I. Translation is an intelligence activity

Because translation is usually defined as expressing the meaning of one language in another language, it is easy for ordinary people to regard translation as a mechanical corresponding activity in a language, and there is no creativity at all. Traditionally, translation is synonymous with imitation or copy.

But in recent years, these views have been challenged systematically and forcefully. This is a kind of encouragement for translators, because it is like opening a window that has been closed for a long time, so that translators can get an unprecedented vision at once, and thus have a new leap in understanding the nature of their work. Contemporary translation studies have proved that translation is not only a noble profession, but also a profession full of great creativity.

    翻译因为通常被定义为把一种语言的意思用另一种语言表达出来，所以一般人总容易将翻译看成是一种语言上的机械对应活动，根本谈不上什么创意。但是近些年来，这些看法开始受到系统而有力的挑战。这对于翻译工作者来说是一种鼓舞，因为这犹如打开了一扇长期关闭的窗户，使翻译者一下子获得一种前所未有的视野，由此对自己从事的工作性质的认识产生了一种新的飞跃。当代翻译研究已经证明，翻译不仅是一个很崇高的职业，而且更是一个充满巨大创造性的职业。

1. What is creativity？

The first definition：“创造性是指一个人产生新的或原创思想、艺术创造的能力；一个创造性的构想一般定义为‘有新意的，而且在某种程度上对于其所出现于其中的情景有用或合适’”。 ——刘靖之《翻译论集》1981年，第122页

The second definition：即把原先存在的一些构想以新奇的方式加以组合；一个有创意的、新颖的想法可能与其他普通的想法产生于同一套规则，但两者的不同之处便在于富有创意的想法有着不同寻常、新的组合方式，能够点石成金，化腐朽为神奇。

Besides，创造性行为还可以界定为一种解决问题的能力形式。

From the above three definitions, we can see the relationship between creativity and translation从上面的3种定义，我们可以看出创造性与翻译的关系：

1. Translation is the rules and constraints of a discipline. It is not against creativity, but rather makes it possible.

2. The process of translation is the process of transforming the source language into the target language. This transformation leads to the emergence of a new text, which is the same as the original in content, but it is a brand-new work. From this point of view, this is a creative work. It is the result of reconstructing information on the three levels of words, sentences and semantics. The higher the degree of restructuring, the more creative the transformation process will be.

1）一种学科的规则与约束，不仅不与创造性对立，而且还使创造性成为可能。

2）翻译的过程是将源语转变成目的语的过程。这一转换导致一个新的文本的产生，这个新文本在内容上虽与原作相同，但却是一个崭新的作品。从这一点上说，这就是一件创造性的作品。它是在词、句、语义三个层面上重构信息的结果。语言结构重组的程度越高，这个转换过程的创意便越大。

1. When it comes to translation and the creation of original works, most people will have two ideas.

First, translation is restricted, while the original author's creation is not

Second, translation itself is less creative than the original writing

In fact, this concept, these ideas are not reasonable,

First of all, the original author's creation is not unrestrained.

首先原著作者的创作不是无拘无束的，为什么呢？

Because the creation of each literary form is constrained by various forms and requirements, the author can never act arbitrarily. At the same time, it is also affected by other factors, such as the language and culture of a country, the political environment, knowledge and life experience. Therefore, it is impossible to say that the writing of any original work is completely unrestricted. Even the creativity of the original work is just the result of the limitation.

因为每一种文学形式的创作都受各种格式和要求的约束，作者绝不可能任意行事。同时也受其他因素影响，例如一个国家的语言和文化的限制，政治环境的限制，本人的知识和生活经历的限制等等。所以说任何原著的写作完全不受限制是不可能的事，甚至于原作的创造性恰恰是受限制的结果。

Secondly, translation itself is not necessarily less creative than the original writing. Why?其次翻译行为本身比起原著的写作来，其创造性不一定小。为什么呢？

One is that we always regard the original as the supreme and have the authoritative status of not being questioned. However, in recent years, in the field of literary criticism and translation studies, this concept of original authority has been challenged. Because all texts are the result of absorbing, borrowing, imitating and rewriting other materials, translation is not only an act of "Rewriting", but also the creation of the original work is also an act of rewriting in essence.

其一是因为我们老是把原作看的至高无上，具有不受任何质询的权威地位。但是近些年在文学批评与翻译研究领域出现的著作里，这种原作权威的概念收到了挑战。因为所有的文本都是吸收、借用、模仿和重写其他材料的结果，因此不仅翻译是一种“重写”的行为，原作的创作在本质上也是一种重写行为。

The second reason is related to a view of art, that is, the derived view. Therefore, some scholars believe that from a larger perspective, it can be said that all written works can be called translation, just as oil painting and sculpture turn thinking into intuitive things. In fact, a painting or an article may contain a number of early "translation" processes. It is in this sense that text translation is compared by Tytler to "copy a picture".

第二个理由与艺术的一种观点有联系，即派生的观点。故有的学者认为，从一个更大的角度来看问题，可以说所有的文字作品都可称为翻译，如同油画和雕塑是把思维想法变成直观的东西道理是一样的。而实际上，一幅画、一篇文章可能就包含了若干前期的“翻译”过程。正是从这个意义上讲，文字翻译才被泰德勒（Tytler）比喻成为“复制一幅画”。

Second, creativity is often tied to limitations. Creativity is a response to limitation. It is precisely because of this restriction that creativity can be brought into play. For example, in Chinese classical poetry, metrical poetry is the most strict. The number of words, tone and tone, and antithesis must follow the rules of rhetoric, aesthetics and phonology. However, some people can still write excellent metrical poems under such constraints. Only by restricting them can they highlight their creativity. Therefore, limitation can be further regarded as a major source of creation. Translators are restricted by the source language, so translation has the potential to develop its creativity in that limitation.

其二创造性常常是与限制紧紧捆绑在一起的。创造性是对限制作出的反应，正是因为这种限制才使创造性得以发挥。比如，在中国的古典诗歌中，以律诗的格律最严，字数、平仄、对偶都必须遵循修辞、审美、音韵学原则的种种规定，然而，仍然能有人在这种种束缚之下写出绝妙的律诗来，为其限制多，才可凸显其创意。因此，限制还可以进一步被看成是创作的一个主要源泉。而翻译工作者要受原语的限制，故翻译在那个限制中是有潜力发挥其创意的。

Thirdly, translation is restricted not only by the text mode of the source language, but also by the rules of the target language. It can be seen from the above three points that translation itself is not necessarily less creative than the original writing.

其三是因为翻译不仅受原语文本模式的限制，同时又受译入语规则的限制，故翻译者所受的限制就是双重的了。

由上述三点可见，翻译行为本身比起原著的写作来，其创造性不一定小。

At this point, we have overturned the two ideas of translation and the creation of the original work. We have come to a conclusion that the translator is far more restricted or "bound" than the original author, and it is precisely because these restrictions bring creative impulse to the original author that the translator is forced to make a stronger decision Strong reaction, so as to breed more strong creativity. In other words, "if the double restriction of translation can generate creativity, then theoretically speaking, the translator must be more creative than the original author.

至此，已经推翻我们一般人面对翻译与原著创作所产生的两种想法，并总结出一个结论：翻译者所受的限制，或“受捆绑”的程度是要远远甚于原作者的，而也正是因为这些种种限制给予原著作者带来创造性冲动一样，翻译者面临的这种双重限制迫使他做出更为强烈的反应，从而孕育出更多更浓的创意。也就是说，“翻译所受的这种双重限制如果能生成创造力的话，那么从理论上讲，翻译者就必定比原作者更有创意”。   ——Boase-Beier，J.&M. Holman