Chinese Idiomatic Expressions: Xiao Xingchen And...

Chinese idiomatic expressions: Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan’s epithets

One of the common conundrums when it comes to translation is the handling of idiomatic expressions. Do you translate literally at the risk of confusing the reader and exoticising the wording? Does adding translator’s notes break the flow of the sentence? Or do you translate the intended meaning if a substitute is available in the target language at the cost of losing some of the cultural nuances and the original ‘flavour’? Obviously, there’s no right and universal answer to this and it falls to the translator to balance this in accordance to their preferences and style.

The Chinese language is peppered with four-character set phrases known chengyu as well as other well-known expressions that were passed down in the language for centuries and more. There are tens of thousands of these, mostly derived from ancient literature or historical anecdotes and without being aware of their origin and context, they are easy to miss or misunderstand.

In MDZS, Xiao Xingchen and Song Lan’s epithets that were bestowed to them by their contemporaries (ch.30) to illustrate their characters are two idiomatic expressions that have their origins in poetry.

明月清风 (mínɡyuè-qīnɡfēnɡ): bright moon and cool breeze

This saying used for Xiao Xingchen describes someone leading a solitary life with the moon and wind as their sole companions. Alternatively, it can be also used for someone leading a carefree life away from worldly concerns.

傲雪凌霜 (àoxuě-línɡshuānɡ): braving snow and advancing through frost

This saying for Song Lan refers to someone defiant in the face of adversity, who is unflinching and uncompromising.

• November 14, 2020 (9:36 pm)
• 593 notes
• #mo dao zu shi
• #xiao xingchen
• #song lan
• #chinese language
• #cultural languages
• #there are so many more sayings i could quote but this is as good a starting point as any
• #idioms are inherent elements of a language and culture and a translation is bound to fall short
• #translation is actually not a bijection

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