Cultural Interaction and Integration:Historical Value of E'ertai's Translation of Mencius into Manchu during the Qing Dynasty
Historical studies confirm that dur-ing the Qianlong period,the Manchu official liter-ary tradition reached its peak.Under the patronage of Emperor Qianlong,E'ertai was ordered to revise the Manchu version of the"Four Books",resulting in the creation of the most widely circulated and influential Manchu-Chinese amalgamation of these texts during the Qing Dynasty.Not only did it fa-cilitate the broader circulation of the Manchu-Chi-nese integrated Mencius,but it also promoted cul-tural exchanges and the advancement of scholarly endeavors to some extent,thereby conceivably con-tributing to the foundation of the Chinese nation as one united community.Historical analysis also demonstrates that"Qi,"as one of the foundational aesthetic con-cepts in Mencius,has undergone a long evolution-ary trajectory,transcending its initial representa-tion as a material manifestation of natural phenom-ena to symbolize the origin of life and the sub-stance of the world."Qi"became a multi-faceted concept bridging the metaphysical and physical realms.E'ertai's approach to handling the pivotal aesthetic concept of"Qi"in his Manchu rendition of Mencius arguably reflects his nuanced under-standing of ancient Chinese aesthetic concepts.In this version,the term"sukdun"was selected to en-capsulate the intricate essence of"Qi."It is found that the profound connotations of this word match the multifaceted nature of"Qi"in Mencius,which possesses a breadth of meanings.The term"suk-dun"can either refer to a tangible natural gas,a state of mind at the spiritual level,or vitality sym-bolized by breath.In addition,the reason why Qing Dynasty translators chose"sukdun"to ex-press the concept of"Qi"is that both terms seem to possess characteristics of ambiguity,polysemy,and interpretability,allowing it to bridge both met-aphysical and physical worlds.It is noteworthy that during the Wei and Jin periods,Cao Pi introduced the philosophical concept of"Qi"into literary the-ory,laying the groundwork for the"Wenqi Theo-ry".Results also show that in the preface of the"Imperially Commissioned Translated Four Books,"authored by Emperor Qianlong himself,the"Three Principles of Translation"were presen-ted:"Wen Yi,""Yi Zhi,"and"Yu Qi".Here,"Yu Qi"is translated as"gisun mudan,"where"gisun"means language or speech while"mudan"encompasses the aspects of voice,emphasis,and tone as well as melody and rhyme.Thus,"gisun mudan"can be understood in two ways here:One is that the tone here refers to the object being em-phasized.Moreover,key thematic components are articulated with a strong tone and intonation;for secondary details,it is handled in a light and breezy manner in translation.The other is regard-ing the auditory experience of reading the transla-tion whether aloud or silently or whether the into-nation and rhythm are harmonious and well-ar-ranged.That is to say,the tone may contribute to both the communicative emphasis on key content in translation and to the aesthetic and rhythmic effect of the text.From this,it may be seen that Emperor Qianlong expanded the theoretical landscape of"Qi,"introducing the concept of"Qi"into the field of translation and cultural studies.Conse-quently he provided new insights for Han-Manchu cultural interchange.This process of cultural inter-action and integration conceivably reflects a collec-tive intellectual evolution of the Chinese nation a-midst multicultural integration,symbolizing a rep-resentative manifestation of the cohesive and dy-namic Chinese national community.
E'ertaiManchu language"Qi"The Four Booksthe Chinese national com-munity
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