摘 要

大学校训是一种特殊的应用文体，是大学精神和文化的浓缩，也是学校育人理念与办学特色的体现。中国高校的校训，大多都源自于儒家经典，名人题词和名言摘录，具有显著的中华文化特点，蕴含独特的中华文化内涵。近年来，随着全球化进程的加快，中国高校的对外联系与交流也日益紧密和频繁。出于文化宣传和对外交流的需要，校训的准确英译也随之得到了前所未有的关注。本文搜集整理了多所中国高校的校训，在近年来中国大学校训英译研究所取得的成果的基础上，具体分析阐释了中国大学校训的文化内涵，并对比分析了中西方大学校训在历史根源及语言特点上的差异，希望在此基础上找出可循的校训翻译中文化内涵的翻译原则与策略，以实现中西文化的有效交流。

关键词：大学校训； 文化内涵； 英译原则与策略

Abstract

As a special practical style, university motto is the concentration of university spirit and culture, as well as the embodiment of its educational ideal and school-running characteristics. In China, most of the university mottos derive from Confucius scriptures as well as inscriptions and extracts by the renowned individuals, containing conspicuous Chinese cultural characteristics and unique Chinese cultural connotations. In recent years, with the acceleration of the globalization process, relations and exchanges between Chinese universities and overseas universities have become increasingly close and frequent. And for the sake of cultural propaganda and external communication, a proper translation of university motto has gained unprecedented attention. Based on the studies on university motto translation in the past few years, this paper presents an analysis of the collected university mottos, along with the analysis of the cultural connotations of Chinese university mottos and the differences between Chinese and Western University mottos, to fathom out some referential principles and strategies for the translation of cultural connotations in university motto, so as to accomplish an effective cultural communication between the Chinese universities and those overseas.

Key Words: university mottos; cultural connotation; Chinese-English translation principles and strategies

Contents

1 Introduction 1

2 Cultural Connotations of Chinese University Mottos 3

2.1 Morality as Priority 3

2.2 Academic Development as Main Task 3

2.3 Patriotism and Responsibility as Emphasis 4

3 Comparison between Chinese and Western University Mottos 5

3.1 Origin 5

3.1.1 Origin of Chinese university mottos 5

3.1.2 Origin of Western University mottos 6

3.2 Linguistic Features 6

3.2.1 Linguistic Features of Chinese university mottos 6

3.2.2 Linguistic Features of Western University mottos 7

4 Translation Principle and Strategies 9

4.1 Functional Equivalence 9

4.2 Foreignization 10

4.3 Domestication 10

5 Conclusion 13

References 14

Acknowledgements 16

A Study on the Translation of Chinese University Mottos

1 Introduction

The university motto refers to a refining phrase meant to formally describe the educatioanl motivation or intention of the university. It is the concentration of the university spirit and culture, as well as the embodiment of its educational ideal and school-running characteristics.

Generally, there are two functions of the university motto. First of all, for the university itself, the motto is at the very core of the campus culture, working as the conduct codes and moral rules for both faculty and students of the university. It also plays an indispensable role in the publicity of the university. On the other hand, for the society, university motto performs the function of radiating culture and guiding humanity, which means that the university has an indirect impact on the local and surrounding environment. Along with the economic development of China and its opening up to the outside world, many of Chinese universities are going international as well. One of the representatives is the exchange students. In recent years, numerous foreign students keep coming to China for higher education, and the university motto is an access for them to get the first impression of the university. In addition, as to thoes universities which aims at becoming the top universities in the world, an excellent translation of the university motto is a must, because it can promote the campus culture and enhance the university image, enabling the university to be much more competitive and well-known. In brief, now that a university motto shoulders university spirit and in the mean time functions as a way of publicity, its English translation is of prime importance to the introduction of the university to the outside world.

In the past few years, there has been plenty of studies on university motto translation. From the perspective of Chinese-English Contrastive Study, Du Zhengming compared the Chinese and English texts of the university motto of Suzhou University from various dimensions, and discusses the application value of translation and language comparison and the differences between English and Chinese way of thinking. Zhang Shunsheng only made a passing discussion about. the translation of university motto, with no in-depth reasearch or explanation. Fan Wuqiu compared the language structure, aesthetic effect and stylistic coloring of the  Chinese and Western University motto, and put forward five basic requirements for the translation on the basis of analyzing the existing problems in universtiy motto translation. Zhou Yongmo, on the other hand, after analyzing the origins and linguistic features of Chinese university mottos, presented the “three principles of translation”, namely, Intertextuality, Meaning-conveyance, Terseness. ( Maiamp;Wang, 2009).

In this paper, there are five parts. The first part introduces the background, significance and current research of the university motto, as well as the layout of this paper. The second part is about the cultural connotations of Chinese university motto and it is divided into three points. Then, comparison between Chinese and Western University Mottos is exemplified in the third part, which includes two aspects, i.e. the origin and language structure of Chinese and English universities. As the most significant part, the forth part deals with the translation principles and strageties. Ultimately, this paper makes a summary of the aforementioned information and come to a conclusion in the last part.

2 Cultural Connotations of Chinese University Mottos

University motto is a kind of cultural phenomenon as well as a representative form of the university’s educational ideal, talent cultivation and the university spirit. It is an abstract of the humanistic tradition, academic spirit and unique way of teaching, with the characteristics of stability, inheritance, fusion and personalization (Cao, 2009). Plainly speaking, the university motto is the spiritual symbol of the university and an important and indispensible part of the campus culture.

2.1 Morality as Priority

Under the impact of the traditional Chinese culture, in particular, the Confucianism, university motto usually offers a reflection of this kind of culture. According to Cao Shiyao, there is a cultural infiltration of “Morality comes first” in the Chinese university motto (Cao, 2009). And Zhang Jingbi holds the point of view that Chinese university motto is apparently a passionate advocate of “moral” and shows a strong tendency of moralism (Li amp; Jia, 2012). As for “moral”, it refers to collectivism and doing good and noble deeds to the people around. And this is vividly reflected by using characters like “厚德” “明德” in the motto. For example, the shool motto of Tsinghua University is “自强不息，厚德载物” (self-discipline and social commitment). In this motto, the character abovementioned “厚德” appears. Similarly, “厚德” is adpoted in the university motto of China University of Political Science and Law, whose motto is “厚德明法，格物致公” (keeping integrity and law in mind and studying for the people). And the new motto of Huazhong University of Science and Technology is “明德厚学，求是创新”, with the expresssion of “明德”.

2.2 Academic Development as Main Task

Indisputably, the main tasks of a university are to help seek knowledge, pursue truth and make innovation, and these are also reflected in the university motto. Characters like “博学”, “厚学”, “求是创新” are the markers. Take Wuhan University of Technology as an example. The university motto is “厚德博学，追求卓越” (Sound in Morality, Broad in Learning and Pursuing Excellence), therefore, the university spirit and guiding principle of Wuhan University of Technology is quite intelligible, namely, “take the students cultivation as our essence, and take academic development as our priority”. Another example is the motto of Renmin University of China, which is “实事求是” (seek truth from facts).

2.3 Patriotism and Responsibility as Emphasis

In addition to focusing on morality and academic performance, Chinese university mottos attach great importance to patriotism and responsibility. As the traditional culture of Chinese nation and the responsibility of mass intellectuals, patriotism and responsibility impose demands on the faculty and students to love the motherland, to guard the country, to serve the people, and to advocate the democracy. Accordingly, all of these demands are reflected in the university mottos. Here are two typical instances as follows: the motto of Shanghai Jiaotong University: “饮水思源，爱国荣校” (Gratitude and Responsibility) and that of National Tai Wan University: “敦品励学，爱国爱人” (Cultivate your virtue, Advance your intellect; Love your country and people).

3 Comparison between Chinese and Western University Mottos

This part is intended to make a comparison between Chinese and western university mottos. It begins with an introduction to the origin of both Chinese and western university mottos. Then, it analyzes the linguistic features of these two types of university mottos.

3.1 The Origin of Chinese and Western University Mottos

3.1.1 Origin of Chinese university mottos

The formation of a university motto is attributed to the resultant force of the university history, tradition, educational ideal, campus culture, school-running characteristics and some other factors. Therefore, university mottos are all with distinctive characteristics. The motto of Chinese universities generally comes from Confucian classics or ancient books, with decidedly classical Chinese features.

In China, the majority of university mottos, especially universities with a history of over one hundred years, are from Confucius scriptures and ancient books, or can find origins in classical documents. For example, “忠信笃敬”, the motto of Jinan University, is from Wei Linggong chapter of Analects. In that story, It was said that Confucius replyed to one of his students, who felt lost at being alive and tackling trivials, that “言忠信，信笃敬，虽蛮貊之邦，行矣。言不忠信，信不笃敬，虽州里，信乎哉？” This is a saying which is full of highly generalized abstract moral concepts, and it also contains all the aspects a person needed to live and behave (Zhou, 2008). As one of the most well-known universities worldwide, Tsinghua University took its motto from the Book of Changes, “天行健，君子以自强不息” , “地势坤，君子以厚德载物” , to encourage its students to be dauntless, be strong, be positive, be tolerant and kind. Another example, the university motto of Fudan University, “博学而笃志，切问而近思”, is also from the Analects of Confucius, “博学而笃志，切问而近思，仁在其中矣” .

Self-creation or inscriptions and extracts from the renowned individuals is one of the source of Chinese university mottos as well. Take the first university motto of Southeast University for example, which is “嚼得草根，做得大事”. It was written by Li Ruiqing, a calligrapher and painter as well as director of Liangjiang Normal School in 1905. And “海纳百川，有容乃大” , the motto of Sichuan University, is taken from the poetic couplet written by the national hero Lin Zexu in his study: “海纳百川，有容乃大，壁立千仞，无欲则刚” .