
Translating China II
- Project description
- Project planning
- Project news
We plan to translate the major works of Roger T. Ames安樂哲(born 1947) and Henry Rosemont, Jr.罗思文(born 1936) on Comparative Philosophy and
Confucianism into English. The reason for this is that existing Chinese
translations have been made by translators who do not have a background in
philosophy. Many mistakes in these earlier translations as well as misleading
interpretations make it hard to understand their work at all. Our
retranslations and new editions should solve these two big issues: (1) They
should enable the Chinese readers to properly understand Roger T. Ames’ way of
explaining his methodology of East-West Comparative Philosophy, which has been
achieved and expressed by him in such a beneficial way and with unchallenged
relevance for more than three decennia. (2) An even more important aspect is
that our retranslations should provide the Chinese audience to learn to see the
Chinese tradition of philosophy from the perspective of East-West Comparative
Philosophy. It is of great historical significance to talk about traditional
Chinese culture from this angle of a new kind of comparative standard in
East-West discourse. For translating and publishing these works again, we
therefore have gathered a group of distinguished scholars with a background in
the field of East-West Comparative Philosophy. In our project, the appropriate
method for translation will be used: In this regard, it is most important that
our translators’ proficiency of translating and their mastery of the Western
language here is mainly complemented by a thorough knowledge of the original
Chinese methods of thinking.
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For the time from March 8thto
12th, 2017, we plan a workshop to outline and impart the first
important stages of this translation project. To start this, we have asked all
of the participating translators to prepare a translation of an introductory
text and a first chapter of the respective book which they will be responsible
for translating, in advance. During the time of the stay in Qufu the
translators will be working on improving their translations until they are satisfying.
This will be contextualized by four lectures and instructions which will be
given by Prof. Roger T. Ames. The respective topics of these four lectures are:
1) What
Is Responsible Cultural Comparison?
2) What
Are the Two Interpretive Contexts for Comparative Philosophic
Hermeneutics?
3) Uncommon
Assumptions of Confucianism and the Two Vocabularies for Comparison)
4) What Is
Asymmetry Cultural Comparison?.
Prof. Tian Chenshan田辰山, director of the Centre for East-West Relations at Beijing Foreign
Studies University and central team member of China Confucius Research
Institute’s “Roger Ames Distinguished Confucian Scholar Project” will twice
held a course of lectures. The topics are as follows:
1) Why Is Cultural Exchange not
Merely a Matter of Translation?
2) The Characteristics of Roger T.
Ames Translation Works: Heavy Comparative Chinese-Western Philosophic
Hermeneutics and Highly Selective Vocabulary Taking into Consideration of the
Two Interpretive Contexts:“the one behind the many“(“一多二分”) in contrast to“the inseparability of the one and many”(“一多不分”).
3) Discussion on Examples of
Retranslating Roger T. Ames’and Henry Rosemont, Jr.’s philosophical and comparative perspectives
on the Confucian writings.
The
workshop provides the translators with a steady list of vocabulary for their
translation work as well as the best possible way of translating the important
concepts in Roger T. Ames’ and Henry Rosemont’s works.
The initial workshop at the Confucius Research
Institute in Qufu, Shandong will bring the Chinese class of translators
together for the first time. The workshop will last for five days of intense
work. In the end, the translator’s will be qualified and trained to fulfill
their tasks and also to translate the deep thoughts of the authors, that means
of the leading forces of international Chinese-Western Comparative Philosophy,
sharing the great spirit of the “Great Family of Confucian Scholarship” of the
Chinese Confucius Research Institute and distinguished Confucian scholar Roger
T. Ames.
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Roger T· Ames (Roger T.Ames)
Roger T. Ames was born in 1947 in Toronto,
Canada. As a professor at the University of Hawaii, an advisor to Nishan
Shengyuan Academy, Chairman of the World Association of Confucian Culture
Studies and Vice Chairman of the International Confucian Association, he is an
internationally famous expert in Sinology.
He is a leading figure in Chinese & Western
philosophy and is famous in China and abroad for his translation of books such
as theAnalects of Confucius,Sun
Tzu’s Art of War,Huainan
Tzu andTao
Te Ching He was the Chief Editor toPhilosophy of the Occident and Orientas well as theInternational Chinese Book
Reviewand the author ofConfucian
Philosophical Thinking,Thinking from
the Han: Self, Truth, and Transcendence in Chinese and Western Culture,Anticipating China: Thinking Through the
Narratives of Chinese and Western Culture,the Art of Rulership: A Study into Chinese Political ThoughtandDemocracy if the Dead: Dewey, Confucius and
the Hope for Democracy in China. Roger T. Ames once received the guidance
of Liu Dianjue and became proficient in classical Chinese, then to one of the
most outstanding modern scholars of Classical Studies. In 2013, he was awarded
the "Confucius
Culture Award" by the 6th World Confucian Congress. Then he won the second
"Huilin Prize Award" in 2016.…
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