Thirukkural in Chinese, Japanese and Korean

 

     As far as I am aware, only once has the Kural been translated into Chinese and Korean, while there are two translations in Japanese - the latest one being published in 1999. The oldest of these is the Chinese translation by Che'ng Hsi in 1967 published by the Department of Indian Studies, University of Malaya and printed at the of Hong Kong University Press. This book is still available for purchase on the internet costing US $ 60 (*). The translation was made possible by the Nattukottai Chettiars Endowment Fund which has also provided a Malay translation.[3]

     S. Padmanabhan mentions that Shuzo Matsunaga translated the Kural into Japanese and recently into Korean as well.[1] Another Japanese translator Takanobu Takahashi produced a scholarly translation in 1999 with the title: "Thirukkural: Sacred Verses of Ancient Tamil" (ティルックラル: ティルヴァッルヴァル=著 高橋孝信=訳). 南インドのタミル地方で,今もなお誰もが口にする1300余の箴言。6世紀頃につくられ,法・財・愛をテーマにインド的思考を結晶させた聖なる短詩 (ティルックラル) を,詳細な注釈で読み解く)The book is published by Heibonsha, Tokyo and can be purchased online at Heibonsha and Amazon.

      The Chinese have their Confucian sayings recorded in their classic Analects (called Lun Yu in Chinese, meaning “Sacred Sayings”) which in many ways resemble the Kural. Like Valluvar, Confucius was concerned about the conduct of men in this world. Confucius advocated legal justice for all as the foundation of life in an ideal world wherein human principles, courtesy, filial piety, and the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, loyalty and trustworthiness should prevail.[2] This sounds very much like that of Valluvar! Of course Valluvar differed from Confucius in two respects. Firstly, unlike Confucius, Valluvar was also a poet. Secondly, Confucius had nothing to do with “Conjugal Love” – for which Valluvar devoted an entire division.

      I am not aware of the translator in Korean language. Padmanabhan makes a mention of this translation during his address in Korea while attending the conference on world poets.[1]

印度教手稿, ティルックラル, 티루 쿠랄 (中國話, 한국어, 日本語)


[1] Padmanabhan, S. 2000. Thiruvalluvar, a universal poet. Kanyakumari Historical and Cultural Research Centre, Nagecoil. Released on the occasion of unveiling of the 133-feet high statue of the immortal bard Thiruvalluvar.  60 pages.

[2] Anonymous, 1999. Confucius, a biography.  In: Lun Yu in English. Confucius Publishing Co. Ltd.

[3] Thani Nayagam, X.S. 1967. Preface. In: The Tirukkural. A Chinese translation by Ch'eng Hsi. Department of Indian Studies. University of Malaya. Hong Kong University Press. pp vii.

 

Tiruvalluvar and Tirukkural: 鲁克鲁经, 印度教手稿

 

泰米尔诗人提鲁瓦鲁瓦  (Tiruvalluvar)

在提鲁瓦鲁瓦诗人的头衔之外,他还是哲学家和圣人,在南印度,就是小学生都能背颂他的诗篇,人们崇拜他如同崇拜印度教中的神。
  
和其他印度圣徒一样,提鲁瓦鲁瓦的身世隐没在历史的迷雾中,甚至连他的出生时代也有不同说法,前后竟差了一千年,不过大多数人倾向于公元前200年。有研究者说他曾经是康亚库玛瑞王国的国王,与放弃王位终成正果的释迦牟尼和大雄(耆那教的创始人)样,最终舍弃荣华飘然远去,又有人说,正如他的名字所揭示的一般,他只是个低贱的织布工,因了天才和机缘方采撷得《提鲁库拉尔(Tirukkural)》这颗智慧之珠。国王也好,织布工也好,让提鲁瓦鲁瓦永垂青史的是他的《提鲁库拉尔》诗集。

库拉尔(Kural)即对句,是一种有着严格形式的诗歌形式,用比梵语换要古老的泰米尔语写成。每一首对句包括七个字,第一行四个字,第二行三个字,讲究格律。《提鲁库拉尔》代表着库拉尔的最高水准,因而被冠与尊称"圣(Tiru",《提鲁库拉尔》即为《圣诗》。《提鲁库拉尔》中共有1130首对句,每10首为一章,各章均有特别的主题,集合在美德、财富和爱情三个大类中。诗集已经有了英译本,我因此得以领略那流传了两千两百年的魅力。翻开诗集,警句俯首可拾,只是辗转译成汉语后,失去了库拉尔特有的韵律和形式美,就象翻译成英语的唐诗一样别扭。

心中没有爱,
就象荒漠中没有汁液的树。
(78)

忍受受到的伤害总是好的,
但最好的方式是忘记它们。
(152)   

说「以下两种人决不会是好人:
一种是挥动武器的人,另一种是大啖肉食的人」(253)

如果你问:"么是仁慈?什么是冷酷?"
那是不杀和杀,因此,食肉永远不可能圣洁。 (254)

「何谓有道德的行为?
就是绝不残害生命。
为杀生是所有罪恶的根源」(321
)

「什么是好的行径?
好的行径就是能够反映如何避免残害其他动物的行径」
(324)

荷花茎的长度取绝于水的深度,
即便如此,人的伟大与他思维的活力成比例。
(596)

其內容廣泛,涉及生活各方面,被視為泰米爾文學經典,被称作 tamilmarai(泰米爾吠陀)、poyyamoli(真言)、 teyva nul(聖書),是泰米爾族人待人接物所奉行的原則。

有學者認為本書晚於考底利耶的《政治经济理论》(अर्थशास्त्रमArthaśāstra),而早於《玛尼梅格莱》(மணிமேகலைManimekalai)和《西拉巴提伽拉姆》(或《脚》,சிலப்பதிகாரம்Silapathikaram),因兩者都有徵引蒂魯古拉爾之處。

 

《蒂魯古拉爾》之作者是否悌儒維魯瓦,及其中悌儒維魯瓦的詩作究竟佔多大比例都存在爭議。首次提及悌儒維魯瓦為作者的是數世紀後在蒂鲁伯纳玛莱Thiruvannamalai)一首名為 花環 的歌曲。

 

《蒂魯古拉爾》作者熟悉《羅摩衍那》、《摩奴法典》等作品,]有學者認為,《蒂魯古拉爾》乃是按照梵文古典中人生三大目標(trivarga)之觀念展开的,即  法 (धर्मdharma)、物質財富(अर्थartha)及  愛 (कामkāma),对应《蒂魯古拉爾》的三部分,并自然地导向第四個目標पुरुष-अर्थpurusa-artha) 解脫(मुक्तिmoksa)。

 

宗教

《蒂魯古拉爾》作者是否印度教或耆那教信徒存在争。佛教之中观于其中也有反映

 

譯本

《蒂魯古拉爾》有程曦中譯本《古臘箴言》,香港大學出版社 1967 年版。


2005 年5月 14 日于云南思茅
澜沧县

Source: http://quailnest.blogbus.com/logs/2005/05/1193984.html and Chinese Wikipedia

 

================================================================================

N.V.K. Ashraf

October, 2005, Updated in March 2007

 

Chinese and Japanese translations have been procured. Please watch this page for these translations.

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