Adaptable-translation, pseudotranslation, and translation from the perspective of Buddhistsutratranslations in early medieval China

Abstract

This article provides an early medieval Chinese perspective to further the discussion of adaptation, pseudotranslation, and translation. During the first to the fifth centuries CE, Chinese translation of Buddhist sutras included some unconventional practices. Translators either rendered source texts that were incomplete or partially rendered the complete source texts in their possession. The works were accepted as faithful translations of genuine sources from India and helped disseminate Buddhism, though theoretically, believers would only accept literal translations of sutras. Based on Bastin’s conceptualization of adaptation and the features of Buddhist translations, I have labeled it as “adaptable-translation” and argue that in early medieval China, there were adaptable-translations with pseudotranslation elements and adaptable-translations with the nature of pseudotranslation. Detailed analysis and case studies of five specific modes of “adaptable-translation” will show how they differ from “adaptation” of Bastin and “pseudotranslation” of Toury or Bassnett. Based on the analysis, I argue that a judgment of the nature of a text as a “translation” can be both qualitative and quantitative.