6 CONTEMPORARY THEORIES TO TRANSLATION

The six main principal translation theories: sociological, communicational, hermeneutic, linguistic,
literary and semiotic.

Today we’re going to get a little theoretical…after all, the blog of a translation agency should also
venture into the drylands of translation theory. Right? There are six main approaches within
contemporary translation theory: the sociolinguistic approach, the communicative approach, the
hermeneutic approach, the linguistic approach, the literary approach and the semiotic approach. Are
you ready? Here we go…

1. THE SOCIOLINGUISTIC APPROACH

According to the sociolinguistic approach to translation, the social context defines what is and is not
translatable and what is or is not acceptable through selection, filtering and even censorship. According
to this perspective, a translator is inevitably the product of his or her society: our own sociocultural
background is present in everything we translate. This approach is associated with the School of Tel Aviv
and figures such as Annie Brisset, Even Zohar and Guideon Toury.

2. THE COMMUNICATIVE APPROACH

This perspective is referred to as interpretive. Researchers like D. Seleskovitch and M. Lederer

developed what they called the “theory of sense,” mainly based on the experience of conference
interpreting. According to this perspective, meaning must be translated, not language. Language is
nothing more than a vehicle for the message and can even be an obstacle to understanding. This
explains why it is always better to deverbalize (instead of transcoding) when we translate.

3. THE HERMENEUTIC APPROACH

The hermeneutic approach is mainly based on the work of George Steiner, who believes that any human
communication is a translation. In his book After Babel he explains that translation is not a science but
an “exact art”: a true translator should be capable of becoming a writer in order to capture what the
author of the original text “means to say.”

4. THE LINGUISTIC APPROACH

Linguists like Vinay, Darbelnet, Austin, Vegliante, and Mounin, interested in language text, structuralism,
and pragmatics, also examined the process of translating. According to this perspective, any translation
(whether it’s a marketing translation, a medical translation, a legal translation or another type of text)
should be considered from the point of view of its fundamental units; that is, the word, the syntagm and
the sentence.
5. THE LITERARY APPROACH

According to the literary approach, a translation should not be considered a linguistic endeavor but a
literary one. Language has an “energy”: this is manifested through words, which are the result of
experiencing a culture. This charge is what gives it strength and ultimately, meaning: this is what the
translation-writer should translate.

6. THE SEMIOTIC APPROACH

Semiotics is the science that studies signs and signification. Accordingly, in order for there to be meaning
there must be a collaboration between a sign, an object and an interpreter. Thus, from the perspective
of semiotics, translation is thought of as a way of interpreting texts in which encyclopedic content varies
and each sociocultural context is unique.

Intro to Translation Studies: Vinay and Darbelnet's Translation Procedures

Way back in the 1950s, two French scholars named Jean-Paul Vinay and Jean Darbelnet explored the
linguistic aspects of translation. The field of Translation Studies didn't really exist at the time, so most
of what Vinay and Darbelnet did was considered comparative literature.

When looking at the work of Vinay and Darbelnet, the term contrastive linguistics seems much more
appropriate, as what they did was look at the differences between two languages in order to inform
their understanding of both of them. While other scholars sought to merely compare two languages in
order to inform the relationship between them, Vinay and Darbelnet looked at the process of
translation.

Their efforts culminated in what is considered their seminal work in the linguistic turn of translation
studies, Stylistique comparée du français et de l'anglais : méthode de traduction, which around four
decades later was translated into an English version, Comparative stylistics of French and English : a
methodology for translation. The fact that it was still worth translating into English nearly half a
century later shows you just how important it was. In the book, Vinay and Darbelnet posited that there
were seven main processes, or procedures, at work during any given translation. Here's the seven they
came up with:

Borrowing
Unless you are one of these people that confuse borrowing and lending, then this should cause you
little trouble. Borrowing is the idea of taking the word from the source language (SL) and maintaining it
in the target language (TL). It is considered the simplest of the procedures and tends to be employed in
two situations: either when discussing a new technical process for which no term exists within the TL,
or when maintaining a word from the SL for stylistic effect, in which the translator uses the foreign
term to add flavour to the target text (TT).

Calque

A calque is when an expression from the source text (ST) is transferred literally into the TT. Calques
either follow the syntax of the TL while translating each word literally or ignore the syntax of the TL
and maintain the syntax of the SL, rendering the calque in an awkward syntactical structure in the TT.

Literal Translation

The third translation method is only to be used under certain circumstances according to Vinay and
Darbelnet. The idea of translating word for word in a way that does not alter the meaning is
considered an acceptable use of literal translation by the two scholars. Literal translation, put simply,
expands the scope of a calque but in a much more acceptable way.

Transposition

Vinay and Darbelnet referred to transposition as changing word class without changing meaning. This
refers to when translators (often without thinking) change the word type, such as from nouns to
verbs. Vinay and Darbelnet considered transposition to be either obligatory or optional, and referred
to the ST as the base expression and the TT as the transposed expression.

Modulation

The fifth of Vinay and Darbelnet's procedures is modulation. Modulation refers to rendering the TT
from a different point of view to that of the ST. Vinay and Darbelnet consider this procedure to be
necessary when the results of the former procedures would produce an awkward-sounding translation,
despite it being grammatically, syntactically, and lexically correct. Modulation is a way for the
translator to find a degree of naturalness in their TT without sacrificing any meaning or accuracy
originating from the ST.
A great example given by Vinay and Darbelnet shows how the double negative construction used in
English is uncommon in French, and how modulation would render this in French as a simple affirmative
statement using a positive modifier.

Equivalence

The idea of equivalence can be simultaneously simple and complex in Translation Studies. Vinay and
Darbelnet explain equivalence as something almost inherently cultural, using the example of someone
expressing pain. In English the term "ouch!" is used, while in French, a literal rendering of the sound
would be of no use to the reader. Instead, the equivalent of "ouch!" in French is "aïe!". Both words
would immediately indicate to readers that there is some level of pain involved.

Equivalence also relates to idiomatic expressions, whereby all the lexical and grammatical elements are
there but translating literally would leave a reader confused. In fact, you can't "speak of the devil" in
French, as in the equivalent expression they speak of a "wolf".

Adaptation

The beautiful city of Paris at night, complete with banlieues.

The most complex of Vinay and Darbelnet's translation procedures is the final one, adaptation.
Adaptation is similar to equivalence in the way that the translator seeks to render the SL into the TL
whilst ensuring it is just as relevant and meaningful as the original was. Imagine the ST mentioned
something that was so undeniably English that translating it into French would have absolutely no
meaning, or vice-versa. At that point the translator must use adaptation. A brilliant example of this is
the term banlieue, which can be a bit of a double-edged sword when translating into English. While
the suburbs of French cities can be rich or poor, the term has been increasingly used to describe run-
down areas of cities with low income housing, which is not the idea that springs to mind when the
English hear the term suburbs. In this case, a translator would be forgiven for translating banlieue as
council estate (UK English) or even the projects (US English).

That's all of Vinay and Darbelnet's translation procedures. What did you think of them? Do they apply to
translators now or are they an oversimplification of the work that translators do? Tell us in the
comments below!
Vinay and Darbelnet

Background

Vinay and Darbelnet were two French linguists, whose interest in translation was sparked as they were

driving through francophone Canada. They were perplexed by the oddities they observed on the dual

language road signs in this bilingual region. A sign instructing them to slow down read: ‘Slow/

Lentement’. The French adverb seemed to them to be far too unwieldy: back home, the sign would read

'ralentir' (so an adverb in English becomes a noun in French).

On a purely linguistic level, consideration of Vinay and Darbelnet's 'procédés de traduction' are an

extremely useful starting-point for a translator (Paris: Didier, 1958). They focussed particularly on the

natural: what would ‘naturally’ be used in one language, if there were no translation involved.

Below, you will find a summary of their general Translation Procedures. Their two over-arching

strategies are DIRECT and OBLIQUE translation. Between languages that share many features, such as

French and English, the default position is really literal translation; it is only when this does not work

that you have to work up and down the table, preferably downwards in their view, in order to enhance

naturalness.

DIRECT PROCEDURES

1. Emprunt Most borrowings are already integrated into the lexicon (eg le weekend ).

Often gradually becomes acceptable in the language (fautif ... emploi

critiqué ... admis).

EXAMPLES: le bulldozer (borrowed from English), a fuselage (borrowed from

French), réaliser (dans le sens anglais de se rendre compte de quelque chose -

use first attested 1920s).

Rare as a translation procedure per se, but this technique can be used when

the translator wants to add la couleur locale.

2. Lexical Calque Borrowing a known expression that exists in a different language, but

translating it literally. For example ‘compliments of the season’ being taken

into Canadian French as ‘compliments de la saison’.

3. Literal

translation

This is the default position, the first point of call for a translator.

Note that it is crucial to respect English grammatical and word order

differences when translating from the French (eg adjectives, articles).

© Dr Emma Tyler, October 2013

OBLIQUE PROCEDURES

4. Syntactic

Transposition

Changing one part of speech for another. For example:

verb to adjective: il se méfiait - he was suspicious.

noun to adjective: il a faim – he was hungry

5. Semantic

Modulation

Changing the viewpoint.

o Lexical: bois de chauffage – firewood; un polar - a whodunnit ; un

poisson rouge – a goldfish ; peu profond - shallow.

o Grammatical : n'hésitez pas à m'appeler – do ring me ; elle est parfois

casse-pieds – she can be a nuisance.

6. Equivalence Sur le plan linguistique.

Technique for translating idioms or fixed expressions. Find an equivalent

lexical formulation which performs the same function in the target language:

je vous en prie = you’re welcome. Comme un chien dans un jeu de quills – like

a bull in a china shop.

7. Adaptation Sur le plan culturel.

Technique for translating ‘sociocultural realities’ that are not shared

between the two cultures. Find an approximate equivalent, so that you adapt

one cultural universe to fit another one:

‘A’ level > baccalauréat.

Bon appétit > hi! (or bye!)

Bibliography

Jeremy Munday (2012) Introducing Translation Studies: Theories and Applications, third edition

(Abingdon: Routledge) – chapter four

Anthony Pym (2010), Exploring Translation Theories (Abingdon: Routledge), pp.12-17

J-P. Vinay and J.Darbelnet (1995) Comparative Stylistics of French and English: A Methodology

for Trnasltion, translated and edited by Juan Sager and Marie-Jo Hamel (Amsterdam and

Philadelphia: John Benjamins). This was originally published in French in 1958 as Stylistique

compare du français et de l’anglais: Méthode de traduction (Paris : Didier), now out of print.

Ancient Chinese Mythology

The writing of mythological tales began in the Wei and Jin Dynasties (220-420), when various writers,
influenced by the alchemist's ideas and Taoist and Buddhist superstitions, were interested in inventing
stories about gods and ghosts. Some of them show their unusual imagination and mastery of the written
language. This practice was continued in the next period, the period of Southern and Northern
Dynasties.

In the middle of the Tang Dynasty many well-known writers and poets began story writing. Their stories
incorporate a wide range of subject matter and themes, reflecting various aspects of human nature,
human relations and social life. In form they are not short notes or anecdotes like the tales produced
before them, but well-structured stories with interesting plots and vivid characters, often several
thousand words in length. Among them are many tales whose main characters are gods, ghosts, or
foxes. Mythical stories of the Song Dynasty show strong influence of Tang fiction, but hardly attain the
Tang level.

One achievement in the field of fiction worthy of special mention is the compilation of the great Taiping
Guangji or Extensive Records Compiled in the Taiping Years (976-983), which is a collection of about
seven thousand stories published before and in the first years of the Song Dynasty. The stories were
selected from over three hundred books, many of which have long been lost to us. Large portions of the
seven thousand stories are about gods, deities, fairies, and ghosts. In Song times there were stories
written in the vernacular, called "notes for story-tellers".

In the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties that followed the best-known works of fiction were novels in the
vernacular, such as Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Water Margin, Pilgrimage to the West, The
Scholars, and Dream of the Red Mansions.

In the early period of the Qing Dynasty there appeared an anthology of short mythical stories written in
the classical style-- Strange Stories from Happiness Studio by Pu Songling. For some time it was a most
popular book, praised and liked by many people. After Pu, Ji Yun, who presided over the compilation of
the Siku Quanshu (Complete Collection of Written Works Divided into Four Stores), wrote a book
entitled Notes from a Thatched House, which includes anecdotes, rumors and tales about gods, foxes
and ghosts.

As with other cultures, Chinese mythical stories are entwined with history. The history of the long period
before recorded history began is partly based on legend, which is interwoven with mythology. Such
ancient heroes and leaders as Fuxi, Shennong, Huangdi (the Yellow Emperor) and Yu are both historical
figures according to legend and important characters in mythical stories. Again - as in other cultures -
myths reflect Creation, the importance of true love and balance, self-sacrifice, encourage good deeds
and warn against sin, rebellion vs. oppression.

All these features add up, perhaps, to one prevailing characteristic - China's mythical stories, either
those created by the primitive people or those written by later scholars, are full of human feelings.
Gods, ghosts, foxes and spirits are commonly described as living things with human qualities and human
feelings. Chinese inventors of myths describe gods the way they describe man, or treat them as if they
were human, and endow them with human nature. There are also stories that try to illustrate fatalism,
reincarnation, and all sorts of feudal ethical principles. This is only natural, because literary works
inevitably reflect the beliefs of the age in which they are produced.

In style and art of writing, both early and later mythical stories are superb. Classical Chinese is extremely
concise. A few hundred, even a few dozen words are enough to tell a story complete with dialogue and
behavioral and psychological descriptions.
Gods and Goddesses

Ch'eng-Huang

God of moats and walls. Every village and town had its own Ch'eng-Huang, most often a local dignitary
or important person who had died and been promoted to godhood. His divine status was revealed in
dreams, though the gods made the actual decision. Ch'eng-Huang not only protects the community from
attack but sees to it that the King of the Dead does not take any soul from his jurisdiction without
proper authority. Ch'eng-Huang also exposes evil-doers in the community itself, usually through dreams.
His assistants are Mr. Ba Lao-ye and Mr. Hei Lao-ye -- Mr. Daywatchman and Mr. Nightwatchman.

Chu Jung

God of fire. Chu Jung punishes those who break the laws of heaven.

Kuan Ti

God of war. The Great Judge who protects the people from injustice and evil spirits. A red-faced god
dressed always in green. An oracle. Kuan Ti was an actual historical figure, a general of the Han dynasty
renowned for his skill as a warrior and his justness as a ruler. There were more than 1600 temples
dedicated to Kuan Ti.

Kwan Yin

Goddess of mercy and compassion. A lady dressed in white seated on a lotus and holding an infant.
Murdered by her father, she recited the holy books when she arrived in Hell, and the ruler of the
underworld could not make the dead souls suffer. The disgruntled god sent her back to the world of the
living, where Kwan Yin attained great spiritual insight and was rewarded with immortality by the
Buddha. A popular goddess, Kwan Yin's temple at the Mount of the Wondrous Peak was ever filled with
a throng of pilgrims shaking rattles and setting off firecrackers to get her attention.
Lei Kun

God of thunder. Lei Kung has the head of a bird, wings, claws and blue skin, and his chariot is drawn by
six boys. Lei Kung makes thunder with his hammer, and his wife makes lightning with her mirrors. Lei
Kung chases away evil spirits and punishes criminals whose crimes have gone undetected.

Pa Hsein

The Eight Immortals of the Taoist tradition. Ordinary mortals who, through good works and good lives,
were rewarded by the Queen Mother Wang by giving them the peaches of everlasting life to eat. They
are:

TIEH-KUAI Li - of the Iron Crutch. A healer, Li sits as a beggar in the market place selling wondrous drugs,
some of which can revive the dead.

CHUNG-LI CH'UAN - A smiling old men always beaming with joy, he was rewarded with immortality for
his ascetic life in the mountains.

LAN TS'AI-HO - A young flute-player and wandering minstrel who carries a basket laden with fruit. His
soul-searching songs caused a stork to snatch him away to the heavens.

LU TUNG-PIN - A hero of early Chinese literature. Renouncing riches and the world, he punished the
wicked and rewarded the good, and slew dragons with a magic sword.

CHANG-KUO LAO - An aged hermit with miraculous abilities. Chang owned a donkey that could travel at
incredible speed. The personification of the primordial vapor that is the source of all life.

HAN HSIANG-TZU - A scholar who chose to study magic rather than prepare for the civil service. When
his uncle chastised him for studying magic, Han Hsiang-Tzu materialized two flowers with poems written
on the leaves.
TS'AO KUO-CHIU - Ts'ao Kuo-Chiu tried to reform his brother, a corrupt emperor, by reminding him that
the laws of heaven are inescapable.

HO HSIEN-KU - Immortal Maiden - A Cantonese girl who dreamed that she could become immortal by
eating a powder made of mother-of-pearl. She appears only to men of great virtue.

P'an-Chin-Lien

Goddess of prostitutes. As a mortal, she was a widow who was much too liberal and inventive with her
favors, and her father-in-law killed her. In death her more professional associates honored her and
eventually became the goddess of whores.

Shi-Tien-Yen-Wang

The Lords of Death, the ten rulers of the underworld. They dress alike in royal robes and only the wisest
can tell them apart. Each ruler presides over one court of law. In the first court a soul is judged according
to his sins in life and sentenced to one of the eight courts of punishment. Punishment is fitted to the
offense. Misers are made to drink molten gold, liars' tongues are cut out. In the second court are
incompetent doctors and dishonest agents; in the third, forgers, liars, gossips, and corrupt government
officials; in the fifth, murderers, sex offenders and atheists; in the sixth, the sacrilegious and
blasphemers; in the eighth, those guilty of filial disrespect; in the ninth, arsonists and accident victims. In
the tenth is the Wheel of Transmigration where souls are released to be reincarnated again after their
punishment is completed. Before souls are released, they are given a brew of oblivion, which makes
them forget their former lives.

Ti-Tsang Wang

God of mercy. Wandering in the caverns of Hell, a lost soul might encounter a smiling monk whose path
is illuminated by a shining pearl and whose staff is decorated with metal rings that chime like bells. This
is Ti-Tsang Wang, who will do all he can to help the soul escape hell and even to put an end to his
eternal round of death and rebirth. Long ago, Ti-Tsang Wang renounced Nirvana so that he could search
the dark regions of Hell for souls to save from the kings of the ten hells. Once a priest of Brahma, he
converted to Buddhism and himself became a Buddha with special authority over the souls of the dead.

T'Shai-Shen

God of wealth who presides over a vast bureaucracy with many minor deities under his authority. A
majestic figure robed in exquisite silks. T'shai-Shen is quite a popular god; even atheists worship him.

Tsao-Wang

God of the hearth. Every household has its own Tsao Wang. Every year the hearth god reports on the
family to the Jade Emperor, and the family has good or bad luck during the coming year according to his
report. The hearth god's wife records every word spoken by every member of the family. A paper image
represents the hearth god and his wife, and incense is burned to them daily. When the time came to
make his report to the Jade Emperor, sweetmeats were placed in his mouth, the paper was burned, and
firecrackers were lit to speed him on his way.

TUt-Ti

Local gods. Minor gods of towns, villages and even streets and households. Though far from the most
important gods in the divine scheme, they were quite popular. Usually portrayed as kindly, respectable
old men, they see to it that the domains under their protection run smoothly.

Yeng-Wang-Yeh

Lord Yama King - Greatest of the Lords of Death. Yeng-Wang-Yeh judges all souls newly arrived to the
land of the dead and decides whether to send them to a special court for punishment or put them back
on the Wheel of Transmigration.
Yu-Huang-Shang-Ti

Father Heaven - e August Supreme Emperor of Jade, whose court is in the highest level of heaven,
originally a sky god. The Jade Emperor made men, fashioning them from clay. His heavenly court
resembles the earthly court in all ways, having an army, a bureaucracy, a royal family and parasitical
courtiers. The Jade Emperor's rule is orderly and without caprice. The seasons come and go as they
should, yin is balanced with yang, good is rewarded and evil is punished. As time went on, the Jade
Emperor became more and more remote to men, and it became customary to approach him through his
doorkeeper, the Transcendental Dignitary. The Jade Emperor sees and hears everything; even the
softest whisper is as loud as thunder to the Jade Emperor.

- by D.W. Owens

Chinese mythology is a collection of cultural history, folktales, and religions that have been passed down
in oral or written are several aspects to Chinese mythology, including creation myths and legends and
myths concerning the founding of Chinese culture and the Chinese state. Like most mythologies, some
people believed it to be, at least in part, a factual recording of history.

Historians have conjectured that the Chinese mythology began in 12th century B.C. The myths and the
legends were passed down in oral format for over a thousand years, before being written down in early
books such as Shan Hai Jing. Other myths continued to be passed down through oral traditions such as
theatre and song, before being recorded in the form of novels such Hei'an Zhuan - Epic of Darkness
Literally Epic of the Darkness, this is the only collection of legends in epic form preserved by a
community of the Han nationality of China, namely, inhabitants of the Shennongjia mountain area in
Hubei, containing accounts from the birth of Pangu till the historical era.

Chinese Mythology Wikipedia

There were over 200 gods and goddesses worshipped throughout ancient China, but if one were to
count every deity or spirit, the number would be over 1,000. Each town, village, city, field, farm, and
sometimes even separate plot in a graveyard, had its own Tudi Gong, an elemental earth spirit, who was
recognized and honored. There were also spirits known as Kuei-Shen, nature spirits, who might inhabit a
tree or live by a stream or preside over a garden.
These were eternal spirits who had never been mortal but others, known as guei (or kuei, gui, kui), had
once been human beings who had died and passed on to the afterlife. The guei could return to haunt
the living for various reasons, and rituals, spells, and religious practices developed to appease them.
There were also deities who had once been mortal and now lived with the gods, such as the Baxian (Pa
Hsien), the Eight Immortals of holy Taoists who were rewarded by the goddess Queen Mother of the
West with immortality. The Baxian were prayed to like any of the other gods, as were one's ancestors
who had passed over the bridge between the land of the living and the realm of the dead to live among
the gods and watch over the living.

Chang'e Flees to the Moon

Chang'e Flees to the Moon

by The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright)

The gods were believed to have created the world and human beings, and they kept the world and
surrounding universe functioning. Each deity had his or her own special area of power and influence,
and the most important were given their own shrines and temples, although shrines were also erected
to local spirits and to noble men and women who became deified after death.

THE GODS WERE BELIEVED TO HAVE CREATED THE WORLD AND HUMAN BEINGS, AND THEY KEPT THE
WORLD AND SURROUNDING UNIVERSE FUNCTIONING.

These deities lived in palaces and castles high above human beings in places like the Kunlun Mountains,
Mount Tai, the Jade Mountain, and Mount Penglai which was the mystical island of the afterlife
somewhere far out at sea. Even though they were far away, they were still connected to human life on a
daily basis, watching over and keeping account of the good and bad deeds people did. Each of the
deities had their own part to play in the lives of people and the operation of the world from the most
intimate moments to events of national importance such as a dynasty's collapse.

All of the gods, goddesses, and spirits were important to the people of ancient China, and remain so
today, and selecting a certain small group leaves out many, many others who remain just as significant.
However, one can single out those deities who had national prominence, are among the oldest, or are
without question the most popular as shown through ancient writings and evidence from archaeological
excavations. The gods and goddesses listed below are given in the order they appear in Chinese writings.
Most likely, deities like Nuwa, Fuxi, and P'an Ku were recognized much earlier than written records
indicate, and the same is probably true of most of the gods and goddesses on the list. These deities are
selected because they were all very important to the people of ancient China even though some were
more prominent at certain times in history than at others.
Dragon

The dragon is the oldest symbol of a deity found in China. The dragon symbol appears on pottery found
at the Neolithic site of Banpo Village dating from between c. 4500-3750 BCE. Dragon was considered a
composite of yin and yang energies and was originally seen as a balancing force who was wise and just.
The dragon Yinglong was known as The Dragon King and god of rain and waters. As god of the sea, he
was known as Hong Shen and was prayed to regularly by sailors and fishermen, but farmers who needed
rain for their crops worshipped Dragon as well. He is also shown in human form as a wise man with the
full sun behind his head watching over a boat full of people.

Shangti

Shangti was the supreme god of law, order, justice, and creation. He is also known as Jade Emperor,
Yellow Emperor, or Yu Huang Shang-Ti, although there are sometimes important distinctions made
between these names and Jade Emperor can mean another deity. Shangti was considered the great
ancestor of all Chinese, who gave the people culture, architecture, skill in battle, agriculture, controlled
the weather, regulated the seasons, and was king over the other gods, human beings, and nature. He
was worshipped primarily during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 BCE) when he was considered a deified
king who ruled c. 2697-2597 BCE and was included in the mythical or semi-mythical grouping of the
Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, demi-gods who ruled China between c. 2852-2070 BCE. During the
Zhou Dynasty (c. 1046-226 BCE) Shangti was replaced by the concept of Tian (Heaven) but re-emerged
as Shangti during the Warring States Period (476-221 BCE). The Zhou developed the concept of the
Mandate of Heaven which legitimized the rule of a certain dynasty. Tian judged who was worthy to rule
and for how long, and when a dynasty was no longer fit, it fell and another took its place.

The Jade Emperor

The Jade Emperor

by OAC Press (Public Domain)

Queen Mother of the West

She was the queen of the immortal gods and spirits, especially female spirits who lived in the mystical
land of Xihua ("West Flower"), and goddess of immortality. She is also known as Xiwangmu or Xi-Wang-
Mu and lived in a castle of gold in the Kunlun Mountains, surrounded by a moat which was so sensitive
that even a hair dropped on the waters would sink. This moat served as protection for her Imperial
Peach Orchard where the juices of the fruit of the trees gave immortality. Xiwangmu is shown as a
beautiful woman with sharp teeth and a leopard's tail, or as an old, unattractive woman with a hunched
back, tiger's teeth and a leopard's tale, depending on her mood. She rewarded her followers with
eternal life but punished those who angered her. During the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE) her cult was
very popular and shrines were built for her by the government. She is the wife of Mugong, Lord of the
Spirits, who watches over male spirits in the land of Donghua ("East Flower") but is sometimes seen as
the wife of Shangti.
Guanyin

Guanyin was the goddess of mercy and compassion who became the patron of sailors and fishermen.
She was originally a deity in India known as Avalokitesvara whose name means "One Who Gazes Down
Upon the World and Hears the Cries of the People". She came to China from India through trade via the
Silk Road during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE-220 CE). She was so compassionate that she incarnated as
the maiden Miaoshan in order to experience life as a human being and offer service to others.
Miaoshan's father wanted her to marry a wealthy priest. Miaoshan refused to marry unless the marriage
could end the sufferings caused by illness, aging, and death. When her father told her no marriage could
end such things, she replied that a doctor could, but her father did not want her marrying someone of
such a lowly occupation. She was allowed to enter a temple instead of marrying, but her father made
sure that she was given all of the worst work, which she accomplished with the help of the nearby
animals who responded to her goodness. Her father then tried to burn the temple down but Miaoshan
put the fire out with her bare hands. He then had her executed, but when she went to hell, she released
all of the goodness she held inside and turned it into paradise. The king of the dead, Lord Yama, sent her
back to earth before she ruined his realm, and she lived afterwards on Fragrant Mountain where she
watched over human beings. From her mountain home, she would often notice people in trouble on
their boats at sea and rescued them, which is how she became patron goddess of sailors and fishermen.
She was one of the most popular deities in all of China, and both men and women adored her.

Guanyin

Guanyin

by The Trustees of the British Museum (Copyright)

Yan Wang

Yan Wang is the god of death and king in the afterlife. He is the greatest of all the Lords of Death who
rule the regions of the underworld. He is also known as Yang-Wang-Yeh, Lord Yama, and Lord Yama
King. Yan Wang presides over the judgment of souls and decides whether they will be punished for their
crimes in life, go on to live with the gods, or be reincarnated. In one famous story, a soldier named
Commandant Yang, who had caused a great deal of suffering and misery in his life, died and appeared in
the court of Yan Wang. Yan Wang asked him how he had managed to build up so many sins on his soul
in the short time he was on earth. Yang claimed he was innocent and had done nothing wrong. Yan
Wang commanded the scrolls of Yang's life to be brought in where the date and time of his sins were
read along with who was affected and how many had died because of Yang's selfishness. Yang was
condemned by the Lord of Death, and a great hand appeared which snatched him up and crushed him.
It was said that one could escape punishment for one's sins on earth but no one could escape justice in
the court of Yan Wang.

Nuwa & Fuxi

Nuwa and Fuxi were the mother and father deities of human beings. Nuwa was born at the beginning of
creation and fixed the mistakes made at first so that everything was perfect. She built a palace for
herself, which became the model for Chinese architecture, and lived there with her friend and brother
Fuxi, both depicted as human-dragons with human heads and dragon bodies or human bodies to the
waist and dragon legs and tails. Nuwa became lonely and created human beings for company from the
mud of the Yellow River. She breathed life into them and they moved and lived. She continued to make
more and more human beings but it was tiring work and so she created marriage so that they could
reproduce themselves. The humans were alive but had no knowledge of anything and so Fuxi gave them
the gifts of fire, writing, how to get food from the sea, and all the other skills they would need to live. He
also gave them the gifts of music, culture, and divination so they could make good decisions by knowing
what the future held.

Caishen

Caishen, the god of wealth, was one of the most popular gods of ancient China and still is today. Statues
of Caishen (also known as Ts'ai Shen) can be seen in businesses run by Chinese merchants all around the
world and in Chinese homes. His statue shows a wealthy man seated in a silk robe holding riches in both
hands. He is sometimes accompanied by two attendants carrying bowls of gold. He was not just the god
of material wealth but of a rich life which meant a happy family and a secure, prosperous, and
respectable job. Caishen was very generous to his followers but was not foolish and did not give out his
wealth to just anyone. People had to prove themselves worthy of his generosity by working hard,
praying to him regularly, and thanking him for his gifts. Temples and shrines to Caishen were probably
the most numerous in ancient China.

Chang'e

Chang'e, the goddess of the moon, was another of the most popular deities in ancient China and is the
most often mentioned deity in Chinese poetry and literature. She was the consort of the archer god Hou
Yi who saved her during a lunar eclipse and brought her back safely. Chang'e betrayed him by stealing
from him the elixir of immortality, which the gods had given him, and ran across the night sky with it,
pursued by Hou Yi. She reached the moon where she transformed herself into a toad to hide from him
until his rage passed. Hou Yi had been stopped in his pursuit by a hare who would not let him pass until
he calmed down and promised he would not harm her. When Hou Yi reached the moon, Chang'e had
remained in her toad form too long to change back and so, when one looks at the moon, one sees the
outline of a toad on its surface. The story of Chang'e and Hou Yi was celebrated at the Mid-Autumn
Festival in ancient China which is known today as the Moon Festival when people go outside at night to
appreciate the moon, eat moon cakes, and give gifts to friends and family.

Zao-Shen

Zao-Shen (or Tsao Shen and Tsao Wang), also known as The Kitchen God, lived in the kitchen above the
stove of every home. He was represented by a paper image made by the most prestigious woman of the
household and was kept in the same place throughout the year. Zao-Shen was responsible for the
happiness of the home and the prosperity of the family, but this depended on their behavior and values.
Every month Zao-Shen left the home to report to the local gods and spirits on the family's conduct. If
they had behaved well, he was instructed to increase their riches and happiness; if they had behaved
badly, he was told to withdraw riches and happiness. "Riches" meant not only material wealth but
comfort and well-being, which was further assured by his warding off evil spirits. When he left the home
to make his report, families were especially anxious because they had no household protector. At the
end of the lunar year, on New Year's Eve, Zao-Shen had to leave to report to Shangti himself and the
universal gods on how the family had behaved throughout the year. At this time, more incense was
burned than usual in front of the paper statue and its mouth was smeared with honey so that only
sweet words about the family would be reported to the gods. Offerings of fine foods and good wine
were placed before him to thank him for his protection. The paper figure was then burned and
firecrackers set off to speed him on his way. The next morning, the first day of the New Year, a new
paper statue was made and placed above the stove.

Zao-Shen, the Kitchen God

Zao-Shen, the Kitchen God

by E. T. C. Werner (Public Domain)

Niu Lang & Zhi Nu

The god and goddess of love. Zhi Nu was the goddess of weaving for the gods and daughter of Shangti.
Every day she wove the beautiful robes the gods wore and looked down on earth from her place among
the stars and wished she could visit. She was finally granted permission by her father and went to earth
where she left her clothes by the banks of a stream and went swimming. A cowherd named Niu Lang
saw her and fell in love with her so he stole her clothes so she could not run away from him. When Zhi
Nu came out of the water she was outraged that her clothes were gone but when Niu Lang explained
himself she fell in love with him. She forgot all about her home in the heavens and her duties as divine
weaver and stayed on earth with Niu Lang. They were very happy together, every day they were more in
love, and they had many children. Shangti was not pleased, though, and neither were the other gods
and so soldiers were sent to bring Zhi Nu back home. Niu Lang tried to follow but Shangti threw a wall of
stars across his path and stopped him; these stars are known on earth as the Milky Way. Once a year,
magpies fly from earth to the Milky Way and form a bridge the two can cross to be with each other on
the evening known as the Seventh Night of the Seventh Moon. This became a very popular story
referenced by writers and poets in many different eras of China's history. The Lady in the famous poem,
Song of Everlasting Sorrow, references this story toward the end when she is on the island in the
afterlife. The myth was the basis for the Festival of the Seventh Night of the Seventh Moon which
officially was dedicated to women's art in sewing and weaving but unofficially was a night for romance.
Zhi Nu is the star Vega in the constellation of Lyra, and Niu Lang is the star Altair in the constellation of
Aquila, separated by the Milky Way except for once a year.

Menshen
Menshen, the guardians of the door, known as "Gods of Peaceful Sleep" who protect a room, house, or
building from evil spirits and ghosts, originated in the early Tang Dynasty (618-901 CE). The emperor
Taizong (626-649 CE) was having a hard time sleeping because of nightmares. He consulted a doctor
who blamed the bad dreams on evil spirits. Taizong's nightmares were so real he thought people were
actually in the room trying to kill him, and so two of his most trusted guards were posted outside the
door of his room, one standing on each side. Taizong began to sleep better with the guards outside and
so ordered that their images be painted on the doorway. News of Taizong's painted soldiers spread and
soon more and more people were painting guardians on their doors and rooms. These images can be
seen on many buildings and homes in China and elsewhere. Part of the Chinese New Year celebration is
cleaning and re-painting the Menshen on doorways.

Chinese Door Gods

Chinese Door Gods

by Little Koshka (CC BY-NC-ND)

P'an Ku

The god of creation, P'an Ku (also known as Pan Gu and Pangu) is pictured as a hairy dwarf with horns.
Once there was only darkness everywhere in the universe and in this grew a cosmic egg which was kept
warm for thousands of years until it broke open and P'an Ku appeared. He cut through the darkness and
separated the yin from the yang principles; then he made the yin into earth and the yang into sky and
pushed them apart from each other. Every day he stood on the earth and pushed the sky a little higher,
and each day he grew taller and taller until he was a giant. P'an Ku then began to add pretty details to
his creation like mountains and valleys, which he made according to the principles of yin and yang so
that everything would be balanced. He worked on his creation for thousands of years until it was
perfect, and then he died. His breath became air and his blood the rivers and streams. The fleas from his
body ran off and became animals while his body hair became forests of trees and bushes. His left eye
became the sun and his right eye the moon. Many centuries after his death, Nuwa appeared and
created human beings and Fuxi taught them how to survive in the world P'an Ku had created. In another
version of the myth, human beings are the fleas which run from P'an Ku's body after he dies.

Other gods & goddesses

These gods and goddesses and many others were worshipped by the Chinese people for centuries.
Some developed later than others but all were important to the people. There were many other notable
gods who deserve mention: Guan Gong (also known as Guandi), the god of war, who was a great warrior
and hero deified after his death; Sun Wukong, the god of mischief, who ate the peaches of immortality
and tricked the gods into giving him eternal life; Fu-Shen, the god of happiness; Hou-Ji, god of Millet and
grains; Kailushen, "Spirit Who Clears Roads", a protector against ghosts and evil spirits; Sheji, god of soil
and grain, a harvest fertility god; Wen Chang (also known as Wendi), god of literature who was the
patron of scholars and writers and kept accounts of how well writers used their talents in life; and Cheng
Huang, "God of Wall and Moat" who protected the walls and gates of the cities. Although worship of
these gods was outlawed as "superstition" when the communist party took control of the Chinese
government in 1949 CE, they continued to be worshipped privately by the people and are still honored
in many homes all over the world today.

BIBLIOGRAPHY RELATED CONTENT BOOKS CITE THIS WORK LICENSE

EDITORIAL REVIEW

This article has been reviewed for accuracy, reliability and adherence to academic standards prior to
publication.

Bibliography

Alley, R. Bai Juyi 200 Selected Poems. (New World Press, 1983).

Benn, C. Daily Life in Traditional China"Daily Life Through History" Series). (Greenwood Press, 2001).

Campbell, T. Gods & Goddesses of Ancient China. (Rosen Publishing Group, 2014).

Ebrey, P. B. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. (Cambridge University Press, 2010).

Fisher, L. E. The Gods and Goddesses of Ancient China. (Holiday House, 2003).

Tanner, H. M. China: A History Volume I, From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire.
(Hackett Publishing, 2010).

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