Chapter 71.1 – Fun with literal translations

Chapter 71.1 <— click on this link to read

This is why translation is difficult

Analects: 君君臣臣父父子子 – jūn jūn chén chén fù fù zǐ zǐ

In English it would be (transliterated): Lord Lord Minister Minister Father Father Son Son.

Given that type of sentence, a translator would have to interpret it properly and in a way that English readers can understand. In this case, it is saying “A ruler is a ruler; a minister is a minister; a father is a father; a son is a son.”

However, you can’t really stop there, can you? Well, actually you can stop there. It might be best to let readers make their own conclusion.

If you want to explain it though, then what it means would be something like: “A ruler should act as a ruler; a minister should act as a minister; a father should act as a father; a son should act as a son.”

In other words everyone has their proper place in society.

 

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