文革时期常用词汇的英译

蒋割荆

W（2）

文不对题: The heading and article have nothing to do with each other./full of pointless talk
文攻武卫: attack by pens and defense by weapons
文过饰非: gloss over one's fault/cover up one's error
文化革命小组: the Cultural Revolution Group
文来文去，武来武往: return blow for blow
文武之道，一张一弛: The principle of kings Wen and Wu was to alternate tension with relaxation.
稳、准、狠地打击: deal sure, accurate (well-aimed) and relentless blows at
问题一时弄不清的，可以列为专案: cases which cannot be decided for the time being can be laid aside to be handled by a special group for examination
瓮中捉鳖: catch a turtle in a jar/a sure catch
窝藏不报者: persons who shelter... and do not report them to...
我们的朋友遍于全世界: We have friends all over the world.
我们的学说不是教条而是行动的指南: Our theory is not a dogma but a guide to action.
我们共产党人从来不隐瞒自己的政治主张: We Communists do not conceal our political views.
我们也有一双手，不在城里吃闲饭: We also have a pair of hands and d not want to lead an idle life in the city!
我们一定要解放台湾！: We will certainly liberate Taiwan!/We are determined to liberate Taiwan!
污泥浊水: the mire
污染: contamination/pollution/stain/defile
乌龟忘八: all kinds of scoundrels
乌合之众: a gathering of crowds/a motley force that knows no discipline
乌纱帽: official post (position)/the headgear of an official
乌托邦: utopia/utopian
乌烟瘴气: vicious practices/a foul atmosphere
乌云遮不住太阳: The dark clouds cannot shut out the sunshine.
呜呼哀哉: Alas! Alack!
无比幸福: boundless happiness
无产阶级不但要解放自己，而且要解放全人类: The proletariat must emancipate not only itself but all mankind.
无产阶级对少数资产阶级分子的全面统治: the all-embracing rule of the proletariat over the small number of bourgeois elements
无产阶级心情舒畅之日，就是资产阶级倒霉之时: When the proletariat has ease of mind, the bourgeoisie is bound to be uneasy.
无产阶级革命派: proletarian revolutionaries
无产阶级革命造反精神: revolutionary rebel spirit of the proletariat
无产阶级只有解放全人类才能最后解放它自己: The proletariat can finally emancipate itself only with the emancipation of all mankind.
无产阶级专政: dictatorship of the proletariat
无产阶级文化大革命: the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
无产阶级先锋队: the vanguard of the proletariat
无产阶级专政下继续革命: continue the revolution under the dictatorship of the proletariat
无耻到了极点: the height of shamelessness
无从着手: have no way of handling
无的放矢: shoot at random/aimless shooting/shoot without a target
无法无天: defy laws of human and divine
无风不起浪: There is no smoke without fire.
无关痛痒: irrelevant
“无可奈何花落去，似兽相识燕归来”: "Flowers fall off, do what one may; swallows return, no strangers they."
无坚不摧，无攻不克: all-conquering/invincible
无孔不入: all-pervasive/have a finger in every pie/lose no change
无事不登三宝殿: No one cams to the Hall of the Trinity without a reason.
无限热爱、无限信仰、无限崇拜、无限忠诚: there are no bounds to our love, faith, esteem and loyalty for/boundless love for, faith in, esteem for and loyalty to
无限上纲: exaggerate politically some mistakes to the maximum/elevate minor mistakes or shortcomings to the level of principles
无限生命力: inexhaustible vitality
无源之水: water without a source
无一漏网: None has escaped the net.
无政府状态: anarchic way/anarchy/disorganized state of affairs
无中生有，当面造谣: fabricate rumors out of thin air and tell barefaced lies
无自知之明: ignorance of one's limited capabilities/lack of self-knowledge
无组织无纪律的行为: an act in defiance of the organization and discipline
无足轻重，微不足道: be insignificant and not worthy of mention
五保户: five guarantees family (the aged, the infirm, old widows and widowers, orphans) taken care of by the people's commune in five ways (food, clothing, medical care, housing and burial expense)
“五.七”干校: "May 7" cadre school
《五.七指示》: the May 7 Directive of 1966
五反运动: the movement against five evils (capitalist bribery of government workers, tax evasion, cheating on government contracts, theft of state property, and stealing economic information from government sources)
五好战士: "five-good" fighters (fighters who excel in political and ideological work, in the "three-eight" working style, in military technique, in fulfilling combat missions, and in keeping fit)
五类分子: five-category elements (landlords, rich peasants, counter-revolutionaries, bad elements and rightists
五体投地: prostrate oneself in admiration before/kneel at the feet of/on all fours before
武斗: wage struggle by force or coercion
勿谓言之不预也: let no one say he has not been warned.
务实: discuss concrete questions relating to work
务虚: discuss matters from the angles of politics and principles
物极必反: When a thing reaches its limit, it turns round./Once a certain limit is reached, a change in the opposite direction is inevitable.
物以类聚，人以群分: Things of a kind come together; people of a mind fall into the same group.
物质变精神，精神变物质: from matter to consciousness and from consciousness to matter/matter turns into consciousness and vice versa
“物质刺激，奖金挂帅”: material incentives, and bonuses in command