跨文化交流與翻譯文本的建構－－論利瑪竇譯《二十五言》

Transculutral Communication and Textual Construction in Translation: A Study of Matteo Ricci's Twenty-Five Sayings

《二十五言》是晚明在華耶穌會傳教士利瑪竇編譯的一本小冊子，其所據底本為古希臘斯多葛思想家愛比克泰德的哲學著作《手冊》。利瑪竇在翻譯時結合晚明語境，賦予這一文本中國傳統文化的特色。《二十五言》雖然篇幅不長，但卻堪稱異質思想的交匯地，其中既夾帶著古希臘羅馬的斯多葛主義，又染上了譯入語的中國傳統儒家文化色彩，不僅如此，利瑪竇還竭力向內灌輸天主教教義，試圖以之收編前面兩種“ 異教” 思想，為其傳教事業服務。本文試從《二十五言》中選取一言，觀察《二十五言》這一翻譯文本的建構過程，進而梳理明清中國讀者對《二十五言》的解讀與誤讀，從翻譯機制與讀者體認兩個方面，分析跨文化交流過程中翻譯與接受新舊雜糅、同異交纏的複雜局面。

Translated from Enchiridion of Epictetus, a manual of Stoic ethical advice,Matteo Ricci's Twenty-Five Sayings was shaped by the cultural contextof Late-Ming China. Though an essay of limited length, the Twenty-Five Sayings actually is a confluence where heterogeneous thoughts fromEast and West, including ancient Greek and Roman Stoicism from theoriginal text, traditional Chinese Confucianism from the target text, as wellas Christian teachings which the translator Matteo Ricci managed to infuse.During the process of translation, Matteo Ricci incorporated the twokinds of “pagan” wisdom—Stoicism and Confucianism — and used themfor the purpose of his own Christian mission. This paper investigates howthe translator constructed his target text by reviewing on chapter of Twenty-Five Sayings. Furthermore, it explores how Chinese readers in the Mingand Qing dynaties understood or misunderstood Matteo Ricci's Twenty-Five Sayings. By examining the translator's mechanism of translation andthe readers' reading experience, I hope to uncover how the new and theold, the same and the different wove together during translating and readingin the process of trans-cultural communication.