Thick Translation of Ancient Chinese Dictionary via the Conversion of Annotation-Commentary Texts into Body Text: A Case Study of the English Translation of Shih-ku in Erh-ya

Since the Han Dynasty, there have been many annotation-commentary texts of Erh-ya, which, thanks to their abundant supplementary interpretations, function as critical para-texts of this dictionary. These para-texts are found to be very supportive in supplementing the missing information of the body text. And, hence, the conversion of annotation-commentary texts into body text plays an effective role in the thick translation of Erh-ya. Taking the translation of Shih-ku of Erh-ya as an example, the application of such conversions in the process of translation proved to be very functional. After such conversions, the translated texts of Shih-ku turns out to be composed of three parts:the primary text, the secondary text and the para-text. Such textual conversion proved be helpful in the thick translation of ancient Chinese dictionary to convey holistically the philological function, form and context of Chinese exegetic works to target readers.