The tutor of PhD students from the Translation Department of the College of Foreign Languages, Hu Cuie’s translation of Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud by has been published by Yilin Press. Professor Hu finished the translation of this philosophy book through two years which has two volumes with almost one million words just out of her love and passion for the ideas and knowledge enlightening people and reflecting people’s spirits, and the translation is worth publishing.
Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud, whose author is the British Scholar Peter Watson, is an encyclopedia masterpiece, providing an overview of the world's history of ideological and cultural development from the time when humans walked and took fire to the beginning of the 20th century. Its characteristics are first embodied in the definition of thought and can be said to be the first of its kind in history. It incorporates inventions such as walking upright, making fire, and hand axe, greatly improving the pedigree of the mind. This book begins with the paradox of Newton, and is supplemented by flashbacks and interjections, bringing readers with attractive narratives to the world of human history and their spiritual life , which counters the historical writing style of similar books based on time, characters, and serious stereotypes. People may expect that a book on the history of thought should demonstrate a smooth development of human thought : from the primitive thinking of the early humans using stone tools, through the brewing of several major religions, to the unprecedented artistic prosperity during the Renaissance, the birth of modern science, the Industrial Revolution, the devastating evolutionary theory and the magical technologies the hallmark of our time we are very familiar with and rely on to survive. However,the paradox in Newton makes us think that the development of ideas, or the progress of civilization, is not so simple. Throughout the history, we can observe that certain countries and civilizations have their prosperity over a period of time but later gradually declined. The history of ideas is by no means a linear line and this is where its charm lies. For example, the Chinese civilization invented paper, gunpowder, woodblock printing, porcelain, and the imperial examination system and successfully leaded the world for centuries, but why has it never developed a mature science or modern business mechanism—capitalism, and why it was surpassed and then left far behind by the West after the Middle Ages? Why did the Islamic civilization, which had once led the Mediterranean, gradually declined in the 11th century? Ideas: A History from Fire to Freud attempts to make us think from the perspective of history: the life of thought is great and fragile so it can be passed on but it also can be destroyed or disappear.
Their deepness and greatness have either fallen into the translation pitfalls that tarnation seem to be fluent and eloquent but have been misunderstood for life, or they have been translated overly loyal that are like a childish babbling so that are hard to understand. Or they are translated too much that the words express more than original, or contend more than intended to. Literal translation without smoothness seems to have become a drifting. In line with the tenet of simple without much decoration, the words won’t distort original meaning Professor Hu Cuie has contributed an excellent translation to the history of thought in the academic world.
The translator, Professor Hu Cuie, is a serious and rigorous scholar. Her major research areas are the history of Chinese and Western translation and the comparison of Chinese and Western cultures. She has engaged in translation studies for decades and has deeply realized that translation has always been the silent promoter behind the communication between world and China. However, it cannot be denied that many literary giants, scholars, and masters outside the domain also have been destroyed by translation. Their deepness and greatness have either fallen into the translation pitfalls that tarnation seem to be fluent and eloquent but have been misunderstood for life, or they have been overly loyal that are like a childish babbling their Literally translated and poorly translated idiom becomes obscure or out of context or sensible, and literal translation and smoothness seem to have become a dream of drifting away. In line with the tenet of quality but not ambiguity, literary criticism, Professor Hu Cuie has contributed an excellent translation of the history of thought to the academic world.
Their deepness and greatness have either fallen into the translation pitfalls that tarnation seem to be fluent and eloquent but have been misunderstood for life, or they have been translated overly loyal that are like a childish babbling so that are hard to understand. Or they are translated too much that the words express more than original, or contend more than intended to. Literal translation without smoothness seems to have become a drifting dream. In line with the tenet of simple without much decoration, the words won’t distort original meaning Professor Hu Cuie has contributed an excellent translation work to the history of thought in the academic world.
It is gratifying that, just one month after the translation was published, the stock of the publishing house was already shining, and the second batch was already in the urgent printing. This was like an incitant for the deserted academic writing market. Her ability and serious and responsible attitude were fully affirmed by Yilin Press.
