L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux, Chinese versions: The "Flesh" |
How do Chinese translators tackle L'essentiel est invisible pour les yeux ('What is essential is invisible to the eye'), from 'The Little Prince'? Here we look at the "Flesh" -- the different ways that translators have tackled the vocabulary of the sentence. Of particular interest is the way that the word 'essential', with its philosophical and everyday meanings, has been translated.
For the enigmatic sentence structure, see "Bones".
L'essentiel
Translators use two patterns to translate the word l'essentiel ('what is essential').
| Type I | ESSENTIAL THINGS |
or |
|
| Type II | THE ESSENCE OF THINGS |
Despite the rather large conceptual gap between the two, in actual use the difference is not large. Much more significant is the difference between translations that mean essential things and those that mean (very) important things. (There are two translators who don't use any word to translate 'essential' in this sentence, because it already appears in the previous sentence.)
1) Type I: 'Essential things' (32 translations).
Accounting for two-thirds of translations, this type interprets l'essentiel as meaning 'essential things', i.e., 'things that are essential'. 'Essential' is translated in several different ways, with the main difference being between 'philosophically essential' and 'very important'.
的 'IMPORTANT THINGS' (14) 真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng重要 / 重要
zhòngyào'important' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào'important' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 要緊
yàojǐn'vital, important, essential' 的
de東西
dōngxi'thing' 最 zuì
'most'根本
gēnběn'basic, fundamental, essential, cardinal' 的
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 最 zuì
'most'主要
zhǔyào'main, major, primary, principal' 的
de要点 yàodiǎn 'main points, essential, gist' 'ESSENTIAL THINGS' IN A PHILOSOPHICAL SENSE (14) 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 凡是...都
fán shì ... dōu
'all'本質
běnzhí'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de事 shì 'matter, affair, thing' 实质性
shízhì-xìng'substantial, actual' 的
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 内在
nèizài'inherent' 的
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 精华
jīnghuá'cream, pick, essence, quintessence' 的
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 'REAL, AUTHENTIC THINGS' (3) 真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 真實
zhēnshí'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de事情 shìqing 'affair, matter, question, business' 'VALUABLE, PRECIOUS THINGS' (1) 珍贵
zhēnguì'precious, valuable, rare' 的
de东西
dōngxi'thing' TOTAL The most common words used for 'essential' are 重要 zhòngyào meaning 'important' (11 occurrences), and 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì meaning 'of the essence' (10 occurrences).
'Thing' is mostly 東西 / 东西 dōngxi 'thing' (29 occurrences), the normal everyday word for 'thing' in Chinese. It's not a particularly refined term and used to refer to people is pejorative.
2) Type II: 'The essence of things' (13 translations).
This pattern speaks of the 'essence of things', i.e., the essence that lies inside things.
'Essence' is expressed as follows:
事物的
shìwù de
'things'本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 一切事物的
yīqiè shìwù de
'all things'本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 内中本质
nèizhōng běnzhì'internal essence' 事物的
shìwù de
'things'精髓
jīngsuì'marrow, pith, quintessence' 事物的
shìwù de
'things'真像
zhēnxiàng'real situation, facts, truth' TOTAL 'Things is mostly translated as 事物 shìwù 'things' while 'essence' is most commonly 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì
Taking the two different patterns together, the word 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì 'essence, essential' is used in 18 translations, less than half the total number.
In addition, in some translations words meaning l'essentiel also appear in the preceding sentence (On ne voit bien qu'avec le coeur):
事物的本质
shìwù de běnzhì
'essence of things'真正重要的东西
zhēnzhèng zhòngyào de dōngxi
'truly important things'3 -- 1 这
zhè
'this'1 真實的東西
zhēnshí de dōngxi
'true things'真正重要的東西
zhēnzhèng zhòngyào de dōngxi
'truly important things'1 事物的真偽和重要性
shìwù de zhēnwěi hé zhòngyào-xìng
'the truth or falseness and importance of things'事物的精髓
shìwù de jīngsuì
'the quintessence of things'1
Five of them use 事物的本质 shìwù de běnzhì 'essence of things'. So putting it all together, a total of 23 translations use the word 本質 / 本质 běnzhí / běnzhì, about half the total.
English and French originals
In translating l'essentiel, there is a very interesting difference between translators working from the French and those working from the English of Katherine Woods.
Expressions meaning 'essential things' (本質的東西 / 本质的东西 běnzhí de dōngxi / běnzhì de dōngxi, etc.) are favoured by translators from the French (20 from the French versus 11 in English-based translations).
的 真正 zhēnzhèng 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào'important' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào'important' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 实质性
shízhì-xìng'substantial, actual' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 内在
nèizài'inherent'
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 真正 / 真正
zhēnzhèng'real, true, actual, authentic' 的
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' TOTAL
Within the 20 occurrences, there is not a huge variety of expression. Compare this with the variety in translations from the English:
的 重要 / 重要
zhòngyào'important'
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 真正zhēnzhèng 重要
zhòngyào'important'
de東西 / 东西
dōngxi'thing' 本质
běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character'
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 本質
běnzhí'essence, nature, innate character'
de事 shì 'matter, affair, thing' 要緊
yàojǐn'vital, important, essential'
de東西
dōngxi'thing' 精华
jīnghuá'cream, pick, essence, quintessence'
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 珍贵
zhēnguì'precious, valuable, rare'
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 最 zuì
'most'根本
gēnběn'basic, fundamental, essential, cardinal'
de东西
dōngxi'thing' 最 zuì
'most'主要
zhǔyào'main, major, primary, principal'
de要点 yàodiǎn 'main points, essential, gist' 真實
zhēnshí'real, true, actual, authentic'
de事情 shìqing 'affair, matter, question, business' TOTAL
Although only 11 translations from the English use this type of expression, there are 8 different ways of expressing 'essential'!
The second pattern, that of 事物的本質 / 事物的本质 shìwù de běnzhí / shìwù de běnzhì 'the essence of things', is more common in translations from the English.
事物的
shìwù de
'things''本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 一切事物的
yīqiè shìwù de
'all things''本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 内中本质
nèizhōng běnzhì'internal essence' 事物的
shìwù de
'things''精髓
jīngsuì'marrow, pith, quintessence' 事情的
shìqing de
'situation's'真像
zhēnxiàng'real situation, facts, truth' TOTAL
Compare this with only three in translations from the French:
事物的
shìwù de
'things''本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' 本質 / 本质
běnzhí / běnzhì'essence, nature, innate character' TOTAL
The reason for this difference can only be surmised. Could it be due to a difference in how l'essentiel and 'what is essential' are grasped or perceived? Could it be that l'essentiel is much more likely to be interpreted as 'essential things', while 'what is essential' is more likely to be interpreted as 'the essence of things'?
With the eye(s)
With: As we saw above, 23 translations make 'eye' into the agent of the sentence, only slightly less than the 24 that use the instrumental 'with the eye'.
The words used in the instrumental sense are:
INSTRUMENTAL VERBS/PREPOSITIONS |
|||
Preposition |
Romanisation |
Meaning |
Occurrences |
| 用 | yòng | 'use, with' | 19 |
| 憑 / 凭 | píng | 'based on' | 3 |
| 透過 | tòuguò | 'through' | 1 |
| 靠 | kào | 'relying on' | 1 |
| Total | 24 |
||
Only
A few translations use words meaning 'only', i.e., 'only with the eyes'. Specifically, these are:
'ONLY WITH THE EYES' |
||
Preposition |
Romanisation |
Occurrences |
| 光憑 / 凭 | guāng píng | 3 |
| 只用 | zhǐ yòng | 1 |
| 單是透過 | dānshì tòuguò | 1 |
| 光靠 | guāng kào | 1 |
| Total | 6 |
|
Eye(s)
The word for 'eye(s)' also shows surprising variety:
THE CHINESE WORDS USED FOR 'EYE(S)' |
|||
Eye(s) |
Literal meaning |
Occurrences |
|
| 眼睛 | yǎnjing | 'eye(s)' | 31 |
| 肉眼 | ròuyǎn | 'naked eye(s)' | 13 |
| 雙眼 | shuāngyǎn | 'pair of eyes' | 1 |
| 眼目 | yǎnmù | 'eye' | 1 |
| 眼 | yǎn | 'eye' | 1 |
| Total | 47 |
||
眼睛 yǎnjing is the normally expected word for 'eye'. It is interesting how many translators use 肉眼 ròuyǎn meaning the 'naked eye' or 'physical eye'. Normally 肉眼 ròuyǎn means 'naked eye', unaided by instruments such as telescope or microscopes. Here, it means the physical eye, as opposed to the 'heart'.
One translator uses 我们的肉眼 wǒmen de ròuyǎn 'our naked eye'.
In Chinese, of course, eyes are not expressed as plural. 眼睛 yǎnjing could be 'eye' or 'eyes'. The only translator to even hint at duality is the one that uses 雙眼 shuāngyǎn 'both eyes'.
Negative resultative ('cannot see')
Complement of result
Unlike the great variety of resultatives in the preceding sentence used to render on voit bien 'one can see rightly', this sentence features mostly the simple resultatives 看見 / 看见 kànjiàn or 看到 kàndào, meaning 'to be able to see'.
COMPLEMENT OF RESULT USED |
||
| 'To see' | Nuance | Occurrences |
| 看見 / 看见 kànjiàn | 'to see' | 26 |
| 看到 kàndào | 'to see' | 17 |
| 看清楚 kàn-qīngchu | 'to see clearly' | 2 |
| 看出来 kàn-chūlai | 'to make out' | 1 |
| 见 jiàn (not a resultative) | 'to see' | 1 |
| TOTAL | 47 |
|
Negative
The sentence, of course, says 'cannot' see, and although the vast majority use the normal negative resultative pattern (e.g., 看不见 kàn-bu-jiàn 'cannot see'), there are enough alternative patterns to make it interesting.
EXPRESSING THE NEGATIVE POTENTIAL ('CAN NOT') |
||
| 'To see' | Nuance | Occurrences |
| 看不見 / 看不见 (or 看不到) kàn-bu-jiàn (kàn-bu-dào) |
'cannot see' | 37 |
| 無法看見 / 无法不见 wúfǎ kànjiàn |
'no way to see' | 4 |
| (不是) 可以看得到 (bù shì) kěyǐ kàn-de-dào |
'(not) can see' | 2 |
| (不是) 能看得见 (bù shì) néng kàn-de-jiàn |
'(not) can see' | 1 |
| (不是) 看得到 (bù shì) kàn-de-dào |
'(not) can see' | 1 |
| 不可能看到 bù kěnéng kàndào |
'not possible to see' | 1 |
| 非...所见 fēi ... sǔo jiàn |
'... cannot see' | 1 |
| TOTAL | 47 |
|
The form 非眼睛所见 fēi yǎnjìng sǔo jiàn stands out from the rest for its use of Classical-style Chinese.
- Negation is by 非 fēi, not by 不 bù.
- 见 jiàn is a fully fledged verb in its own right, not a part of an expression such as 看见 kànjiàn or 见到 jiàndào.
- The formal or literary particle 所 suǒ is used (see below).
- And there is no use of 是 ... 的 shì ... de, which is a vernacular expression.
所: Five translations use the grammatical particle 所 suǒ, a feature of the Classical language and modern written literary style. This 所 suǒ is used when the verb is understood as taking an object. An example is the following sentence:
最主要的要点是眼睛所看不见的。
Zuì zhǔyào de yàodiǎn shì yǎnjing suǒ kàn-bu-jiàn de.
'The most important key point is (what) the eyes can't see.'
In this example, the particle 的 de can be regarded as the object of the verb 看不见 kàn-bu-jiàn. 的 de here stands in for a noun that is not expressed, e.g. 事情 shìqing 'thing, matter, affair'.
The other translations using 所 suǒ are:
事物的本质，恰恰是眼睛所无法看到的。
Shìwù de běnzhì, qiàqià shì yǎnjing suǒ wúfǎ kàndào de.
'The essence of matters, is exactly what the eyes have no way of seeing.'
这是我们的肉眼所看不到的。
Zhè shì wǒmen de ròuyǎn suǒ kàn-bu-dào de.
'This is what our naked eyes can't see.'
本质的东西是肉眼所看不到的。
Běnzhì de dōngxi shì ròuyǎn suǒ kàn-bu-dào de.
'Essential things the naked eye cannot see.'
重要的东西，并非眼睛所见。
Zhòngyào de dōngxi, bìng fēi yǎnjing suǒ jiàn.
'Important things, the eyes do not see.'
The final example is written in a literary or pseudo-classical style and is covered at "Bones".
Other
A few sentences show other variations.
- Two sentences use 永远 yǒngyuǎn 'eternally, for ever' to indicate the eyes are forever unable to see what is essential.
- One sentence uses 恰恰 qiàqià 'precisely, exactly' to indicate that the essential is precisely what the eyes can't see.
- One sentence uses 并 bìng, which reinforces the negative effect.
