Pa'han Chip, Dennis Wuerthner

 Alexander Pfau

Mr. Vincent


    It was wonderful to have Dennis Wuerthner come present to us today. He was undeniably the stereotype of a "chill" translator, someone that I'd love to have a chat with. A master translating ancient Korean texts to English, he faces myriad difficulties. For example, Pa'han chip is an ancient Korean text, so old that it was written in traditional Chinese. Many of the names and places are famous in Asian culture, which the West is not familiar with. Therefore, Mr. Wuerthner had to translate other texts to create context for this one. We were made familiar with his three layer spreadsheet that housed his complex translations, with the original text, new Korean, and English translations in that order. His decisions with the various poems in Pa'han Chip were also intriguing. He decided to prioritize meaning above rhyme - similar to what happens in Japanese translations - in order to preserve the text's authenticity. 


    As for this weekends texts, I was so lost. Don't get me wrong, I love Asian culture, everything from art to literature, so I was excited when a Korean translator popped onto the schedule. But oh my days I was not ready for the barrage of unrequited info that was spat at me. Everywhere I looked there was a name, a which lead to a footnote, which lead to a name, you get the idea. I'm sure an avid scholar or Korean texts would have no trouble dealing with such a deep text, but I cannot. I was intrigued by the description of ancient Korean governmental systems and religion, some of which were surprisingly similar to those today; take the story about the Buddhist monks unable to drink alcohol. I can't say I enjoyed the read, I think his style does ask a little too much from the reader in terms of the myriad footnotes, but it is being published by a university, so I think it makes sense in that context.

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