The authors gratefully acknowledge the research project “Harbor, Health, Home”: Health Science Communication under the Healthy China Initiative supported by China’s National Program of Undergraduate Innovation and En-trepreneurship (No.202513022017).
Published: November 30, 2025
Article history: Updated on June 26, 2026
Abstract
In the context of the global mental health crisis, Oriental wisdom, especially the Confucian concept of “Body-Mind Harmony”, provides a unique paradigm for holistic well-being. However, previous studies tend to focus on the macro theoretical interpretation and strategic methods in Confucian classics and pay insuffi-cient attention to the transformation of health concepts in translation. Therefore, this paper takes Eco-translatology as the theoretical framework to analyze D.C. Lau’s English translation of The Analects. By examining the three-dimensional transformations in linguistic, cultural, and communicative dimensions, it explores how the ecological balance of the original text adapts to the Western target language environment. Studies have shown that Lau used selective adaptation to bridge ancient Chinese health philosophy with contemporary psychological constructs. By transforming traditional ethics into a blueprint of psychological resilience, Lau’s translation promotes effective cross-cultural health communication. Finally, this study shows how the translation of classic texts plays an important role as a bridge to promote translation.
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How to cite this paper
Translating Body-mind Harmony in The Analects for Modern Well-being: An Eco-translatology Approach
How to cite this paper: Yuxin Liu, Ying Lu. (2025). Translating Body-mind Harmony in The Analects for Modern Well-being: An Eco-translatology Approach. Translation and Foreign Language Learning, 1(4), 653-657.
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.26855/tfll.2025.11.010