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Chinese wushu texts: function and

translation
a
Yongzhou Luo
a
Shanghai University of Sport, Department of English , 399,
Changhai Road, Shanghai , 200433 , China
Published online: 05 Oct 2011.

To cite this article: Yongzhou Luo (2012) Chinese wushu texts: function and translation,
Perspectives: Studies in Translatology, 20:2, 189-198, DOI: 10.1080/0907676X.2011.590593

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 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology
Vol. 20, No. 2, June 2012, 189
198

Chinese wushu texts: function and translation

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Yongzhou Luo*

Shanghai University of Sport, Department of English, 399, Changhai Road, Shanghai,

200433 China
(Received 28 December 2009; final version received 17 May 2011)

This paper probes into Chinese martial arts translation under the framework of
German Functionalism at three levels: (1) the name of each school is referential
and may be rendered in English through transliteration plus annotation; (2) the
routine of each school is referential, aesthetic and, above all, directive, instructing
the practitioner how to move step by step, which can be translated through literal
translation plus description; (3) the theory governing each school is basically
informative and didactic, providing the background knowledge of the origin and
evolution of that school and its relevance to other cultural forms such as
philosophy, religion, aesthetics and medicine, which requires a combination of
translation strategies to strike a communication load relevant to the decoding
capacity of the target readership.
Keywords: Chinese martial arts; text functions; translation strategies

Introduction
Among China’s well-kept treasures, one that catches the imagination of foreigners is
wushu (including Chinese martial arts). Over the centuries, wushu has been developed
through a long-term study by many masters who have pooled the mode of thinking,
code of conduct, concept of values and aesthetic interests of the Chinese people.
However, what makes wushu somewhat of a ‘special, local product’ also makes it very
difficult for foreigners to understand. To improve this situation, translation has an
important role to play. Wushu translation may date from 1963, when Bruce Lee, a
Chinese American, had his Chinese Gung Fu published in the USA. The book
introduces major schools of Chinese wushu, the theory of yin and yang, and some
basic training methods. Early publications on wushu also include Fundamentals of
T’aichi Ch’uan by Huang Wenshan (1973) and Chinese Boxing: Masters and Methods
by Robert Smith (1974, 1990). Currently, China’s Foreign Languages Press has
20 books on the agenda, among which are A Guide to Chinese Martial Arts by
Li Tianji (1999) and Taijiquan by Li Deyin (2004). The efforts made by those
pioneering translators are, however, undermined by constant mistranslations and
confusions. For example, quite a few people equate martial arts or kungfu to
(wushu), which are actually different in both denotation and connotation. The former
two mainly refer to combat techniques while the latter, besides fighting arts, implies
fitness keeping, war crafts, medicine, aesthetics and ethics. Given that terminological
confusion, this paper wants to investigate wushu texts within the framework of

*Email: luoyongzhou@hotmail.com

ISSN 0907-676X print/ISSN 1747-6623 online

# 2012 Taylor & Francis
http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0907676X.2011.590593
http://www.tandfonline.com
 190 Y. Luo

German Functionalism in an attempt to map out certain strategies for translating

this unique type of texts. The elaboration will proceed at three different textual levels:
the name, the routine, and the theory governing each school of wushu. In terms of
methodology, this paper is both descriptive and prescriptive in that all the translation
strategies to be proposed are preceded by the discussion of losses and gains of the
existent translation. The publications cited are selected primarily in light of their
influence. For example, such books as Chinese Gung Fu (Lee, 1963, 1987, 1988) and
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A Guide to Chinese Martial Arts (Li, 1990, 1995, 1999) have been reprinted more than
once. Secondly, there shall be some marked differences between those books in terms
of translation strategies so that a contrastive analysis can be carried out.

Text typology and translation models

Based on Buhler’s and Jakobson’s classification of language, scholars such as Reiss,
Newmark and Nord formulated their ideas on text functions which could serve as a
foundation for text classifications. They operate with three main text functions: the
referential, the expressive and the appellative function (corresponding to the
‘operative’ function in Reiss’ terminology and the ‘vocative’ one in Newmark’s)
(Nord, 1997, pp. 40
44). Taking the text functions into account, Newmark proposed
two translation models: communicative translation and semantic translation
(Newmark, 1982, p. 39). Nord presented a more elaborate translation model based
on strictly functionalist terms, distinguishing between documentary and instrumental
translation (Nord, 1997, p. 47). The functionalist approach is important because it
moves translation theory beyond considering the lower linguistic levels, insisting that
function is what determines how a text should be translated. In the translation
process, this involves determining the type of the text and the purpose of the
translation. However, over the years this approach has been much criticized. First,
why should there be only three types of text function? How about the aesthetic
function and the metalingual function, which serve as subsidiaries to the above three
functions in the text? A second question is that texts are rarely mono-functional.
A particular text can be designed to carry out a combination of several functions or
sub-functions. As Newmark (1988, p. 42) puts it: ‘few texts are purely expressive,
informative or vocative; most include all three functions, with an emphasis on one of
the three’. Therefore, in the following, the author will follow the tenet of German
Functionalism: different strategies for different functions. But it does not mean the
functions and translation strategies concerning wushu texts must fall into the
categories outlined by the functionalists. After all, this is a specific text type, which
may not have been taken into account by the above-mentioned functionalists.

The name: function and translation

The existing translations
Chinese wushu features myriads of schools. Some schools are named on the basis of
the essential techniques, like Tan Tui (Jumping Legs), but most are named after the
founder of the school, as Hongjia Quan (Hong School of Boxing), the place where the
school originated, e.g. Shaolin Quan (Shaolin Boxing), or animals whose movements
the boxing imitates: Long Quan (Dragon Boxing) and Hou Quan (Monkey Boxing).
In terms of translation, there are often different versions for the same school, as
 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 191

illustrated in Table 1. This discrepancy roughly falls into two categories: first, while
most translators apply transliteration to the name rendering, they disagree on
whether an annotation is necessary or not. For example, (Taiji Quan) is
rendered as Taichi by Bruce Lee and as Taiji Quan (Great-Ultimate Boxing) by Li
Tianji; second, when resorting to Chinese pinyin, they disagree on which sort of
pinyin shall be prioritized. Some translators choose to use the Wade-Giles system,
others prefer Mandarin pinyin. For example, (Bagua Quan) is Bart Kuar Clan
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in Lee’s terminology, Pakua-chang in Smith’s and Bagua Quan (Eight-Trigram

Boxing) in Li’s.

Function of the name and its translation

The name of a school serves to identify itself regarding its routine and theory.
Among the three main functions of texts proposed by German functionalists, it tends
to be referential or symbolic. According to Nord, the referential function of a text is
mainly expressed through the denotative value of the lexical items presented in the
text and can be analyzed through the nature of the objects or phenomena (Nord,
1997, p. 40). The unique naming system of Chinese wushu, however, defies easy
translation since it possesses both denotative and connotative values. If we follow the
naming system of Western boxing, the cultural connotation of the original will
evaporate. For example, the word (Taiji) reflects traditional Chinese views on the
universe: ‘Taiji comes from wuji (infinity); and from it spring yin and yang.’ If we put
(Taiji Quan) into Chinese Boxing or shadow boxing, we would deprive the TL
reader of the chance to know the connotation of Taiji. Therefore, the name in
translation must reproduce both the referential function and the cultural uniqueness
of the original. Following that principle, Li Tianji’s strategy, i.e. transliteration plus
annotation, for translating the name of each wushu school is arguably more
acceptable than the other two translators. Through transliteration, the English
name is brief enough to fulfill the referential function. Meanwhile, the annotation
reveals some know-how of the said school for the ordinary reader, who may be
coming across the name for the first time. Further, Li’s employment of mandarin
pinyin is gaining momentum with the increasing popularity of Chinese in the
international community, which can be proved by the frequent appearance in

Table 1. Versions of wushu school names in English translation.

Bruce Lee, 1963, Robert Smith,

School name pp. 9
10 1996, p. 20 Li Tianji, 1999, pp. 8
16

Taichi Taichi Taiji quan (Great-ultimate boxing)

Bart Kuar Clan Pakua-chang Bagua quan (Eight-trigram boxing)
Ying Yee Hsingi Xingyi quan (Imitation boxing)
Wing Chung School
Yongchun quan (Eternal youth boxing)
Sil Lum
Shaolin quan (Shaolin boxing)
Spring Leg
Tan tui (Springing legs)
Lost Track
Mizong quan (Maze boxing)
Monkey Style
Hou Quan (Monkey boxing)
Dragon Style
Long Quan (Dragon boxing)
Hung K’ung
Hongjia Quan (Hong school of boxing)
 192 Y. Luo

mainstream Western media of such words as wushu qigong taiji

bagua and shaolin . This strategy has been prevailing in the bulletin board
of many international wushu competitions. The only difference is that, considering
that the TL readers are mostly specialists in this field, the translation usually goes
without annotation. The following is selected from the bulletin of the 4th Jiaozuo
International Taijiquan Competition, Jiaozuo, China, 2007. As can be seen, all the
schools and sub-schools are marked with mandarin pinyin.
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Compulsory routines: Taijiquan competition routines (Chen style, Yang style, Wu style,
Sun style, Wu Style and 42 forms of Taijiquan), Taijijian Competition Routine;
Simplified Taijiquan (24 forms), Taijijian Competition Routine (32 forms) (Official
website of the International Wushu Federation, 2008).

Traditional routines: Chen style, Yang style, Wu style, Sun style, Wu style and other
traditional styles as well as different routines of the Taiji apparatus. Events of the
same Taijiquan style and apparatus will be grouped together; if the number of athletes
who take part in each style and each apparatus event is less than 5, these athletes will be
grouped into other barehanded and apparatus routine groups (Official website of the
International Wushu Federation, 2008).

The routine: function and translation

The existing translations
The routine of each school includes (1) positions, e.g. (T-stance) and (Bow
stance); (2) separate moves, e.g. ; and
(3) sets of moves, for example, (Pulling Back Then Pushing, As If to Close)
from Taiji Quan. The routines are often portrayed with literary images and rhetoric
devices of hyperbole, personification, metaphor or simile, etc., as in (The
Ferocious Tiger Coming Out of Its Cave). In terms of translation, the translators are,
first and foremost, divided on whether or not to maintain the literary devices of the
original, which inevitably leads to different English versions for the same routine. For
example, Huang Wenshan, a Chinese American, paraphrases (The White
Crane Spreading Its Wings) into raise the hands and set up and domesticates
(Swing Pi’pa) into play the guitar in his book Fundamentals of T’aichi (1973) (Xu,
2005): while in Table 2, both Li Tainji and Li Deyin retain the images of (crane)
and (Pi’pa, a traditional Chinese musical instrument) by translating them into
The White Crane Spreading Its Wings and play/swing the Pi’pa respectively. Secondly,
there is a controversy between those translators as to whether transliteration is
feasible for routine translation. For example, while some (such as Li Tianji) translate
literally (see Table 2), others (such as Li Deyin) resort to transliteration (see Table 2)
and even the acronyms of Chinese pinyin to signify some standardized movements as
in WushuWiki (see Table 3).
 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 193

Table 2. Routines of taiji quan in English translation.

Routine Li Tianji, 1999, pp. 106
145 Li Deyin, 2004, pp. 133
134

Starting posture Qishi (Beginning position)

Mustang parting its mane
The white crane spreading
its wings
Holding knee in bending
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Yemafenzong (Part the wild horse’s mane)
Baiheliangchi (White crane spreads its wings)
Louxiaobu (Brush aside over the knee in reverse

step forward stance)

Swing pipa Shouhuipipa (Play the pipa)

Function of the routine and its translation

The routine usually takes the form of a phrase or an imperative. In terms of function,
it is first of all referential, working as a name of a given position, a separate move, or
a set of movements. It is also aesthetic, for one can easily feel the beauty in the
literary expression of the positions and movements. The most important function of
the routine is, however, directive, instructing the practitioner how to move step by
step. Wushu is one of the cultural forms with distinctive Chinese characteristics. The
translation would fail to reproduce the aesthetic functions of the original if it
conveyed the fighting techniques at the expense of literary images and rhetoric
devices. However, being responsible for the source language or culture does not mean
that word-for-word translation should be the only solution. Sometimes it is necessary
to resort to adaptation. For example, it is inadequate to translate literally
(Shuttling Back and Forth) into Jade Girl Working At Shuttles, for though the word
(jade) in Chinese has a sense of pureness, rareness or gracefulness, it may imply
immorality and seductiveness in English. Furthermore, the translation would ideally
reproduce the directive function of the original, the most important function in this
case, so that the target language readers can perform the same routine as the source
language readers. To realize those multi-functions in the TL, we may try
the routine translation as follows. First, the basic positions and separate moves
may be translated by borrowing from Western sports terminology since they are
rarely culturally loaded and equivalents can be found in English for most of them,
e.g. (T-stance), (Bow stance) (kick), (punch), (wrestle), and
(grasp) etc. Secondly, the sets of moves may be rendered through literal translation
(plus description). In Table 4, this author first chooses literal translation for the
routine, which retains the stylistic and rhetorical value of the original in order to
reproduce the referential and aesthetic function of the original. Then for the
convenience of the practitioner, this author resorts to step-by-step description. The
description is of special significance for the beginners to know the nature and essence
of the routine. In the Chinese Wushu Museum (the first and only one of its kind in
Table 3. Movements in English translation adopted in WushuWiki (WushuWiki, 2008).

Routine Acronym of Chinese pinyin Translation in English

Qiansaotui QST Front sweep

Huosaotui HST Back sweep
Bailianjiao BLJ Lotus kick
Xuanfengjiao XFJ Whirlwind kick
Liyudating LYDT Carp skip-up
 194 Y. Luo

Table 4. Some routines of taiji quan in English translation by this author (cf. Li, 1999,
pp. 106
145).

Chinese name in
pinyin English name (acronym) Description in English

Starting position (SP) Stand with feet apart as wide as the shoulders
Qishi and toes pointing to the front.
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Parting the mustang’s Turn the upper body slightly to the right; bend
Yemafenzong mane (PMM) the right arm horizontally to the front of the
right chest with palm facing the ground; move
the left hand to the chest, make an arch to the
right and then down to the waist, the palm
facing up as if holding a ball with both hands,
eyes following the right hand.
The white crane Turn the upper body to the left, turn the left
Baiheliangchi spreading its wings hand over with the palm facing the ground,
(WCSW) make an arch with the right hand to the front,
palm facing up and left palm above facing
down, as if holding a ball, eyes at the left hand.
Holding the knee in a Turn the upper body slight to the left, and at
Louoxiaobu bending step (HKBS) the same time lower the right hand in front
with palm up; lift the left hand slightly, eyes
looking at the right hand.
Playing the pipa (PP) Move the right foot half a step backward with
Shouhuipipa the front sole touching the ground and land it
at the back of the left foot.

the world), this description is joined by diagrams, audio and video projections to
make the routine more performable.

The theory: function and translation

The existing translation
Through the ages, the major schools of wushu have developed a theory of their own
which records the origin and development of the school in terms of the essential
techniques and their relevance to other cultural forms such as religion, war crafts,
artistry, literature, philosophy and traditional Chinese medicine. Among those
classics are (The Theory of Taiji Quan) by Wang Zongyue,
(Chen’s Taijiquan Illustrated) by Chen Xin, and (Five-word Formula) by Li
Yishe. Those books often take the form of essay, prose, poetry or epigram. Besides
being rich in literary images and rhetoric devices as in routine descriptions, they are
written in old Chinese, loose in syntax and compact, with abstract cultural concepts
like (yin and yang), (3E: essence, energy and esprit) and (3N: sinew,
bone and skin), which are open to different interpretations. Compared to the name
and the routine, the theory, with its linguistic and literary features and especially its
cultural references, poses much bigger difficulties for translation. That is why there is
not yet a single English version in circulation. Despite of that, pieces of theory can be
found quoted in some English translations which concentrate on the technical
aspects of Chinese wushu. Those translations are generally unacceptable either in
 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 195

language quality or in cultural representation. As in Example 1, it is obviously

difficult for the translator, a wushu master versed in the subject but incompetent in a
foreign language, to produce an adequate translation with the right diction and
sentence structures. Thus, few people can understand from the first translation what
is meant by (dantian acupoint) or (pubic region (dantian)) and what
distinguishes them from each other.
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Example 1:

Version 1: Do exercises to stimulate the blood and vital energy. Breathing should be
natural . . . readjust breathing constantly and consolidate the energy stream inside the
body and pay attention to the dantian acupoint . . . move gently and stop silently and
move only according to your mind . . . The mind must be empty. When the mind is
empty, all parts of the body are empty. The pubic region (dantian), waist and foot
bottom must be solid. When the three parts are solid, all empty parts of the body
become solid. This is called ‘from empty to solid’. (Li, 2005, p. 101)

Version 2: To regulate your blood and qi (vital energy), you need to breathe naturally
when practicing Taiji . . . And readjust your breath constantly and smoothly to build up
qi inside the body while paying attention to the xuanguan (the direction from which you
are easily attacked) . . . Then move slowly to a gradual stop while keeping your motion
under the control of the mind . . . Try to keep your mind void. Only when the mind is
void can your body parts remain undisturbed. The dantian (the pubic region under the
navel), the waist and the heel must be solid. Only when these three parts are solid can
other parts of the body become solid. That is the so-called ‘transferring from void to
solid’. (my translation)

Function of the theory and its translation

The theory provides the background knowledge of a specific school of wushu. Since it
involves the name and the routine from time to time during the course of elaboration,
it should have all the functions that the name and the routine have, whether
referential, directive or aesthetic. Among those multi-layer functions, the overall
function of the theory is, however, informative, which allows the readers to have
knowledge of the origin, the evolution and the cultural foundation of the combat
techniques of the school. According to Newmark, the first purpose of translating
informative texts is to fully render the ‘extra-linguistic’ information of the text
(Newmark, 1982, p. 12). In order to reproduce the technical and cultural information
for the didactic purpose, the translation of wushu theory can be approached from the
perspective of information theory (IT). According to IT, translation is message-
based, and the efficiency of informational transmission depends on whether the
communication load is fit for the receptor’s channel capacity. A message containing
insufficient information cannot meet the receiver’s expectations while a message
overloaded with information will go beyond the reader’s channel/decoding capacity,
thus hindering successful communication (Dollerup, 2007, pp. 3
4). Therefore, the
translator’s major task is to balance the communication load of a message by every
means. On the one hand, he is expected to make full use of the channel capacity of
the TL reader by making a communication load challenging enough to be
 196 Y. Luo

interesting; on the other hand, he should guard against communication overload, not
transmitting so much information at the same point as to be fatiguing. To strike a
relevant communication load, the translator may resort to a combination of
strategies from literal translation to adaptation (Fang & Xie, 2004). Based on that
analysis, Version 1 in Example 1 can be revised as Version 2.
In Example 2, the revision is made based on the same analysis. First, (yin
and yang) and (wushu) are rendered through transliteration without annotation,
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since those concepts have appeared so frequently in Western media that it will not
take great pains to decode them. Especially, the items of yin and yang have
found ways into many English dictionaries. This transliteration thus manages to
retain as much cultural information as possible while it is not too challenging for the
TL readers’ channel capacity. Secondly, the word (wuji) is rendered as wuji
(infinity) through transliteration plus annotation, as this concept does not appear
familiar to Western readers and could possibly constitute a barrier for decoding. Last
but not least, the Chinese proverb (Four liang repels one thousand jin) is
translated through substitution, with jin and liang (Chinese measures of weight)
replaced by pound and ounce, because the primary purpose of quoting the proverb is
to formulate a theory rather than introduce this literary device. Its didactic function
outweighs the aesthetic and expressive functions.

Example 2:

Version 1: Taiji, being born of infinity, is the mother of Yin and Yang. When moving, it
divides. At rest, it reunites . . . There are many other styles of martial arts. Although their
forms are distinct from one another, more or less they are the same nature. The strong
beats the weak, the slow yields to the fast. Those who are stronger and faster prevail.
But all this is natural born ability and not related to the study of martial arts. Studying
the saying ‘Four ounces repel one thousand pounds’, it is apparent that this cannot be
accomplished by strength. From observing the elder fighting multiple opponents, it
cannot be the matter of speed. (Qijiadayuan Taiji, 2007)

Version 2: Taiji (T’ai chi) comes from wuji (wu chi); and from it spring yin and yang. In
motion the two act independently; at rest they fuse into one . . . Chinese wushu has
myriads of schools. Though different in forms, they must observe the same principles:
the strong defeating the weak and the swift conquering the slow. Yet those are natural
principles, not abilities resulting from the study of taiji. A skillful taiji master would be
able to deflect a one-thousand-pound momentum with a trigger force of four ounces
and defeat a number of people even at old age. (my translation)

Conclusion
The terminological chaos in wushu translation may be attributed to the translator
who is either less skilful in terms of language or unfamiliar with this specific subject.
Further, the lack of criteria for translation in this brand-new sphere should also be
held responsible. Seen from the perspective of functionalism, the name of each school
of wushu is referential and may be rendered into English through transliteration (plus
 Perspectives: Studies in Translatology 197

annotation); the routine, mainly directive, may be rendered through literal transla-
tion (plus description); the theory governing each school of wushu, mainly
informative, requires a combination of strategies to strike a balance in translation
relevant to the decoding capacity of the target readership. The limitation of ‘balance
translation’ lies in the fact that the readers’ decoding capacity is
often elusive and difficult to measure. Furthermore, different readers may have
different decoding capacities. The translation transparent to one group of readership,
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say wushu specialists, may be opaque to another group, say amateur readers.
Therefore the translation of wushu texts shall be dynamic in that it needs regular
updating to meet the expectation of different groups of readership and the readership
whose decoding capacity, in accordance with IT, is increasing all the time due to their
accumulated knowledge and experience (Rowley & Turner, 1978, p. 16). With the
widening channel, it will be easier for the TL reader to understand the meaning of
some cultural specific words once opaque to them. For example, wushu was first
known to Western readers as Chinese martial arts. With the publication of the book
Chinese Gung Fu in 1963 and the popularity of kung fu films thereafter, Chinese
Kungfu began to be known to Western readers and found its way into English
dictionaries. Nowadays, after more than four decades of cultural exchange, the
transliteration of wushu begins to gain its legitimacy, with more Westerners being
aware of its difference from the other two terms.

Notes on contributor
Yongzhou Luo is an associate professor of Translation Studies at the Shanghai University of
Sport, P.R. China. He is interested in transalating sport and sport-related literature such as
Chinese martial arts novels. In recent years, he has published dozens of papers on this topic in
such journals as the Chinese Translators Journal and the Chinese Science and Technology
Translators Journal, and at conferences on translation studies such as the 18th FIT World
Congress. His Coursebook on Sports Translation came out in 2011. He is currently working on
his PhD disertation The Ethics of Rewriting: Balance Translation Explained and a project of
translation named Chinese Martial Arts Culture.

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