文革时期常用词汇的英译

蒋割荆

Q

欺骗不明真相的人: mislead those who are not aware of the true facts
欺骗世界舆论: becloud world opinion
欺人太甚: bully others too much
欺软怕硬: bully the faint-hearted but fear the stout-hearted
七斗八斗: struggle repeatedly
七分成绩，三分错误: achievements amount to seventy percent and mistakes to thirty percent
（打着……）旗号: under the signboard of
旗手: standard-bearer
旗帜鲜明: take a clear-cut stand
奇谈怪论: strange tale/absurd argument
奇文共欣赏，疑义相与析: A remarkable work should be enjoyed together, and doubts analyzed in company.
奇装异服: outlandish clothing
骑虎难下: One who rides a tiger finds it difficult to dismount.
骑墙派: people who take no side/sitters on the fence/fence-sitters
杞人忧天: unnecessary worry/The man of Chi worries in case the sky should fall.
启发阶级觉悟: awaken their class consciousness
乞灵于……: reliance on/resort to/seek help from
气节: integrity
气焰嚣张: swollen with arrogance
气息奄奄: gasping/fainting/expiring/dying
弃暗投明: forsake the darkness and cross over to the brightness
弃恶从善: shun evil and do good
迄今为止: to this day
牵连: drag into trouble/become involved in/have connections with
牵连的面很广: involve great numbers of people
牵强附会: lead by the nose
千百万人头落地: cause tens of millions of people to lose their lives
千古罪人: branded as a traitor through the ages
千钧棒: the massive cudgel
千秋万代: everlasting/remain forever
千丝万缕的联系: a thousand and one links with...
千头万绪，日理万机: deal with a host of miscellaneous problems everyday
千万不要忘记阶级斗争: never forget the class struggle.
千言万语，归到一句话: in brief/in short/in a word
前怕虎，后怕狼: fear the tiger in front and the wolf behind
潜伏在……: entrenched in
潜逃: abscond
潜移默化: be unconsciously influenced
枪杆子、笔杆子: the pen as well as the gun
枪杆里面出政权: Political power grows out of the barrel of a gun.
强奸民意: defile public opinion
强制劳动: forced labor
墙报: wall-newspaper
敲门砖: a brick to open the door
乔装打扮: disguise oneself
切切不可等闲视之: It is most important that this struggle should not be taken lightly.
切实有效的: practical and effective
窃据: entrenched in
亲美、恐美、崇美的思想: the outlook of devotion to America, fear of America, and worship of America
亲密战友: close comrade-in-arms
亲如手足的兄弟: intimate brothers/become like brothers
亲信: one's own men
亲一派，疏一派: be warm to one group and cold to the other
亲者所痛，仇者所快: sadden one's friends and gladden one's enemies
亲自出马: come out oneself
亲自主持制定: be drawn up under the direct leadership of
侵蚀: corrosion/corruption/corrupting influence
勤工俭学: work-study program
勤俭建国，勤俭办社，勤俭办企业，勤俭办一切事业: building the country industriously and thriftily and likewise running the people's communes, enterprises and all undertakings industriously and thriftily
擒贼先擒王: Capture the ringleader first in order to capture all followers.
轻描淡写，文过饰非: make light of something or gloss over it
轻重倒置: reverse the order of importance
轻重缓急: in order of importance and urgency
青出于蓝而胜于蓝: Blue is extracted from the indigo plant but is bluer than it.
清规戒律: taboos and commandments
清理阶级队伍: purify the class ranks
清政治，清思想，清组织，清经济: clean things up in the fields of politics, ideology, organization and economy
清算: examine and repudiate
清查: unearth/uncover/comb out
清除影响: eradicate the influence
清一色的: homogeneous/of one color
情节特别恶劣拒不交代拒不悔改的: a handful of people who have committed very bad, very serious offences and refuse to own up and repent
（根据）情节轻重: according to the seriousness of the case
请示: ask for (request) instructions/ask instructions from
庆功会: celebration meeting for achievements
（罪恶滔天），罄竹难书: His crimes are monstrous, inexpiable and too numerous to be listed in one book.
“穷光蛋”: the poor wretches
穷棒子精神: pauper spirit
穷途末路: driven into an impasse/at one's last gasp
穷凶极恶: most vicious
穷则思变，要干，要革命: Poverty gives rise to the desire for change, the desire for action and the desire for revolution.
穷追猛打“落水狗”: vigorously pursue and fiercely beat the "dog in the water"
秋后算账: squaring of accounts after the autumn harvest
求大同，存小异: seek common ground on major questions while reserving differences on minor ones
求同存异: seek common ground while reserving differences
区别对待: deal with different things in different ways/deal with each case on its own merits
屈打成招: extort confessions by torture
屈膝投降: fall one's knees in surrender
去粗取精，去伪存真，由此及彼，由表及里: discard the dross and select the essential, eliminate the false and retain the true, proceed from the one to the other and from the outside to the inside
全场欢声雷动，一片沸腾: The hall was astir and resounded with thunderous cheers.
全党共诛之，全国共讨之: be condemned and punished by the whole Party and the whole nation
全国一盘棋: co-ordinate all activities of the nation as in a chess game
全力以赴，务歼入侵之敌: Go all out and be sure to destroy the enemy intruders.
全面落实: carry out in an all-round way
全民皆兵: All the people are soldiers.
（提倡）“群言堂”，反对“一言堂”: favor "rule by the voice of the many" and oppose "rule by the voice of one man alone"
（同）群众打成一片: be one with the masses
群众的眼睛是雪亮的: The masses have clear eyes.
“群众落后论”: the theory that "the masses are backward"
（拜）群众为师，向群众求教，当群众的小学生: take the masses as teachers, seek enlightenment from them and be their pupils
群众大会斗争: struggle at mass meetings
群众斗群众: masses struggle against each other