Tales Across The Sea

Here are three different ways to translate the same Chinese text from the opening paragraph of the “Story of Three Kingdoms”. The first version is a direct, close translation by Mei. The second version is reworked by Lara. The third version is a looser translation by Moss Roberts, a sinologist who published a translation of the whole book. Vote on your favourite approach (poll at the end):

Luo Guangzhong’s original text:

第一回　宴桃园豪杰三结义　斩黄巾英雄首立功

话说天下大势，分久必合，合久必分。周末七国分争，并入于秦。及秦灭之后，楚、汉分争，又并入于汉。汉朝自高祖斩白蛇而起义，一统天下，后来光武中兴，� 至献帝，遂分为三国。推其致乱之由，殆始于桓、灵二帝。桓帝禁锢善类，崇信宦官。及桓帝崩，灵帝即位，大将军窦武、太傅陈蕃共相辅佐。时有宦官曹节等弄权，窦武、陈蕃谋诛之，机事不密，反为所害，中涓自此愈横。

Mei’s direct translation:

Chapter 1
Feasting in Peach Orchard, three masters swore eternal brotherhood
Killing the Yellow Scarves, the heroes earned their first honor

Say, the world’s big trend is: divided long, must unite; united long, must divide. When Zhou ended, seven states warred and were united into Qin. When Qin collapsed, Chu and Han fought, and were united into Han. Han began with Gaozu’s slaying of a white serpent, and unification of the world; it continued with Guangwu’s Recovery, then to Emperor Xian, then division into three kingdoms. The cause of the chaos is traced back to Emperors Huan and Ling. Emperor Huan suppressed honest people and trusted the eunuchs. When Emperor Huan died, and Emperor Ling was throned, General Dou Wu and Royal Mentor Chen Fan together assisted in imperial affairs. At the time, eunuchs Cao Jie and others were abusing power. Dou Wu and Chen Fan conspired to kill the eunuchs, but the plan leaked, and they were killed instead. The eunuchs since then became even more powerful.

Lara’s version:

Chapter 1
Three heroes swear an oath of brotherhood in a peach orchard;
they win first honors killing the Yellow Scarf Rebels

This is the way of the world: what has long been divided must be united, and what has long been united must be divided.

Way back in history at the end of the Zhou Dynasty, seven Chinese states united to form the Qin Dynasty. At the end of the Qin Dynasty the Chu and Han kingdoms divided the empire, which was then reunited under the Han, who reigned for four hundred years. The Han Dynasty began when Gaozu, the first Han emperor, slew a white snake and began an uprising which overcame the Chu and unified China in 206 B.C. It was briefly interrupted by a usurpation by Wang Mang, whose Xin Dynasty lasted only 14 years. Guangwu overthrew the Xin and re-established the Han Dynasty for another two centuries, down to the time of Han Emperor Xian, during whose reign the country divided once more into three states.

The chaos of Xian’s rule had actually begun long before, during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling. Huan banned loyal and able people from the court and relied on eunuchs for advice instead. When Huan died and Ling came to power, the regents Dou Wu and Chen Fan helped him in imperial affairs. Together they tried to eliminate Cao Jie and other powerful eunuchs, but the plan leaked, the eunuchs killed them both, and thus became even more powerful.

Moss Roberts’s translation (from the abridged version of Three Kingdoms: A Historical Novel):

Chapter 1
Three bold spirits plight mutual faith in the peach garden;
heroes and champions win first honors fighting the Yellow Scarves

Here begins our tale. The empire, long divided, must unite; long united, must divide. Thus it has ever been. In the closing years of the Zhou dynasty seven kingdoms warred among themselves until the kingdom of Qin prevailed and absorbed the other six. But Qin soon fell, and on its ruins two opposing kingdoms, Chu and Han, fought for mastery until the kingdom of Han prevailed and absorbed its rival, as Qin had done before. The Han court’s rise to power began when the Supreme Ancestor slew a white serpent, inspiring an uprising that ended with Han’s ruling a unified empire.

Two hundred years later, after Wang Man’s usurpation, Emperor Guang Wu restored the dynasty, and Han emperors ruled for another two hundred years down to the reign of Xian, after whom the realm split into three kingdoms. The cause of Han’s fall may be traced to the reigns of Xian’s two predecessors, Huan and Ling. Huan drove from office and persecuted officials of integrity and ability, giving all his trust to his eunuchs. After Ling succeeded Huan as emperor, Regent-Marshall Dou Wu and Imperial Guardian Chen Fan, joint sustainers of the throne, planned to execute the power-abusing eunuch Cao Jie and his cohorts. But the plot came to light, and Dou Wu and Chen Fan were themselves put to death. From then on, the Minions of the Palace knew no restraint.

Lara’s comments:

Moss Roberts is a great storyteller – comparing his version to the direct translation early translation is really fascinating. He took a concise compressed paragraph and really turned it into an English literary piece, with echoes of Shakespeare and Tolkien! Read it and imagine the voice of Galadriel saying it as in the start of the movie Lord Of The Rings.

He rearranged ideas, put in explanatory bits that don’t appear in the original text, and added stuff that western readers need to know to follow the plot. The result is that his version reads like a hi-falutin historical romance, which may best resemble the original in spirit.

My revised version sticks a lot more closely to Mei’s translation, although I’ve switched some stuff around and added material to clarify events. Mine seems quite pedestrian compared to Roberts’s, but adequate, and perhaps preferable if we’re looking for a more modern colloquial approach.

Mei’s comments:

Luo’s original writing was based on many sources including official history, popular legends, teahouse story-teller scripts, and folk plays. It was fantasized to some level but actually not romanticized as Tolkien’s writing. That’s why I always preferred the “Story of Three Kingdoms” title instead of “Romance of Three Kingdoms”. Roberts’ writing is very attractive, and obviously done very well. However I would disagree with Lara that it “best resembles the original in spirit”. The original is not hi-falutin in style or spirit. Although Lara’s version is less fancy, it does feel closer to the original’s detached and unembellished style.

For an example that perhaps comes in between Mei’s direct translation and Lara’s version, you can also check out here a translation by Xiaoguang Zhang, who translated the first 10 chapters or so as a hobbyist project.

Now, how do YOU think the translation should be done? Tell us by voting in the poll below, and post a comment as well!

This entry was posted on Sunday, May 13th, 2007 at 3:57 pm and is filed under Three Kingdoms, Translation. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.