目的论视角下《黄帝内经·素问》养生术语英译对比研究——以倪毛信与李照国译本为例

A Comparative Study of C-E Translation of Life-Nurturing Terms in Huangdi Neijing: Suwen Based on Skopos Theory—Taking English Versions by Maoshing Ni and Li Zhaoguo as Examples

摘要: 本文以德国功能派翻译理论中的“目的论”(Skopos Theory)为理论框架，对《黄帝内经·素问》中养生术语的两个代表性英译本，倪毛信译本与李照国译本进行了对比研究。研究发现，倪译本面向西方普通读者，以“读者接受”为首要目的，多采用意译和诠释性重构，译文流畅易懂，但牺牲了术语的精确性和理论体系的连贯性；李译本则以“文化传真”为目标，面向专业读者，多采用音译加注释和直译，最大限度地保留了中医概念的本真性，但为非专业读者设置了较高的认知门槛。文章认为，两种译本策略的差异源于其翻译目的、目标读者和译者身份的不同，并无绝对优劣之分。最后，研究提出了一种分层翻译策略：大众传播类文本宜采用“意译 + 文化显化”，而学术与临床语境下的文本宜采用“音译/直译 + 术语注释”，并辅以统一的术语表，以期在传播效果与文化保真之间取得平衡。

Abstract: Within the framework of Skopos Theory, this study conducts a comparative analysis of two English versions of life-nurturing (yangsheng) terms in Huangdi Neijing: Suwen, translated by Maoshing Ni and Li Zhaoguo respectively. The findings show that Ni’s version, targeting lay Western readers and prioritizing reader reception, adopts free translation and interpretive reconstruction; it reads smoothly but sacrifices terminological precision and the coherence of the theoretical system. Li’s version, aiming at cultural fidelity and targeting specialist readers, adopts transliteration with annotation and literal translation, preserving the authenticity of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) concepts but setting a higher cognitive threshold for non-specialists. The study argues that the strategic divergence derives from the translators’ differing purposes, target readerships and identities, and admits of no absolute superiority. Finally, a stratified translation strategy is proposed: free translation plus cultural explicitation for popular texts, and transliteration or literal translation plus terminological annotation, supplemented by a unified glossary, for academic and clinical contexts, so as to strike a balance between communicative effectiveness and cultural fidelity.