On February 6, 2024, the ancient costume suspense detective drama "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" will be broadcast on cctv8 and Youku. Carefully crafted with a luxurious cast, the play opened up a new pattern of costume suspense dramas and also brought the original novel of the same name back to the public eye.
It is reported that the original author of "The Case of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty", as a Dutch sinologist, is highly skilled in the use of Chinese themes. He draws on the strengths of the East and the West in the creation process, so that this work has the complex layout of a public case novel. There are also thousands of twists and turns in the detective story, which vividly reproduces the prosperous scene of ancient China. The plot of the novel is complex and unfolds smoothly like silk from a cocoon. And as the case progresses, the good and evil of people's hearts are revealed, which makes people think deeply and cannot stop.
Gao Luopei once commented that he has three responsibilities: diplomat is his profession, sinology is his lifelong career, and writing novels is his hobby. As a Westerner, Gao Luopei has a deep understanding of China: he is obsessed with music, chess, calligraphy and painting, and he is also familiar with old-style Chinese poetry. This also laid the intellectual foundation for him to write "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty". Gao Luopei was once evaluated by Nan Huaijin as "knowing China better than the Chinese people" and was also praised as a "China expert" by the people of China and the Netherlands.
It is this series of early understanding and accumulation of knowledge that makes the prosperous Tang Dynasty in his works so turbulent, gorgeous and lively. Foreigners, businessmen, monks, nuns, and ascetics gathered in one city from north to south. Showing the appearance of all living beings in a prosperous and prosperous age. The detailed description of the houses, scenery and clothing, as well as the factual research, turn this novel into a written version of the Tang Dynasty's "Along the River During the Qingming Festival".
Different from traditional Chinese public case novels, "The Case of Di Gongan of the Tang Dynasty" intentionally portrays a "different" Chinese detective. He does not belong to the typical "Qingtian Grand Master" image. He is very charming in every move and every move he makes.
The Di Renjie in the book is a detective who values efficiency over details, is ethical and flexible. He has the decisiveness of hard-core reasoning and the compassion of a Chinese parent official. He is upright and determined to solve the case. When a bigger crisis is dragged out of the quagmire with the truth, he will hesitate to move forward. However, he always insists on serving the public and the people and vows to get to the bottom of the matter.
Spending thrilling investigative time with Di Renjie, you will not only admire his calmness and extraordinary wisdom, but also be deeply impressed by his art of balancing legal principles and human feelings.
In addition, the new translation of this book is also exciting. The Modern Publishing House version of "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" (6 volumes in total) was translated and drafted by Dong Chuyang, a well-known translator in domestic translation circles. As the main translator, Dong Chuyang has been listening to commentaries and reading Jin Yong since he was a child. He is well versed in the essence of the language of classical novels. While ensuring clarity, his translation adopts a translation style similar to Ming and Qing vernacular, which is more in line with Chinese reading habits and gives readers a more intimate and natural reading experience.
's winter translation of "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" (all 6 volumes) is now available on the market, with hand-drawn illustrations by Gao Luopei, a 10,000-word preface by the translator, and a chronological appendix, clearly interpreting the stories behind the scenes of this masterpiece. .
Dialogue with translator Dong Chuyang
q: You have translated a lot of works. What is your most satisfying work? Why?
a: The most satisfying translation of is the "The Case of Di Gong in the Tang Dynasty" originally written by Mr. Gao Luopei (hereinafter referred to as "Gao Gong"). For many years, I have wanted to be a popular novelist. Ten years ago, I became a professional translator. I have been exposed to English works on various subjects. I have translated many academic works. Translating such works will definitely broaden my horizons. I want to improve my academic attainment, but deep down I still prefer to translate popular literary works out of interest. This set of strange books by Gao Gong is a detective novel with an ancient Chinese historical background (it can also be called a new koan novel). It contains many elements of traditional koan novels. It combines Chinese and Western elements. It not only contains elements of traditional Chinese culture that I have always been interested in, but also is full of elements. Modern vibe. This set of books that I am responsible for translating allows me to give full play to what I have learned over the years, and it also happens to be on the points of interest. The teacher who reviewed the translation and the netizens who tried it out were quite satisfied with the finished manuscript, which achieved the results I expected.
q: "The Case of the Emperor of the Tang Dynasty" has been praised by many mainstream media such as "Chicago Sun" and "The Times", and has gained international recognition. What factors do you think make such a "Chinese-style" work so popular? Well received?
a: I think it is due to the author's erudition. The content of this strange book is a combination of Chinese and Western styles. It has a strong "Chinese style" and can span time and space, allowing readers and media commentators from different cultural backgrounds in the East and the West to read it. You can find a strong sense of substitution and get a better reading experience. Of course, the role of translators in different languages cannot be ignored. They have made an indelible contribution to the widespread circulation of this set of strange books around the world, second only to the original author Gaulop.
q: "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" contains a total of 24 strange cases. Which case attracts you the most?
a: The original work of has a total of 24 stories of varying lengths, but there are more than 24 strange cases. Long stories usually have three interrelated cases, and short and medium stories have two related cases. Except for a few stories that are not very realistic, most of the stories are quite attractive to me. If I had to choose a story that attracted me the most, it would be "Mid-Autumn Tribulation". This is a story completed by Gao Gong at the last moment of his life, and it was only officially published after his death.
The wonderful thing about this story is that Judge Dee’s opponents and other suspects are all intellectuals with extraordinary intelligence and rich experience. Judge Dee had no real evidence to prove the real culprit until the end. The true identity of the real culprit was not revealed because the facts of the crime have been completely exposed. , but because he was unwilling to accept favors from someone he despised. It was his arrogant character that determined this self-destructive ending. Even when the author was suffering from illness, he could still have such a wonderful writing and carefully create such a villain with a quite three-dimensional personality. This not only has a certain warning significance, but also leaves a deep impression on the readers.
q: "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" is hailed as a classic of Eastern reasoning in the 20th century. The earlier translations have had a certain influence. Why did you choose to translate this masterpiece, and what mentality did you adopt to meet the challenge?
a: First of all, I personally think that "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" is the product of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. It is a bit one-sided to only emphasize the oriental color. Readers who follow my comments on social media should know my views on Chen Huben. Chen Huben has indeed made a considerable contribution to the spread of this set of strange books in the Chinese community, especially in mainland China. The writing level of Ming and Qing vernacular is also good. It can be said that it has set a considerable foundation for several real translations that appeared later. It is a high standard, but I firmly oppose the practice of deleting and editing the original work in this edition. This practice does not respect the original author, and it should not be marked as a "full translation."
I mentioned in the translator's preface of this translation that it was Teacher Fang who first proposed to me to organize the translation of this set of books. After I learned that the content of the original work was very different from that of Chen Hu's version, what I wanted to do was to work with the translator team and try my best to use Ming and Qing vernacular to let domestic readers appreciate the complete style of the original work. After I learned that Gao Gong left behind a Chinese self-written story "The Strange Case of Di Renjie" (i.e. "The Maze Case"), I specially read the full text and made a reference. In addition to sighing that Gao Gong's writing was so spiritual, I also I am very pleased that our translation will not disappoint the author.
q: Before Gao Luopei wrote "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty", "The Case of Di Gong" had been published in the Qing Dynasty. What do you think are the similarities and differences between Di Renjie in "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" and Di Renjie in "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty"?
a: Di Renjie in the old version of "Di Gongan" in still gives ordinary readers the impression that he is basically the image of a "big master in the sky". Although compared with the protagonists in other public case stories, he is more vivid, but in general Not very three-dimensional.The image of Di Renjie created by Gao Gong in "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" is more smoky. When facing different characters and different situations, this Di Gong has rich psychological activities and expressions, and he was a little frivolous from the beginning when he was just investigating the case. There is an obvious growth process for becoming mature and capable, and becoming a master of breaking prisons. Such a more three-dimensional and vivid character makes it easier for readers to have a sense of immersion when reading.
q: Your translation has the charm of Ming and Qing novels, and the action descriptions also have the essence of Mr. Jin Yong. How does your personal experience relate to your translation work?
a: The translators of our translation are all born in the 70s and 80s, and have been exposed to new martial arts novels to some extent. Mr. Jin Yong has the highest overall achievement and the greatest influence among the authors of new martial arts novels, and his writing is also Get the essence of Ming and Qing vernacular novels. The other three translators can basically translate the original text into Chinese more accurately.
I personally have loved listening to storytelling since I was in elementary school. Later, I also read a lot of vernacular novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. I have read all fifteen of Mr. Jin Yong’s works from high school to the age of 30. I also used genres when I was 26 years old. I have written short historical novels in Ming and Qing vernacular, so when I translated by myself, I was able to directly translate about 70 to 80% of the English into Ming and Qing vernacular, which made it easier to organize the full text into Ming and Qing vernacular. , it will not be very troublesome to convert the colloquial Chinese of the co-translator into Ming and Qing vernacular.
The author himself has a strong body, reaching 1.83 meters in height at the age of 15, and loves sports. Perhaps for this reason, the description of the martial arts action scenes in the original work is very distinctive. They are basically free fighting methods, and the action descriptions are concise and clear. I basically translated them according to the action descriptions in Jin Yong's novels. There are many reasons why Mr. Jin's works have been so popular. One factor is that his descriptions of martial arts actions are between realism and freehand brushwork. The meat is realistic and artistically beautiful at the same time. When I deal with the action descriptions in the original text, I often convert some of the movements during hand-to-hand combat into traditional moves and give them names like "Phoenix Three Nods". This allows readers to have the feeling of reading a traditional chivalrous storytelling script, but When the characters in the book are in a life-and-death struggle, they follow Mr. Jin's writing style and do not stick to moves, but emphasize the authenticity of adapting to the enemy. I believe that this kind of expression will satisfy readers.
q: Di Renjie is a character from the Tang Dynasty, and the social situation and narrative style described in the novel are more biased towards the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Have you encountered historical contradictions caused by anachronism in translation? How was it solved?
a: This kind of anachronism is very common in vernacular novels of the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Gao Gong himself also specifically mentioned in the author's preface and postscript that the social situation he described is more biased towards the Ming and Qing Dynasties.
I have privately discussed this issue with Ms. Zhang Ling, the translator of the Shanghai translation version. It is completely loyal to the original work. It is definitely the right thing to translate the social situation described in the book into the Ming and Qing Dynasties, but it does not change the main plot of the original work. Under the premise, it is advisable to make certain content describing social conditions as close to the Tang Dynasty as possible.
Even in the Chinese version of "The Strange Case of Di Renjie" (i.e. "The Labyrinth Case") left by Gao Gong himself, the official position of Ni Shouqian is not called "prefect" or "daotai" as the local official position in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Instead, the Tang Dynasty official position of "provincial governor" was used. Therefore, within the scope of what I have learned, I made some changes to some details of the original work that were obviously inconsistent with the background of the Tang Dynasty. For example, the story of "Liuyuan Picture" depicts the ancestors of the three major families. The description in the original work is different from the Sui and Tang Dynasties. The historical background of the book is completely out of touch, so I changed it to content that is consistent with the historical background of the Northern Dynasties, Sui and Tang Dynasties, so that readers can feel more involved when reading. This should not conflict with the author's creative intention. .
The original work depicts many scenes that are inconsistent with the Tang Dynasty. If changes are made, it may be obviously inconsistent with the author's intention. For example, in the Tang Dynasty, the city implemented the Lifang system, and the Fang was a relatively closed space, while the original work followed the Ming and Qing Dynasties. Folk customs and the scenes in the city depicted are all neighborhood-based and the space is relatively open.If all the neighborhoods in the original work were changed into lanes that fit the background of the Tang Dynasty, then the way Duke Di, a few of his followers, and other personnel moved among the lanes would be completely different from walking among the neighborhoods, and more changes and additions would be needed. content. Firstly, I don’t know enough about the situation of Lifang in the Tang Dynasty. Secondly, such a large-scale change would obviously be inconsistent with the author’s creative intention. Therefore, I did not change the description of the neighborhoods in the original work, except to give some names to the Lifangs in different counties. In addition, no more additions were made. Similarly, there was no tall furniture in the Tang Dynasty, but the author described a lot of furniture that was popular in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. I basically translated it according to the original text. Only the literal translation of "bench" is "bench" or "bench". The noun is translated as "sitting couch" which was a common seat in the Tang Dynasty.
must emphasize that the changes I made are just fine-tuning. The core elements of the author's creation, such as storyline and characters, should never be changed by the translator, and arbitrary changes are especially undesirable.
q: The English manuscript uses certain allusions, slang, etc. Faced with the differences between China and the West in these aspects, what techniques did you use and what principles did you follow when translating?
a: We have tried our best to domesticate all the allusions and slang in the English manuscript. Some allusions and slang are expressed in Chinese idioms, which are also valuable cultural treasures left by our ancestors. Other allusions and slang are tried to be more in line with the reading habits of Chinese readers while retaining the original meaning. Professionals were invited to review the poems, and the rhythm and rhyme should meet the standard requirements as much as possible. When we translate these contents, we basically follow the principle of domestication, but the main premise is that we cannot arbitrarily change the original meaning of the original text, which is also a basic requirement for translation work.
q: Gao Luopei, the original author of , referred to a large number of historical documents and materials during the writing process, which you also mentioned in the preface. May I ask what aspect the historical materials you reviewed focus on? How much does this help you in your work?
a: In the process of creating the story of "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty", especially the early stories, Gao Gong referred to many contents in the classic Chinese work "Tangyin Bishi". During the preparation of the manuscript, I specifically consulted the National Library of China's "Tangyin Bishi" from the Shuangjianlou Collection of the Jiang'an Fu family and other ancient novels based on Gao Gong's works, and tried to accurately translate the main text and the author's foreword and postscript. related content. The original work depicts many of the things that were common in the Ming and Qing dynasties, such as Ling Chi. The translation is as faithful to the original text as possible. Individual criminal laws and punishments and instruments of torture have been domesticated to be more in line with the background of the times based on the historical materials of the Tang Dynasty that I consulted.
For this set of strange books with an ancient Chinese background and other foreign language works involving Chinese classical culture and history, it will definitely be helpful to check the relevant historical materials for the Chinese translation. On the basis of being loyal to the original meaning of the original text, the focus is on faithfully expressing the original meaning of the original work. It is better to be as consistent with historical facts as possible. Different people have different opinions. I personally think that it is better not to directly change the original text in academic works, but to make additional annotations on the content that is inconsistent with the original text and historical facts. In order to facilitate the smooth reading of readers, fictional literary works such as novels may be able to add annotations without affecting the main plot of the original work. Make fine-tuning changes based on the premise, but it is best to make separate notes to inform readers of the differences between the translation and the original text.
q: "Di Renjie", a culture that was sold domestically and then exported, has once again turned to domestic sales. What do you think is the positive significance of the cultural exchange activity of "The Complete Works of Di Gongan of the Tang Dynasty" returning to mainland China and the Chinese world?
a: The full translation of Gao Luopei's original work "The Complete Works of Di Gongan of the Tang Dynasty" in the true sense began to return to mainland China in 2018. Mr. Wu Xiaoling, a senior figure in the field of Chinese translation, once said in his 1988 paper "Knowing the secrets of others, and improving talents with age—Remembering the Dutch author of "The Case of Di Gong"", Gao Gong, an international friend, created "The Great The practical activities of this set of strange books "Tang Di Gongan" can allow Chinese people to "see the importance others attach to our country's traditional literature. This not only makes friends who are engaged in popular literature today have the ambition and pride of "virtue is not alone, there must be neighbors", but also It is an encouraging and promoting force.”
Gao Gong's creative practice proves that traditional Chinese literature and cultural elements and modern literature can be fully integrated and passed on. Although many people have prejudices against popular literature and believe that popular literature is "not serious", popular literary works that are truly created with care can also be passed down for a long time, showing strong vitality that transcends time and space. Although literature can be artificially divided into "elegant and vulgar", popular literature is not necessarily inferior to the so-called elegant "pure literature".
q: Finally, what would you like to say to the readers of "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty"?
a: Since 2018, more than one full Chinese translation of Gao Luopei's original work "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" has been published, allowing Chinese readers to fully appreciate the charm of the original work. Different readers have different preferences. Some readers think that the translation should have a translation accent. Some readers think that the most important thing in a translation is to express the author's original intention as completely as possible. Some readers hope that the translation should be basically faithful to the original work. It can better meet the reading needs of Chinese readers. Readers have the right to choose freely. I personally think that as long as the translator carefully translates the original work, it has its value.
The return of Gao Gong’s strange books to the Chinese world and mainland China has entered a new stage in recent years, and this process is far from over. Several existing full translations have different emphases in translation practice and can basically meet the different needs of different readers. In the future, there may be new and more complete translations. The more translations that truly translate the original work, the better. The emergence of new translations that are carefully translated by translators is definitely good news for readers. I hope readers will like this edition of "The Case of Di Gong of the Tang Dynasty" produced by Modern Publishing House and provide more valuable comments and suggestions.
