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Glossary entry

German term or phrase:

Das Reich der Mitte

English translation:

Land of the Dragon

Added to glossary by dkfmmuc
Apr 8, 2015 10:34
9 yrs ago
1 viewer *
German term

Das Reich der Mitte

German to English Bus/Financial Economics
In einem Zeitungsartikel geht es um die Kraft des aufstrebenden chinesischen Marktes. Ein Unternehmer arbeitet die Bedeutung des Landes und die kulturellen Unterschiede heraus.

Um nicht dauernd das Wort "China" zu wiederholen, greift der Autor auch zu Synonymen. Er nennt China "das Reich der Mitte".

In Wörterbüchern findet sich leider nur ein recht veralteter Begriff. Deshalb: Wie nennt Ihr denn das Reich der Mitte in der englischen Übersetzung im Zusammenhang mit Wirtschaftsberichten und Interviews?

Hilfe wäre nett.
Proposed translations (English)
3 +5 Land of the Dragon
4 +6 The Peoples' Republic
3 +6 Middle Kingdom
3 Cathay
2 the world's most populous country

Discussion

dkfmmuc (asker) Feb 4, 2016:
Read confirmation No FT.
Edgar Bettridge Feb 4, 2016:
"I don't understand your comment that...." If you look at the photograph in the link, you will. The answer is literally set in stone in a mosaic on the floor. I know that the question has been closed, but I thought you might want to reopen it.
dkfmmuc (asker) Feb 4, 2016:
Thank you for the valuable link, Edgar! I can agree that the V&A Museum is really great. On the other hand I don't understand your comment that "suboptimal answers are prefered". Social norms are preventing me to give a full answer. Therefore just a 100 % disagree. Many moons ago the question was closed.
Edgar Bettridge Feb 4, 2016:
I was at V & A museum the other day... ... looked at the floor and remembered this thread. It is frustrating when suboptimal answers get preferred on Proz..... http://www.vam.ac.uk/page/c/china-galleries/
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 9, 2015:
@dkfmmuc Yes!
dkfmmuc (asker) Apr 9, 2015:
A great privilege to have dedicated colleagues... ... like you. All suggestions are fine and I am really sorry that the source has not the size to include all of them.

In view of the growth rates of China, the source text itself and the fascination of the picture of the "mighty dragon" I have chosen the corresponding suggestion "Land of the Dragon". I hope the customer (and readers) will enjoy it.
dkfmmuc (asker) Apr 8, 2015:
A great discussion and a powerful field of positive energy/flow.

Honestly spoken I have two dragons at home. Have bought them as a nice present and to jog my memory of a unique vacation. Ths soft toy industry was really great in celebrating that year. (Sorry for the completely off-topic comment)

So I am really clueless which suggestion to choose. Just translating the text and postpone this decision. Will let you know.
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 8, 2015:
@Dianaft Elegant diplomacy nicely done.
Edgar Bettridge Apr 8, 2015:
yes they do pun rather a lot, and in this case there is obviously a joke.... However, they use the term Middle Kingdom on a regular basis - honestly not making it up! http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2014/04/daily-c...
Diana Obermeyer Apr 8, 2015:
I agree that the dragon does reflect the strength most effectively.
I have heard the Middle Kingdom being used as a description, but I also agree with the interpretation that in the quoted Economist article, it was likely chosen for the word play effect.
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 8, 2015:
@Lancashireman Spoilsport! Middle Kingdom is not as obscure as you assume.
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 8, 2015:
@dkfmmuc If the article advocates or admires the Chinese market, then you'll have to go with Land of the Dragon - a powerful symbol.
Lancashireman Apr 8, 2015:
Re Economist article Mittelstand and Middle Kingdom
Refers specifically to Sino-German trade relations. The use of Middle Kingdom is presumably an in-joke, or else the translator of the article was unable to cope with the word play in the original German title.
dkfmmuc (asker) Apr 8, 2015:
@Dianaft: 2 priorities The two priorities are: Translating the interview in a way that the message of the strong Chinese market and the participation of the company is transported correctly. The second priority is a bit of variety in terms.
dkfmmuc (asker) Apr 8, 2015:
This is great, Edgar! Thanks for the link. When I see the green light, I will accelerate.

BTW: Great collleagues here at proz.com.

Will collect the suggestions and deliver tomorrow.
Edgar Bettridge Apr 8, 2015:
Knights and Castles Perhaps you have the same reaction as @Oliver - who hears echoes of Middle Earth here? Nevertheless, Middle Kingdom is fairly standard journalese - if The Economist uses it, it gets the green light from me!
http://www.economist.com/news/business/21600146-chinese-comp...
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 8, 2015:
@dkfmmuc I think our conditioning is hard at work here. Middle Kingdom does have a medieval ring to it; the People's Republic reminds me of Mao, reconditioning and not so nice attributes, and the Land of the Dragon engenders images of temples, kungfu and Jackie Chan. Perhaps that is your best best, go with the associations that are pertinent to your text.
Diana Obermeyer Apr 8, 2015:
What is the priority? Finding the closest equivalent of the term, or achieving the same objective as the original author: avoiding repetition? The word or the spirit of the text?
dkfmmuc (asker) Apr 8, 2015:
Yes, it is! And it is astonishing that there is not a commonly used denomination. BTW: Thanks @Edgar Bettridge, @Ramey Rieger for the Middle Kingdom.

Have though about that but yet I am not sure. For me it sounds (too much) respectively I have the imagination of knights and castles if i hear "Middle Kingdom". Don't know why but that's my first thought.
Ramey Rieger (X) Apr 8, 2015:
@Dianaft Very interesting indeed!
Diana Obermeyer Apr 8, 2015:
The Wikipedia article is actually quite helpful here - it offers a decent discussion on it: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Names_of_China

Proposed translations

+5
10 mins
Selected

Land of the Dragon

Note from asker:
Thank you for this powerful suggestion. It indeed reflects the idea of a growing economy and an "Asian powerhouse" like Ramey stated in a comment.
Peer comment(s):
agree Lancashireman : Another good variation
4 mins
Thank you :o)
agree TonyTK : Yes, has a nice ring to it. Interestingly, both Wales and China also go by the name of "Land of the Red Dragon"
12 mins
Thank you Tony :o) Although I thought only Wales has the "red" dragon.
agree franglish : Best reflects the power of its economy
1 hr
Thanks franglish :o)
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : I believe this is the best solution considering the article has a positive slant. Well done!// Above all, the dragon is powerful, unpredictable and destructive. But it is also romantic, fabulous and can be healing. I LOVE Jackie Chan!
2 hrs
Thank you very much Ramey :o) For me the dragon is the one symbol for China boiling the very essence of the country down to a point. Positive, negative, Jackie Chan and all. If you'd ask around, I think it is what most people associate with China.GoJackie
agree Gudrun Wolfrath
3 hrs
Danke Gudrun :o)
neutral Craig Meulen : I beg to differ. In an article on the economy, "Land of the Dragon" sounds a bit aggressive. I wouldn't use in the asker's context. However, you cite references where it is used. So I'll vote 'neutral' here.
4 hrs
Thanks for your comment Craig :o)
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4 KudoZ points awarded for this answer. Comment: "Thank you for the support and dedication!"
+6
4 mins

Middle Kingdom

Although I can't imagine why

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 mins (2015-04-08 10:39:42 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

http://www.dict.cc/?s=Reich der Mitte
Peer comment(s):
neutral Andrew Bramhall : Sounds a bit too Tolkienesque to me!
1 min
Aw, c'mon Oliver, that was Middle Earth! Worlds apart!
agree Sam Townshend : yes, or 'Central Kingdom'. Here are a few more ideas which show it is a moden term (also note the number of journal articles putting it into Google): http://www.proz.com/kudoz/English/poetry_literature/2675455-...
5 mins
Thanks Sam, my confidence was quavering there for a minute!
agree Edgar Bettridge : Hi Ramey - yes I agree!
9 mins
Thanks!!
neutral BrigitteHilgner : Reminds me of Egypt. See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Middle_Kingdom
2 hrs
Although China is at the top of the list. Seems like everyone is reminded of something else, strange, don't you think?
agree jccantrell : This is how I always heard it in the USA. --XX-- John Charles
3 hrs
Thanks JCCantrell - what exactly does the JC stand for? (If you wanna tell)// Thank you! Strange, I always imagined you to be female.
agree Craig Meulen : Sounds completely normal to me.
4 hrs
Yes, it does to me, too. thanks Craig!
agree gangels (X)
1 day 1 hr
agree Harald Moelzer (medical-translator)
4 days
Something went wrong...
5 mins

Cathay

You could use the name by which the ancient kingdom was known, and which the airline carries;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathay
Note from asker:
Thank you for the suggestion. Sorry that I haven't lived in Asia yet only visited two countries. Therefore I know the great airline (and their great customer service) but never heard Cathay as denomination for the whole country.
Peer comment(s):
neutral Diana Obermeyer : I have heard of the airline, but had to look this up. In an article, this would really confuse me. I don't think the average reader would know this name.
10 mins
Something went wrong...
7 hrs

the world's most populous country

another one you might sprinkle in here and there
Note from asker:
Yes, indeed. This suggestion also reflects the economic power and the huge population of China. Honestly spoken this will be a great challenge for Europe.
Something went wrong...
+6
5 mins

The Peoples' Republic

The Peoples' Republic [of China]

The usual way of varying the name 'China' within a long text. Definitely not the 'Empire of the Centre/Middle', a phrase that is unknown in EN.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 7 mins (2015-04-08 10:42:11 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Also, the Asian Tiger, although of course there are several such economies.

--------------------------------------------------
Note added at 5 hrs (2015-04-08 16:04:35 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

Ideally, you need several variations for your article. here is an example of how The Guardian approaches the same problem:
Chinese aid to the Pacific has exceeded $1.9bn in the past decade, according to new research that reveals the Asian powerhouse’s growing footprint in Australia’s neighbourhood.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/2015/mar/02/china-increases...

Two more:
Concerns over the extent of the Chinese economic slowdown have long dogged the income prospects of the world’s major mining and energy companies. The Asian powerhouse posted its slowest rate of growth for almost a quarter of a century in 2014, at 7.4%...
http://www.fool.co.uk/investing/2015/03/25/7-2-reasons-to-se...

China lowered its 2015 growth projections to “around 7 percent” on 5 March - the slowest rate in 24 years - amid fears that a slowdown in the Asian powerhouse</> could dampen economic ties with Africa.
http://www.fdiintelligence.com/News/Despite-slowing-growth-C...

A snap survey in this reasonably erudite UK household revealed that no-one understood the reference to 'Middle Kingdom'. I am surprised at its purported rate of recognition amongst American site users.

Slight tweak to my headline suggestion:
the People's Republic (lower case 'the' and singular apostrophe)
OR
the PRC (accepted abbreviation)

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Note added at 1 day9 hrs (2015-04-09 19:48:24 GMT)
--------------------------------------------------

"the text is represented in both countries PRC and Taiwan"
the Lands of the Dragon?
the Asian Tigers
the Asian powerhouse
Note from asker:
Thank you for the great contribution and the idea.
Thanks for the dedication and the suggestion. I am sorry to say that the issuer of the text is represented in both countries PRC and Taiwan. Therefore I wouldn't like to reopen old wounds.
Peer comment(s):
agree Ramey Rieger (X) : Asian powerhouse is quite appropriate. I hope dkfmmuc also recognized this in the heat of the discussion. Middle Kingdom just proves that America is no longer a British colony.
1 min
agree Natalie M
9 mins
agree BrigitteHilgner
2 hrs
agree Craig Meulen
4 hrs
agree philgoddard : People's.
5 hrs
agree Wendy Streitparth : Prefer Asian powerhouse to PRC in this context.
7 hrs
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