English Translations of Datang Xiyu Ji Over the Past Hundred Years:A Critical Review
Datang Xiyu Ji(The Great Tang Records on the Western Regions)by the Tang Chinese Buddhist scholar Xuan Zang,is one of the earliest ancient Silk Road travelogues being translated into the European languages.The study of its English translations is of great value for exploring the historical-cultural identities of the civilizations along the ancient Silk Road and the international communication among them.This paper subjects the history and the evolving features of its English translations over the past hundred years to a critical examination,and reflects on the problems its introduction to the West has encountered.The study concludes that what the English versions of Datang Xiyu Ji have in common is that they are all cultural translations with anthropological characteristics,integrating the multidimensional values of historical geography,Buddhist literature,cultural politics,etc.As such,future studies of its translation should expand their purview beyond a narrow focus on how its Buddhistic ideas have been disseminated to how its rich cross-cultural values are realized.The ultimate aim for such studies should be to find more effective ways for the inheritance and regeneration of translation under the new historical-cultural conditions.
Datang Xiyu JiEnglish translation and disseminationcross-cultural valueinheritanceregeneration
NETL
NSTL
万方数据
维普
