Chinese translation theory was born out of contact with vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty. It developed through translations of Buddhist scripture into Chinese. It is a response to the universals of the experience of translation and to the specifics of the experience of translating from specific source languages into Chinese. It also developed in the context of Chinese literary and intellectual tradition. Early texts contain various words for "interpreter" or "translator".

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  • Chinese translation theory was born out of contact with vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty. It developed through translations of Buddhist scripture into Chinese. It is a response to the universals of the experience of translation and to the specifics of the experience of translating from specific source languages into Chinese. It also developed in the context of Chinese literary and intellectual tradition. Early texts contain various words for "interpreter" or "translator". The Classic of Rites, claims that there was one word for each direction. For example, the translators who had to translate for vassals of the north were called yi4 譯. It has been claimed that yi4 譯 became the sole word for "translator" because in the Han Dynasty and the period of disunion, most translation was with the north. Other words are "tongue person" 舌人 and "return tongue" 反舌. A Western Han work attributes a dialogue about translation to Confucius. Confucius advises a ruler who wishes to learn foreign languages not to bother. Confucius tells the ruler to focus on governance and let the translators handle translation. The earliest bit of translation theory may be the phrase "names should follow their bearers, while things should follow China. " In other words, names should be transliterated, while things should be translated by meaning. In the late Qing Dynasty and the Republican Period, reformers such as Liang Qichao, Hu Shi and Zhou Zuoren began looking at translation practice and theory of the great translators in Chinese history.
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  • Chinese translation theory was born out of contact with vassal states during the Zhou Dynasty. It developed through translations of Buddhist scripture into Chinese. It is a response to the universals of the experience of translation and to the specifics of the experience of translating from specific source languages into Chinese. It also developed in the context of Chinese literary and intellectual tradition. Early texts contain various words for "interpreter" or "translator".
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  • Chinese Translation Theory
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