translators, it is almost impossible for them to reproduce the delicacy of the source text. But the humorous effect is lost in the process of conversion. The translators, invading the text by taking out the meaning, through the translation strategy of conversion, fail to convey the original meaning of the text to prospective target readers.

3.3 The Translators Incorporation

After aggression, with the meaning and understanding in mind, what should be imported into the target text is what is required to be taken into account.

As far as the translation of humors in Fortress Besieged is concerned, incorporation of form and meaning of the source language is vividly manifested in the target language. Examples given below will illustrate how Nathan K. Mao and Jeanne Kelly incorporate the form and meaning of the source text into the target text in the process of translation．

3.3.1 Incorporation of Meaning

Incorporation of meaning is to get across the meaning of the original language to target readers. As for the translation of humors in Fortress Besieged, the two translators have adopted various methods and skills in terms of incorporation of meaning.

Example 5:

ST: 鴻渐一眼瞧见李先生他的大铁箱，衬了狭小的船首，仿佛大鼻子阔嘴生在小脸上，使人起局部大于全体的惊奇，似乎推翻了几何学上的原则。那个大箱子能从大船上运下，更是物理学的奇迹（Qian, 2004: 282）。

TT: Hung-chien caught sight of Lis huge metal trunk, which was set off against the small, narrow prow of the launch; the trunk was like a large nose or enormous mouth on a small face, giving the starling impression of the part being larger than the whole, as if violating the rules of geometry. That a huge trunk could have been transported off the larger ship was even more of a miracle of physics （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 283）.

Analysis: In the following chapter, Li mentioned that “Find a way to move my trunk up here, and it can serve as a bed” （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 324）. As for a trunk, it is actually of a large size. Mr. Qian pictured a caricature here to depict the oversize of the trunk brought by Li. When readers glance over the sentence in the whole context, they will perceive that Mr. Qians intention is to ridicule Li, a self-professed professor who intended to make a fortune by selling medicines hidden in his trunk.“大箱子”translated as “huge trunk”, there is no dispute about it. But it is contentious to translate “大船” into “larger ship”, because the sentence before it has exaggerated fully the large size of the trunk on which Mr. Qian put an emphasis. So when foreign readers read the latter part of the sentence, they may be confused by the expression.

As we all know, “這屋子可真大啊” has two utterly different meanings in Chinese. We can understand it as “The house is really big” if we are just standing in the front of a 800m? villa. However, fancying we are facing a 5m? room, we can still say that, but what we actually mean is to complain that the room it is so small. In fact, to say a small room “really big” is much more humorous and effective than just admit that it is so small.

When it comes to the phrase “物理学的奇迹”, it is obvious that the translators here didnt get to the point of Mr. Qian. The target readers will be at a loss because it is directly rendered into “a miracle of physics”. Given this, the translators are advised to add “so called” before “a miracle of physics” so as to make the meaning more explicit and understandable. In this sense, translators are required to break into the internal space of the source text so as to faithfully transport the original meaning into the target text. In comparison with incorporation of form into the target text, it is much more essential to import the meaning of the source into the target text.

3.3.2 Incorporation of Form

In translation, especially for literary translation, qualified translators are required not only to communicate the meaning of the source text, but also transplant the original form into the target text to the largest extent. It is a question deserving studying that how the translators incorporate the form of Fortress Besieged into the target text. Hereinafter, examples concerning the incorporation of form are presented below.

Example 6:

ST: 外国科学进步，中国科学家进爵（Qian, 2004: 376）。

TT: As Western science moves forward, Chinese scientists move upward （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 377）.

Analysis: Though a simple sentence with only 13 words, by comparison, it serves perfectly to satire the ridiculous condition in then China where science became the means of those with ulterior motives to move upward. In the English version, though alliteration is replaced by end rhyme, by incorporating the original form, its rhythm and the symmetry of its delivery is well transplanted. The target readers are lucky enough to be endowed with the opportunity to savor the humorous effect as the original readers do.

3.4 The Translators Compensation—Annotations

The whole process of translation is dynamic, like a circle, which wont be complete if it falls short of the last stage—compensation, also termed as restitution. As analyzed above, after the act of trust, the translation leans toward the original work, which means, for the first time, it loses its balance, but after aggression and incorporation, the translation is inclined to the translated work, which means it is out of balance again. To this end, the whole cognitive system of translators is thus off-tilt again and again, making compensation a necessity as the final stage of translation. In After Babel—Aspects of Language and Translation published in 1975, Steiner compares it as “the piston stroke, which completes the cycle” （2001: 316）. As mentioned above, we “encircle and invade cognitively” in the previous steps. In addition, “The ideal makes explicit the demand for equity in the hermeneutic process” （2001: 316）. As equity is the ideal, it is rather challenging for translators to reach at this stage. After detailed analysis, compensation is well embodied in the English version of Fortress Besieged.

The employment of annotations refers to the addition of explanatory or critical comments to a text. Statistics indicate that there are 212 notes in the English version of Fortress Besieged together, serving as extra background introduction or meaning extension. On the contrary, the shortage of extra explanation of some humor cases inevitably contributes to the loss of humorous effect.

Example 7:

ST: 李梅亭多喝了幾杯酒，人全活过来，适才不过是立春时的爬虫，现在竟是端午左右的爬虫了。他向孙小姐问长问短，讲了许多风话（Qian, 2004: 284）。

TT: After a few glasses of wine, Li Mei-ting had fully revived. Whereas before he had been but an insect of early spring, now he was an insect of Dragon Boat Festival time. He plied Miss Sun with questions and made all sorts of silly comments （Mao and Kelly, 2004: 285）.

Analysis: Mr. Qian is sick of Li Mei-ting by likening him to “爬蟲” through the metaphor; we would witness the ugliness and unseemly manner of Li Mei-ting if we had been on the spot. As for Chinese readers, we are able to easily distinguish the discrepancy between “立春时的爬虫” and “端午左右的爬虫”. As days are becoming warmer, “爬虫” is getting more active just as Li Mei-ting and his antics. The clownish image of Li Mei-ting comes alive on the paper. However, the target readers may be short of such cultural background. To this end, if the translators translated “立春” as “beginning of Spring” , and added the specific note to explain “立春” and “端午”, it will not only be more faithful to the original text, but also enables target readers to better understand the situation. As for culturally-loaded terms, their rich connotation are recommended to be conveyed by means of adding annotations. Furthermore, “风话” refers to the words uttered by men and women flirting each other. Here the translators render it as “all sorts of silly comments”, which cannot represent vividly the scene before target readers. Maybe “风话” in this case can be simply rendered as “flirting with her”, which is also consistent with Lis image.

4.             Research Findings

Under the guidance of Steiners Fourfold Translation Motion Theory, the author of this essay finds that the translators selection of the original text is out of their trust in Fortress Besieged as the book itself boasts great cultural and artistic value which is highly appreciated by both Kelly and Mao, and in the similar vein, both Kelly and Mao are linguistically and culturally competent. Though Fortress Besieged is a book covering a large number of puns, word-plays, cultural images and allusions in the source text, the two translators still strive to translate them well regardless of all sorts of difficulties. In the second move of translation, after specific case analysis, this research finds that by employing translation strategies like reconstruction, omission, amplification and conversion, the two translators closely follow the meaning of Mr. Qian and invade the text, and communicate the meaning of the original text to the target text. In the third move, Kelly and Mao incorporate the form and meaning of the source text into the target text but in the duration of translation some humorous effect is lost. And some approaches of improvement for translation of humors in Fortress Besieged are provided here. Then in the last stage, Kelly and Mao compensate the lost meaning mainly by means of adding notes.