A Comparative Analysis of Literal and Semantic Mongolian Translations (evidence from translations of “The Sutra of the Wise and the Fool” performed by Širegetü-guši-čorǰi and Toyin-guši)

The article discusses the issues relating to the history of medieval Mongolian literature the basis of which was laid in translated written texts. The author performs a textual analysis of two Mongolian translations of the well-known Buddhist literary monument - “The Sutra of the Wise and the Fool” (Tib. ‘dzangs blun zhes-bya-ba theg-pa chen-po’i mdo). The translators of these texts are the famous Mongolian writers of the 17th-18th centuries - Širegetü-guši-čorǰi (the late 16th-early 17th cc.) and Toyin-guši (the early 17th c.). The translation of the sutra made by Širegetü-guši-čorǰi and known under the name “Silaγun onoltu” (“[The Sutra bestowing] the fastest acquisition of knowledge”) is most often mentioned in literature. The second translation - the one performed by Toyin-guši - is almost unknown to the general scholarly public. Its transliterated text was published by Ts. Šagdarsüren in 1989 in Budapest. In the preface, the Mongolian scholar expresses V. Heissig’s hypothesis according to which both the translations could have been made by the same translator. However, Šagdarsüren considers that the similarities could be caused by the rules of alliteration and the principles of Dandin’s composition on poetic theory - Kāvyādarša or “Mirror of poetry” (Mong. ǰokistu ayalγun-u toli) - medieval writers adhered to. The author of the article shares the opinion established in the Mongolian studies community according to which Širegetü-guši-čorǰi followed the principles of semantic translation (from Tibetan into Mongolian) and Toyin-guši adhered to the principles of literal translation. It is concluded that both the translators are distinguished erudites with perfect expertise in Buddhist dogmatic literature and Tibetan. The last mentioned was important for understanding of the Tibetan original text and its adequate translation into the native language. The language expertise of both the translators is approximately identical since they lived and worked at approximately the same period. The results of the analysis reveal prospects for further typological research of the history of origins and development of Buddhist literature among Mongolian peoples.