Translations of the Qurʼān into Chinese: Peculiarities of the Names of Suras

Abstract

The paper discusses some peculiarities of translating the names of suras of the Qurʼān into Chinese based on the study of the most common Chinese translation made in the second half of the last century by the Muslim intellectual Muhammad Ma Jian. The work examines suras possessing the most significant discrepancies between the original Arabic names and the corresponding Chinese equivalents. The study is accompanied by commentary on the potential reasons for these variations while taking into account factors of an ethnocultural and linguistic nature. In a number of cases, comparisons with translations of the Qurʼān into Russian are also provided. The interdisciplinary nature of the work is manifested in the application of methods of source study, historical and philological, and comparative analysis. Having researched the main milestones in the history of translations of the Qurʼān into Chinese in the context of the spread of Islam in China, the authors come to the conclusion that the peculiarities of the translation of the names of suras into Chinese are largely due to the history of their occurrence and the variability of the original names since the written record of the Holy Text. At the same time, Muhammad Ma Jian’s belonging to the Hui community and Chinese traditions and customs also influenced the process of choosing equivalents. Obviously, the search for correspondences relied on the synthesis of methods based on the analysis of different variants of the names of suras and the need for ethnocultural adaptation of individual concepts in order to ensure the adequate perception of certain concepts by the inhabitants of the China. The problems of translating the Qurʼān into Chinese are largely related to the typological difference between the two linguistic systems. In this regard, the analysis of the translations of the names of suras of the Qurʼān into Chinese seems to be the most optimal starting point for the study of this topic.