秀才，是中国文化中的特有的词，英文中空缺。李白和王维诗歌中多次提到“秀才”，如李白诗《流夜郎半道承恩放还兼欣克复之美书怀示息秀才》中的“息秀才”。为了避开不表示任何意义的音译，我初译作To Hsi, a Scholar, When I’m Set Free on My Way to Nightboy and Hear of the Restoration。scholar肯定与原文有很大出入，外国读者一定想不到中国这一独有的文化现象。我启动《李白诗歌全集英译》，有两个目标：首先就是要全，把他留传下来诗的全部译完，其次就是要“全译”，即不能以音译的“不翻”来敷衍而让读者摸不着头脑。那么，这“秀才”到底该咋译呢？我看杨宪益、戴乃迭《儒林外史》英译本中音译成了xiucai，这正是不翻。老外如何能明白？再看 《汉英大词典》，是这样处理的：

  秀才 [xiù cái]

(1) [xiucai; one who passed the imperial examination at the county level in the Ming and Qing dynasties] 明清两代称生员

(2) [scholar] 泛指读书人

    抛开该词典的粗疏和错误，如“at the county level”，该词典划分了两个义项，作为生员的义项是xiucai，作为读书人的义项是scholar。应该说这两个对译都无法让老外明白该词的外延与内涵。xiucai通过解释老外即便能够明白一二，但也很难记住。再看另一个义项，难道读书人就是scholar吗？

    如果译文不能让人明白还会让人产生误解，那就不如仿造一个，比如根据“秀才”的字面意义和历史内涵，我且造一个showcharm。乡试的目的不就是选出有才的人吗？show即是“显露”，charm就是“才华”“魅力”。showcharm读起来也很像“秀才”吧？无论是作为生员还是读书人，showcharm都堪当此任。当老外明白了中国文化他会对这个“秀才”——showcharm会心一笑吧。

 *showcharm: hsiuts’ai if transliterated, a talent recommended for official use through official examinations usually held every three years or a well-learned person in ancient China. A showcharm was well respected in the traditional Chinese society.

*showcharm: a talent recommended for official use through civil service examinations, or a well learned person in ancient China. Showcharms are primary candidates, who have passed civil service examinations at provincial level, followed by more advanced recommendees (chüjen), offerees (kungshi), and enterees (chinshi). 

*Grand Test: referring to imperial civil-service examinations for selecting talents to serve as meritocratic governmental officials, a system and practice initiated in the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-A.D. 220), formally begun in the Sui dynasty (A.D. 581 –A.D. 619), well-developed in the T’ang dynasty (A.D. 618-A.D. 907) and abolished in the Late Ch’ing dynasty (A.D. 1636-A.D. 1912). Those who passed the enteree ( chin shih) level were indeed given upper-echelon government appointments, and as a perk, they were generally allied by marriage to upper-crust families. In the eighteenth century, the Jesuits and their friend Voltaire recommended such a system for Europe as a safety valve for Europe’s ossified social structure,which was soon overthrown by waves of aristocratic blood.