A Comparative Study On Two English Versions Of The Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)

The Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King),Jingang Borepoluomiduo Jing(Chin-kang Po-Jep'o-lo-mi-to Ching)as its full name,is a Mahayana(????)sutra(?)in early India.With the essential prajna(??)thought,the Buddhist classic is the earliest translation that is widely spread and has the deepest impression.As a representative of Mahayana sutra from the Prajnaparamita(???????),the Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)is one of the most influential Mahayana sutras in East Asia.It contains the discourses of the Buddha to a senior monk,Subhuti(???).Buddhism,one of the three religions of China,was introduced into China at the end of the Han Dynasty(202-220)and Three Kingdoms period(220-280).After a long period of development and spread,it seems to be an essential part of Chinese culture.In recent years,China has more contact with the outside world.Meanwhile,with the improved international status,Chinese culture has gained more and more world-focuses.It is particularly important for us to pay attention to the oversea spreading of Chinese culture to make it well understood and acknowledged by foreigners and to create a better international environment for the development of China.Obviously,to promote and achieve the internationalization of Chinese Buddhist culture,it is necessary to focus on the English translation of Buddhist classics.Skopos theory stresses that translation is an action of translating based on the original text.The translators must translate,consciously and consistently,in accordance with some principles respecting the target text.It stresses that the same text is translated in different ways according to the distinct purposes of the translators.The Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)is written in Sanskrit originally.Afterwards,it is translated into Chinese.It is recorded that there are six Chinese versions of the Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King).And Kumarajiva(????)'s version is the most popular one.Besides,the earliest English version of the Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)is said to be translated on the basis of Kumarajiva's Chinese version.Most of the English versions of the Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)that are widely spread in western countries are all translated according to Kumarajiva's Chinese version.Thus,set two English versions of the Diamond Sutra(Kin Kong King)that translated on the basis of Kumarajiva's Chinese version as examples,this thesis aims to make comparative studies on the two English versions to summarize their characteristics and the translation techniques,explore the factors that lead to the discrepancies of the two versions.The translators of the two versions are Samuel Beal and A.Charles Muller.After the detailed analysis,the characteristics of the two versions are as follows.Samuel Beal applies the literal translation and free translation together.Omission and amplification are common to be seen.As for the translation of Buddhist terms,there are three forms:(1)Sanskrit;(2)Sanskrit + English;(3)English.The explanations appear in the form of text notes and footnotes.However,A.Charles Muller is faithful to the original text,not only to the content,but also to the forms and structures.Literal translation is widely used.As for the translation of Buddhist terms,there are two forms:(1)Sanskrit;(2)English.It is the translators' distinct translation purposes and different cultural backgrounds that lead to the discrepancies of the two versions.Through the comparative analysis,the author summaries the following two techniques for Buddhist sutras English translation.As for the translation of the Buddhist terms,there may be two forms:The frequent names of the Buddhas,places and persons may be in Sanskrit.Other Buddhist terms may be in English with explanations in the form of footnote.As for the translation techniques,it may be the combination of literal translation and free translation.The two translation techniques above will make great contributions to the studies on the Diamond Sutra and Buddhist sutras.Meanwhile,the author sincerely hopes and calls on people to pay more attention to the Buddhist sutras textual studies to achieve internationalization of Chinese culture.