备考指导#2017翻译硕士#中华思想文化术语翻译选读——信言不美 美言不信

信言不美
，美言不信(xìnyánbùměi，měiyánbùxìn)

可信的话并不漂亮 ，漂亮的话多不可信。老子鉴于当时社会风气与文风的浮华不实
，倡导返朴归真与自然平淡的生活方式和文学风格 。魏晋时代，文人崇尚自然素朴 ，反对虚浮华丽的创作风气
，出现了像陶渊明这样伟大的诗人，文艺创作也倡导真实自然的思想与风格
。自此之后 ，中国古代文艺以素朴自然为最高的审美境界。

TrustworthyWordsMayNotBeFine-sounding;Fine-soundingWordsMayNotBeTrustworthy.
Toaddresstheextravaganceinsocialmoresandinthestyleofwritingofhistime,Laoziadvocatedsimpleandnaturallifestylesandliterarypresentations.DuringtheWeiandJindynasties,menoflettersvaluednaturalandsimpleliterarystylesandwereopposedtoextravagantandsuperficialstyles.ThislineofthoughtledtotheemergenceofgreatpoetslikeTaoYuanming,andshapedliterarywritingstoreflectdirectthoughtsandnaturalexpressions.Subsequently,ancientChineseliteratureandarttooksimplicityandnaturalnessasthehighestaestheticstandards.

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[引例]

信言不美
，美言不信 。善者不辩，辩者不善
。(《老子·八十一章》)

老子疾伪 ，故称“美言不信
”
，而五千精妙，则非弃美矣。(刘勰《文心雕龙·情采》)

Trustworthywordsmaynotbefine-sounding;fine-soundingwordsmaynotbetrustworthy.Akind-heartedpersonmaynotbeaneloquentspeaker;aglibpersonisoftennotkind.(Laozi)

Laozidetestedpretense,sohesaid,“Floweryrhetoricwordsmaynotbetrustworthy.”However,the5,000-wordDaoDeJing(anothernameofLaozi)hewroteisnotonlyprofoundinideasbutreadsbeautifully.Thatmeanshewasnotopposedtowritingsusingfinewords.(LiuXie:TheLiteraryMindandtheCarvingofDragons)