Article published In:
BabelVol. 61:4 (2015) ► pp.589–603
Two Korean translations of the Xiaoxue
Free translation or literal translation?
Broadly historical in its approach, this article explores how the Xiaoxue (Lesser or Elementary Learning), or Sohak in Korean, a primary textbook for Confucianism in China, was translated into Korean at two different times with a span of seventy years between the versions in the sixteenth century. It argues that the two different versions of translation of the same book, Beonyeok Sohak and Sohak Eonhae, reflected not only significant differences in the principles and strategies of translation: free translation or literal translation and native words or foreign words, among other things; but they also revealed significant difference in the translators’ – or, for that matter, their commissioners’ – ideologies and worldviews. The two Korean versions of the Xiaoxue was thus a contested battleground for the scholars and the politicians. In sum, it claims that the debate on the methodology of translation is not just an issue specific to Western translation theory but also non-Western translation theory.
References (13)
Bassnett, Susan. 2002. Translation Studies. 3rd ed. London: Routledge.
Beonyeok Sohak: An Annotated Text. 2011. Ed. Jeong Ho-wan. Seoul: Committee for the Commemoration of the Great King Sejong.
The Bible: Authorized King James Version with Apocrypha. 1997. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Hermans, Theo. 1985. “Introduction: Translation Studies and New Paradigm.” In The Manipulation of Literature: Studies in Literary Translation, T. Hermans (Ed.), 7–15. London: Croom Helm.
Jeong, Ho-wan. 2011. “A Bibliographical Preface.” In The Annotated Beonyeok Sohak, ed. by Jeong Ho-wan, 7–12. Seoul: Committee for the Commemoration of the Great King Sejong.
Jungjong Sillok: A Korean Translation. 1989. Ed. Committee for the Development of National Culture. Seoul: Committee for the Development of National Culture.
Nida, Eugene A., and Charles R. Taber. 1969. The Theory and Practice of Translation, With Special Reference to Bible Translating. Leiden: Brill.
Sohak Eonhae: An Annotated Text. 2011. Ed. Jeong Ho-wan. Seoul: Committee for the Commemoration of the Great King Sejong.
Sohn, Ho-Min. 2001. The Korean Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Steiner, George. 1989. After Babel: Aspects of Language and Translations. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Venuti, Lawrence. 1995. The Translator’s Invisibility: A History of Translation. New York: Routledge. 

Yi, Gi-mun. 1960. “Of Sohak Eonhae”. Hangeul 1271: 50–69.
Yi, Sung-nyeong. 1973. “A Comparison of the Muin Edition of Sohak Eonhae and the Edition by Gyojeongcheong”. Jindanhakbo 361: 77–97.
Cited by (1)
Cited by one other publication
Schirmer, Andreas
2020.
Aspects of the Never-Ending Translation Wars in South Korea.
Lebende Sprachen 65:2
► pp. 390 ff.

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 31 july 2024. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers.
Any errors therein should be reported to them.