The Experience of the Foreign: An Interview on Translation Ethics

The necessity of translation lies in the differences among languages and cultures, while its fundamental goal is to break the cultural barriers for mutual understanding and integration of different cultures.Therefore, many important issues involved in translation are ethical in essence, namely about how to interpret and deal with the relationship between self and the other.We contend that respect for the other and respect for differences are the very foundation and core for the accomplishment of translation ethics, whether in terms of the communicative properties of translation, or in terms of the mission of translation to promote cultural diversity.Meanwhile, as Chinese culture is "going abroad", the translation of Chinese literature is of strategic significance for the international communication of Chinese culture.As the notion of "fidelity" is now constantly being questioned and deconstructed, its faithful adherence, and the retention and communication of heterogeneity are not only the requirement of translation ethics, but also the prerequisite for the inheritance and transmission of thoughts and culture.