Idioms & Metaphors

16. Original: 兵之所加，如以碫投卵者，虛實是也。

Modern day Chinese: 軍隊向敵人進攻，要能像石頭擊卵那樣順利，靠的是善於以實擊虛。

Griffith: Troops thrown against the enemy as a grindstone against eggs is an example of a solid acting upon a void. P .91 #4

Sawyer: If wherever the army attacks it is like a whetstone thrown against an egg, it is due to the vacuous and substantial. p.187

Cleary: For the impact of armed forces to be like stones thrown on eggs is a matter of emptiness and fullness p. 68, loc 1848

Chapter five discusses commanding troops of various s izes and the orthodox and unorthodox uses. Sun Tzu uses various idioms in relation with the strengths of the army, and the proper deployment of strategic power. One of the culture-specific items that occur in this chapter takes form in an idiom, thus would be categorized as an item of idioms and metaphors category.

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This idiom describes the force of an attacking army is that like an egg being thrown against a solid, and the idiom is also referring to spatial differences of ‘solidity’ and ‘emptiness.’ The original idiom contains Chinese characters 實 shí which means ‘solid’ and 虛 xū which means

‘empty spaces.’

The three translators utilized various English vocabulary to describe the CSI shí and xū.

Griffith utilized Vinay and Darbelnet’s literal translation procedure, the whole sentence is a mirror of the original’s meaning. Griffith, chose to use ‘a solid acting upon a void’ to translate the latter half of the idiom. Sawyer, decided to deploy a different strategy, he uses transposition and modulation to translate this idiom. The transposition use can be seen when Sawyer translates the Chinese characters shí and xū, which are nouns, but when Sawyer translates the sentence into English, their equivalent changes to adjective, or the English words, ‘vacuous’ and ‘substantial.’

Cleary, like Griffith, also utilizes literal translation to translate this idiom, as the whole sentence reflects the originals meaning in a precise manner, but the key difference is that Griffith uses

‘thrown,’ whereas Cleary uses ‘impact,’ the researcher believes that both word choices make for a great translation. Griffith and Cleary used literal translation to translate the idiom’s meaning word for word, but didn’t alter the meaning. Both of the words they selected, ‘thrown,’ and

‘impact,’ provide vivid imagery of soldiers smashing into the enemies soldiers. Sawyer’s choice of procedure is similar, but changes the part of speech in the target text, which some readers will believe that this flows better.

17. Original: 能因敵變化而取勝者，謂之神。

Modern day Chinese: 能夠根據敵情變化而取勝的，就叫做用兵如神。

Griffith: Thus, one able to gain the victory by modifying tactics in accordance with the enemy situation may be said to be divine. p. 101 #30

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Sawyer: One who is able to change and transform in accord with the enemy and wrest victory is termed spiritual. p. 193

Cleary: Omitted

18. Original: 五間俱起，莫知其道，是謂神紀，人君之寶也。

Modern day Chinese: 五種間諜同時起用，敵人就分辨不清我軍的行動規律，這就是神妙 莫測的用間之道，是國君用來克敵制勝的法寶。

Griffith: When these five types of agents are all working simultaneously and none knows their method of operation, they are called ‘the Divine Skein’ and the treasure of a sovereign p. 145 #6 Sawyer: When all five are employed together and no one knows their Tao, this is termed

“spiritual methodology.” p. 231

Cleary: When these five kinds of spies are all active, one knows their routes- this is called organization genius, and is valuable to the leadership p. 165, loc. 3249

The two examples above deal with the Chinese word 神 shén, which refers to ‘ancestral ghosts, spirits, god’ or ‘a person that is very talented.’ These two examples would be considered to be a part of idioms and metaphors category. In example thirteen, the sentence refers to a general who can modify his tactics based on the enemy's actions, therefore it is believed that the general is very skilled. But, as we can see from the three translations, each of the selected examples use the incorrect meaning of 神 shén. In Chinese culture and language, often times ‘a person who is very skilled at a particular craft’ will be described as 神 x 手 shén _ shǒu, the occupation or task goes in the blank spot, here when referring to 神 shén, it means ‘a person who is talented in a particular skill,’ and the last character is 手 shǒu which means ‘hand.’ For

instance, 神槍手 shénqiāngshǒu, which means ‘a sharpshooter’ and 神醫手 shényīshǒu means ‘a very talented doctor’ are all examples of the Chinese language using the word 神 shén to

describe someone who is brilliant at what they do. This concept of using the Chinese characters

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神 x 手 shén _ shǒu are also utilized in this example. The translations for example twelve are being interpreted quite literally by the translators and in this situation, might not what Sun Tzu had in mind. ‘Genius,’ and ‘divine’ are all used to describe 神 shén, the two translators utilized Vinay and Darbelnet’s adaptation procedure. Whereas Cleary omitted this CSI. This will let the readers believe that the General of the Army used some magic to achieve success. The researcher believes that Sun Tzu is referring to a general that is highly skilled or perfect at what he is doing, and therefore is using the character 神 shén, as a metaphor, and not literally meaning he is spiritual or of pertaining to higher powers. The translations for example thirteen have the same problem of misinterpreting, 神紀 shénjì. Once again, the translators have translated this CSI, which leaves the reader confused, and unsure of what to think of the source text. The researcher believes that once again, the three translators interpreted the CSI in a literal manner, but it is more logical that Sun Tzu uses 神紀 shénjì to refer to someone that is ‘skillful or craftily flexible in many ways and methods.’ Each of the translators decided to utilize various strategies from Vinay and Darbelnet. Griffith uses Vinay and Darbelnet's modulation procedure to change the meaning of 神紀 shén jì, and he coined a new word, “the Divine skein,” which is along the lines of using calque. Sawyer uses literal translation to re nder this CSI as “spiritual methodology. Next, is Sawyer’s translation, he selected “spiritual methodology,” these two words retain the CSI aspect of shén when the word is being referred to in a metaphorical sense. Whereas, Cleary applied equivalence, and translated shén jì as “organization genius.” The translations of shén jì as

“organization genius,” shows that Cleary understood Sun Tzu’s source text meaning. The three translators selected very different and interesting English word choices, and of the three choices, Cleary’s is the easiest to comprehend and closest to the meaning. Thus, it is important to clearly

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read and decipher weather or not the target text is using the CSI as a metaphor, idiom or referring the item in a literal sense.

19. Original: 帥與之深入諸侯之地，而發其機，焚舟破釜，若驅群羊。

Modern day Chinese: 將帥率軍深入敵國諸侯領地，要像擊發弩機射出箭一樣指揮部隊進 入戰鬥，有堅決不動搖的決心，這如同驅趕羊群。

Griffith: He burns his boats and smashes his cooking pots; he urges the army on as if driving a flock of sheep, now in one direction, now in another, and none knows, where he is going. p. 137

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Sawye r: The general advances with them deep into the territory of the feudal lords and then releases the trigger. He commands them as if racing a herd of sheep- they are driven away, driven back, but no one knows where they are going. p.222

Cleary: When a leader enters deeply into enemy territory with the troops, he brings out their potential. He has them burn the boats and destroy the pots, drives them like sheep, none knowing where they are going. p. 152; loc 3081

This CSI contains an idiom that originates from an ancient Chinese text, 左傳 zuǒ chuán that narrates history from Spring and Autumn period of ancient China . Concerning the culture categorization process, this cultural-specific item would be part of the idioms and metaphors category. This idiom, 焚舟破釜 fénzhōu pòfǔ, means ‘to be determined and finish what you started.’ This idiom originates from Qin State, in which at the time their country had undergone major war losses and wanted to seek revenge on the Jin State. But, to travel to Jin State the Q in had to cross the Yellow River. The citizens of Q in were determined to seek revenge on the people of Jin so after crossing the Yellow River, the soldiers of Q in State burned their ships and cooking ware in determination to prove to themselves and to others that there is no turning back until revenge was achieved (何宗旺, 2002, p. 192).

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It seems that Griffith and Cleary utilized Vinay and Darbelnet’s literal translation procedure to translate 焚舟破釜 fénzhōu pòfǔ, whereas Sawyer omitted the CSI. Griffith and Cleary translated fénzhōu pòfǔ as ‘he burns his boats and smashes his cooking pots.’ Sawyer, on the other hand, decided to make use of Baker’s omission strategy and did not translate this CSI.

Using either of these strategies here works for the reader, but is it possible that including the CSI in the target text will confuse the reader? Some readers may wonder why the commanding officer would burn their boats and pots while in enemy territory, if this CSI is translated, would it be lost in translation. Using either literal translation or omission strategies work in this context, but if one were to use literal translation, it is best to note the CSI and source text context of fénzhōu pòfǔ,

Griffith: Now the troops of those adept in ware are used like the ‘Simultaneously Responding’

snake of Mount Ch’ang. When struck on the head its tail attacks; when struck on the tail, its head

mythological snake, 率然 shuàirán. Here, Sun Tzu suggests the appropriate places to attack the

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enemy. The CSI present in this sentence is used as a metaphor, therefore it would be fitting to classify this as part of the idioms and metaphors category. In regards to how each translator interpreted the CSI, two translators used adaptation and one translator believed that borrowing was an appropriate strategy here. Griffith, decided to utilize adaptation and translated 率然 shuàirán as ‘simultaneously responding snake,’ by using this method, he is able to produce a sentence where the readers can understand the meaning of the source text, but sacrifices the cultural context. Cleary, also took the same approach as Griffith and translated the CSI as ‘be swift as a snake.’ Cleary’s translation has also lost the source language cultural reference but is easier to read and understand. The last translator, Sawyer utilizes Darbelnet's borrowing

procedure to translate this sentence. Here, we can see that Sawyer utilized the pinyin spelling of 率然, which is shuàirán, doing so retains the cultural meaning. The one key difference is that not only did Sawyer include the CSI, but was also able explain to the readers what this snake does, by including the meaning of the CSI in brackets. Sawyer’s method simultaneously allows the readers to understand the Chinese cultural reference and the meaning. When Sun Tzu is referring to shuàirán, translators could possibly choose a more modern day military strategy that expresses the source text meaning, and at the same time use parentheses to include the source text CSI. For instance, the modern-day military term ‘pincer movement,’ is like what Sun Tzu is describing in the original text. The ‘pincer movement’ is a military attack by two groups of soldiers that approach an enemy position from two different directions at the same time (Merriam-Webster's online dictionary, n.d.). Thus, using a modern- day military strategy term and including in parentheses the pinyin spelling of shuàirán and its explanation would be a great alternative to retain the CSI and clearly interpreting the meaning.

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Figure 4 Pincer Movement

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