Translation of the title Xiao Ao Jiang Hu

[HuangYushi]

You're making the same mistake that I see others make. The term is an idiom, i.e., the meanings of its parts (the words) does not equal the meaning of the idiom as a whole.
Here's the dictionary definition.
http://140.111.34.46/cgi-bin/dict/Ge...27743;湖
Anyway, LZF and QY would not be call their music XAJH if the term really means something as offensive as "mocking the world." These guys want to be left alone to make their music, they are not interested in pissing on the whole world.

Thanks, fox! I hear you and appreciate your explanation. I came up with the title "Mocking at the World" because I was looking for a literal translation of XAJH that would start non-Chinese-reading people on the road to understanding the true meaning of the idiom (as stated in the link you provided). Sometimes, people want a phrase that they can "port" directly from one language into another, and "Mocking at the World" could perhaps be considered as an option.

I agree with you: Liu Zhenfeng and Qu Yang do want to be left alone to make their music. They do not want to piss on/off the world, but their opinions on the ridiculousness of the "orthodoxy vs unorthodoxy" divide that prevented them from being open about their friendship could, would and did affect the song they wrote and its title in one way or another. To them, the literal meaning of XAJH (if it could be translated as "Mocking at the World") can perhaps represent the irony of their situation, while the true/idiomatic meaning represents the state of existence that they hope to achieve. So, in that sense, I do not feel that "Mocking at the World" is not entirely offensive. Besides, few people in the novel knew or cared about the music and/or its score.

HYS

[flyingfox2002]

Sorry, although I understand where you're coming from, I don't agree with you. The word "mock" is offensive, no matter from which angle you view it. Not the original meaning.

--------------

On the more general topic of translation. I think that the major sin a translator can make is to somehow modify the meaning of terms to make them sound better because doing that distorts the author's words. The job of the translator is to convey the author's original message in another language as accurately as possible. To do anything less is not the act of translation, but subjective interpretation.

[HuangYushi]

The job of the translator is to convey the author's original message in another language as accurately as possible.

And that is one of the hardest things to do!

[wuyuejin]

Oh, thanks, never before have I known that State of Divinity is in fact a good, if not the best, English translation of XAJH.

[sniffles]

John Christopher Hamm, in his book Paper Swordsmen, translated Xiao Ao Jiang Hu as "Laughing Scornfully at the World".

I rather like that translation, because scorn isn't as potentially offensive as mocking. And it approximates what Liu Zhengfeng and Qv Yang are doing, scorning the conventions and social mores of wulin in favor of their friendship.

[JamesG]

Or for the 'simple' western mind....Laughing at the World.