Three Word Primer (Sanzijing): the Philosophical Term ‘priroda’ [‘nature’] in Nikita Ya. Bichurin Translation

Abstract

The article considers the term ‘priroda’ [‘nature’] as a translational reflec­tion of the Russian orientalist, an outstanding sinologist of the 19th century Nikita Ya. Bichurin (1777–1853), connected with the understanding of the con­cept of xing, conveyed by the hieroglyph 性 in the Chinese educational book of the 13th century Three Word Primer (Sanzijing). It is pointed out that by the beginning of the 19th century Russian philosophical terminology was at the stage of formation, that translations of Russian scientists of foreign-language phi­losophical works had a great influence on the entry of a particular term into the system of Russian terminological designations. In this regard, the translations of Chinese sources of philosophical content by Bichurin in the middle of the 19th century deserve attention. On the example of one term ‘priroda’ [‘nature’], the author’s methods of interpretation and, from his point of view, the most ac­curate transmission of the Chinese concept of xing (性) are demonstrated both in the notes and directly in the translation text, using various techniques (epithets, antitheses, stylistic contrast). The translations of the Sanzijing close to Bichurin’s, made by his predecessors, sinologists of the 18th century – Illarion K. Rossokhin (1707–1761) and Alexey L. Leontiev (1716–1786), the peculiari­ties of the perception of the concept of xing by three translators in similar con­texts are noted. The role of the text environment in their attempts to convey a complex concept that had a long-standing internal Chinese worldview evolu­tion is emphasized.