八仙聚会——又说又笑

八仙聚会——又说又笑 汉译英理论与实践教程 程永生 著 A COURSEBOOK FOR TRANSLATION THEORY AND PRACTICE: WITH REGARD TO TRANSLATION FROM CHINESE INTO ENGLISH CHENG YONGSHENG 外语教学与研究出版社 FOREIGN LANGUAGE TEACHING AND RESEARCH PRESS 使用说明 八仙聚会——又说又笑 a gathering of Eight Immortals——speaking and laughing; like the Eight Immortals at a gathering, they are talking and laughing merrily Note: The Eight Immortals refer to the eight Taoists in a Chinese legend, namely, Han Zhongli, Zhang Guolao, Lü Dongbin, Tieguai Li, Han Xiangzi, Cao Guojiu, Lan Caihe and He Xiangu. 王羲之写字——横竖都好 a character out of Wang Xizhi’s hand——vertical strokes are as good as horizontal ones; like Wang Xizhi’s calligraphy, it is good in every way Note: Wang Xizhi was a famous Chinese calligrapher and a Chinese character is usually composed of strokes, of which the vertical and horizontal ones are the most commonly used. Hengshu here has two interpretations: 1) the horizontal and vertical strokes; 2) horizontally or vertically, that is, in any way. 饭店里卖服装——有吃有穿 selling clothes at an inn——enough to eat and enough to wear; like a department store with an inn in it, there is enough to eat and enough to wear; in a department store with an inn in it, you will have a decent living 李双双见到丈夫——有喜旺(希望)了 Li Shuangshuang sees her husband——she has Xiwang now; like Li Shuangshuang meeting her husband Xiwang, a homophone for the Chinese word xiwang meaning hope, there is hope now Note: There was a film entitled Li Shuangshuang, of which the hero is Sun Xiwang, whose given name is a homophone for xiwang, meaning hope in Chinese, and the heroine is Li Shuangshuang, Xiwang’s wife. 井底雕花——深刻 carving a flower design on the bottom of a well——carving deeply or get to the essence of something Note: the Chinese word shenke is ambiguous in that the literal meaning of the word means carving deeply while the figurative meaning is profound or getting the essence of something. 运动场上赛标枪——寸土必争 throwing javelins on a sports ground——strive for every inch of the land; like throwing javelins on a sports ground, they fight for every inch of land Note: The Chinese word cuntubizheng can be interpreted ambiguously in that on one hand, it can be interpreted as striving for every inch of land on the sports field but on the other, it can be interpreted as striving for every inch of land in a battle or striving for any benefit in a struggle or business confrontation. 长工吃犒劳——难得的好处 hired hands enjoying rewarded food and drinks——an unusual privilege; like rewarded food and drinks offered to hired hands, it is an unusual privilege 王小二过年——一年不如一年