Toponyms

1. Original: 善守者，藏於九地之下﹔善攻者，動於九天之上。

Modern day Chinese: 善於防守的人，隱藏自己的兵力就像藏在地下，深不可見；善於進 攻的人，發動自己的軍隊就像從天而降，迅猛異常。

Griffith: The experts in defense conceal themselves as under the nine-fold earth; those skilled in attack move as from above the nine fold heavens. p. 85 #7

Sawye r: Those who excel at defense bury themselves always below the lowest depths of Earth.

Those who excel at offense move from above to the greatest heights of Heaven. p. 183

Cleary: Those killed in defense hide in those deepest depths of the earth, those skilled in attack maneuver in the highest heights of the sky. p. 59, loc 1714

This sentence describes what Sun Tzu believes is the best way to utilize the natural environment, or by using the natural environment’s variances to conceal and hide. The source language text contains CSI that has become an often-used idiom. According to the researcher’s proposed hybrid categorization system this would fall under toponyms, since it pertains to nature.

Here, 九 地九天 or jiǔdì jiǔtiān has dual meanings, the first originates from The Art of War,

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referring to ‘the highest points in the sky and the lowest points on earth.’ The more modern usage refers to ‘comparing two things that are very different or polar opposites.’

Two translators had used adaptation, whereas the other used literal translation. Griffith, decided to utilize Vinay and Darbelnet’s literal translation, as we can see he translated 九地 jiǔdì as nine folds earth and 九天 jiǔtiān as nine fold heavens. This procedure retains the cultural aspect, but some readers unfamiliar with Chinese culture might be confused and unsure as to what exactly are nine- fold earth and heaven. Sawyer, decided to also go with Vinay and Darbelnet’s adaptation by translating 九地 jiǔdì ‘as lowest depth’s and 九地 jiǔdì ‘as greatest heights of Heaven.’ The use of adaptation here allows the reader to clearly understa nd the meaning of the sentence. But using adaptation in this instance, although allows the reader to comprehend the meaning but loses the CSI. Cleary realized that by directly keeping and translating the CSI here. Cleary considered that the readers would be confused if he kept the CSI, thus he decided to find English equivalents.

By using Vinay and Darbelnet’s adaptation, we can see that Cleary translated 九地 jiǔdì as

‘deepest depths of the earth’ and 九地 jiǔdì ‘as highest heights of the sky.’ When translators decided to keep the cultural context like what Griffith did, the sentences become unclear. Using adaptation in this instance may not be suitable as this leaves reader wondering what is nine- fold earth and nine- fold sky. If one were to retain the CSI, it is a good idea to leave a footnote or in parenthesis state an explanation.

2. Original: 故其疾如風，其徐如林，侵掠如火，不動如山，難知如陰，動如雷霆。

Modern day Chinese: 這樣，軍隊行動快速時像疾風驟至，行動徐緩時像森林肅然，攻擊 敵人時像烈火兇猛，駐守不動時像山岳穩固，掩蔽自己時像陰雲遮天，發動衝鋒時像雷霆 萬鈞。

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Griffith: When campaigning, be swift as the wind; in leisurely March, majestic as the forest; in raiding and plundering, like fire; in standing, firm as the mountains. As unfathomable as the clouds, move like a thunderbolt. p. 106 # 13

Sawyer: Thus its speed is like the wind, it's slowness like the forest; its invasion and plundering like a fire; unmoving, it is like the mountains. It is as difficult to know as the darkness; in movement it is like thunder. p.198

Cleary: Therefore, when it moves swiftly it is like the wind, when it goes slowly it is like a forest; is rapacious as fire, immovable as mountains. p. 99, loc 2291

In Chapter seven, Sun Tzu explains how a general should maneuver and control the army during battle. In this sentence, the source language uses nature as an example of how to

maneuver. The culture-specific items that are present in this sentence are the reference to nature, so this CSI would go under the toponyms category. The source text refers to how an army should move, swift as the wind, be as calm as the forest, raging like a fire, etc. One of the main culture problems that exist in this sentence are the different views on how humans and nature coexist between Western and Eastern countries. Specifically speaking, in Chinese culture, it is important to coexist harmoniously with the environment and nature. We can see this ideology stem from the 風水 fengshui philosophy. Furthermore, in Chinese culture not only is there an understanding that nature can be harnessed for its resources and power, there also exists a profound respect for nature and a feeling that deeper meanings can be found in nature (Bruun, Kalland, & Kall, 1995, p.186). In comparison to Western society, the views are drastically different. The perception of nature in the West usually involves the conquest of nature. Although in Western culture there indeed metaphors that harness nature to express quickness, emotions, or a phenomenon, there is a strong rooted belief in Western culture that humans should and be able to conquer nature.

These ideas of conquering nature can be found in the Old Testament. In Genesis, the relationship between human and nature interactions are very noticeable:

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“Then God said, 「Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; and let them rule over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the [a]sky and over the cattle and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth (BibleGateway,1995,Genesis 1:26).

From this excerpt of Genesis, the sentence predominately expresses that having control over nature is a key factor in the creation of our world. Therefore, when translating this sentence, it is important to keep in mind the vast culture differences of human’s relationship with nature. All three of the translators decided to use literal translation and directly translated the source text's use of nature as a metaphor. One of the differences between the three translations is Cleary omitted the last description that discusses thunder or lighting. Another difference between the three versions, is how each translator decided to interpret the movement. Griffith uses different adjective to describe what the army does, for instance, ‘campaigning,’ ‘marching,’ ‘raiding and plundering,’ whereas, Sawyer uses ‘speed,’ ‘slowness,’ ‘rapacious.’ Although they are minor differences, one can tell that Griffith is more familiar and comfortable with military terms,

whereas Sawyer’s word choice is more “civilian,” or non-military in his word choice. Cleary also uses more non-military like word choices to describe the movement of the army. Even though the three translators utilized the same procedure to interpret the source text, Griffith’s translation flows the smoothest, due to his military background, he was able to add in more “technical”

word choices, that allows the reader to easily transition from one metaphor to the next.

3. Original: 凡地有絕澗、天井、天牢、天羅、天陷、天隙，必亟去之，勿近也。

Modern day Chinese: 遇到「絕澗」、「天井」、「天牢」、「天羅」、「天陷」、「天 隙」這些險惡地形，必須迅速避開，不要接近。

Griffith: Where there are precipitous torrents, ‘Heavenly Wells,’ ‘Heavenly Prisons,’ ‘Heavenly Nets,’ ‘Heavenly Traps,’ and ‘Heavenly Cracks,’ you must. March speedily away from them. Do not approach them. p. 118 #16

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Sawye r: You must quickly get away from deadly configurations of terrain such as precipitous gorges with mountain torrents, Heaven’s Well, Heaven’s Jail, Heaven’s Net, Heaven’s Pit, and Heaven’s Fissure. p.20

Cleary: Whenever the terrain has impassable ravines, natural enclosures, natural prisons, natural traps, natural pitfalls, and natural clefts, you should leave quickly and not get near them. p. 120, loc 2597

In this sentence, Sun Tzu describes the different landforms that generals might encounter and should be weary of. In regards to the categorization process, this example would go under the toponyms category. The following listed vocabulary are the various landforms: 絕澗 juéjiàn this type of landform describes ‘areas that are deep in the mountain with large bodies of water,’ 天井 tiānjǐng describes ‘a crater-like area, where the middle is the lowest point and is surrounded by higher land,’ 天牢 tiānláo describes ‘a land area when one enters unable to leave, a place that is dark, like going into a dark forest,’ 天羅 tiānluó is ‘an area with lots of vegetation and very hard to maneuver,’ 天陷 tiānxiàn describes ‘a swamp-like area with lots of mud,’ 天隙 tiānxì is ‘a deep mountain valley that is never ending.’ As previously mentioned in chapter one, Sun Tzu discusses the ‘five principles,’ and the second one is 二曰天 eryuē tiān, this means ‘the general should keep in mind of the heavens, 陰 yīn and 陽 yáng, and the seasons.’ Here the use of 天 tiān, which means the ‘heavens’ originated since from Zhou Dynasty and was continued to be used till the Tang Dynasty (Chang, 2000, p. 2). Since ancient China's Spring Autumn period lapses with Zhou Dynasty, much of the literature and ideology that was prevalent in Zhou Dynasty was still prevalent in later dynasties as well. The ideology of using 天 tiān, gained popularity during Zhou Dynasty, and after the conquest of Shang Dynasty, the administration of Zhou Dynasty utilized the word 天 tiān as a form of propaganda and justification that the Zhou Dynasty freed the peoples of Shang Dynasty from evil rulers (Chang, 2000, p. 12). The Zhou Dynasty elite used two Chinese

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characters, 天命 tiānmìng which means ‘Mandate of Heaven,’ was essential for the Zhou rulers to justify and maintain their rule (Chang, 2000, p. 14). The ideology behind ‘Mandate of Heaven’

consists of a belief that the ruler had a sacred relationship with the highest deity of the time which granted him the right to rule (Chang, 2000, p. 14).

Addressing the translations, the first two translators decided to use Vinay and Darbelnet's literal translation method to translate the CSI. Although the target text stays faithful to the source text’s Chinese culture, there is a problem of the CSI being lost in translation. In other words, readers are able to read the translated text, but will have no idea as to what type of landform consists of ‘heavenly wells’ or ‘heavenly prisons.’ Whereas, Cleary on the other hand, decided to utilize adaptation, from the sentence above, Cleary translated 天 tiān which originally means

‘heaven,’ into ‘natural.’ By doing this, Cleary has made the sentence easier to read and comprehend, but doing so has abandoned the CSI in the sentence. For CSIs that contain ecology examples (specifically ancient texts), it might be best to use the adaptation procedure, and find a more modern word choice to represent the ecological CSI. Doing so allows readers to understand the meaning of the source text. Although, this abandons the source text’s culture and faithfulness to the author, but by using target text orientation strategies, the reader can at least understand what the author is trying to inform the audience, and after all that is one of the main purposes of translation. Ultimately, it will boil down to what the translators word choice and their interpretation

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絕澗 juéjiàn 天井 tiānjǐng

天牢tiānláo 天羅 tiānluó

天陷 tiānxiàn 天隙 tiānxì

Figure 1 Landforms

4. Original: 地形有通者、有掛者、有支者、有隘者、有險者、有遠者。

Modern day Chinese: 地形有「通」的，有「掛」的，有「支」的，有「隘」的，有「險」

的，有「遠」的。

Griffith: Ground may be classified according to its nature as accessible, entrapping, indecisive, constricted, precipitous, and distant. p. 124 #1

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Sawye r: The major configurations of terrain are accessible, suspended, stalemated, constricted, precipitous, and expansive. p. 213

Cleary: Some terrain is easily passable, in some you get hung up, some makes for a standoff, some is narrow, some is steep, some is wide open. p. 133, loc 3338

The CSI that present in this example deals with the toponyms category. In this chapter, Sun Tzu advises the various terrain types that generals might encounter and which to avoid or which landforms provide opportunities for victory or advantage. This sentence lists the various types of landforms that one might encounter. An important culture difference is to keep in mind of how different cultures name or determine a certain kind of landform (especially ancient cultures), since each country will have varying geography. Because Sun Tzu existed during ancient China, the different landforms present during his time might vary compared to present day. Another factor to consider is the scientific discovery and naming or renaming of these geographical terms, in Sun Tzu's era science was not as developed compared to modern day science, thus naming process of landforms will vary. The following landforms are as follows: 有通者 yǒu tōngzhě which means ‘accessible for both parties during war,’ 有掛者 yǒu guàzhě which means ‘easily accessed but hard to leave land type,’ 有支者 yǒu zhīzhě which means ‘a land type that is hard to be attacked from,’ 有隘者 yǒu ài zhě which means ‘a narrows passageway, such as between two mountains or cliffs,’ 有險者 yǒu xiǎn zhě which means ‘dangerous types of landforms, so when encountering this kind of landform take a stand on higher ground that is safer,’ 有遠者 yǒu yuǎnzhě which means ‘when in battle both parties are in situated in similar types of landform.’

Griffith and Sawyer decided to use literal translation and directly translated the source text meaning in the English translation. This method stays faithful to the author and his culture background but poses a problem for the reader. We see the translators use ‘accessible,’ or

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‘suspended’ to describe the different terrain types, but what exactly are those types of landforms?

Unless one has extensively studied geography, many people will be unable to correlate those translated words to what they might physically look like. Amongst the three translators, Cleary decided to use adaptation to interpret the various terrain types. Cleary also modified the sentence and added more information, such as ‘terrain is easily passable, in some you get hung up,’ adding more information may seem like a simple strategy, but doing so allows the sentence to flow smoothly and allows the reader to easily understand and read the translation. Therefore, of the three translations, although Griffith and Sawyer used literal translation to directly translate the source text CSI, the target text is harder to read and comprehend. In contrast, Cleary’s decision to use adaptation here is a good strategy, since he not only translated the meaning but also added a

Griffith: When provisions are transported for a thousand li expenditures at home and in the field, stipends for the entertainment of advisers and visitors, the cost of material such as glue and

lacquer, and of chariots and armor, will amount to one thousand pieces of gold a day. p. 72 #2 Sawyer: If there are one thousand four-horse attack chariots, one thousand leather-armored support chariots, one hundred thousand mailed troops, and provisions are transported thousand Li then the domestic and external campaign expenses, the expenditures for advisers and guests, materials such as glue and lacquer, and providing chariots and armor will be on thousand pieces of gold per day. p. 173

Cleary: Omitted