Translated by ChatGPT, edited by Sinocism.com.
Source: Chinese Social Sciences Today 中国社会科学报 | Byline: 李燕 | August 26, 2026
Generative artificial intelligence represented by ChatGPT and DeepSeek, with its powerful text-generation and cross-language processing capabilities, is regarded as a new “Gutenberg moment” in the field of human communication. Intelligent technology is quietly being integrated into all walks of life, profoundly reshaping the translation industry’s form of development and industrial ecosystem. Against this backdrop, there is an urgent need to clarify the contemporary value of translation capacity in the age of artificial intelligence, redefine the boundaries of its meaning, and explore practical pathways for its development. Using artificial intelligence to empower translation-capacity building has important practical significance for enhancing China’s international communication capacity and promoting mutual learning among civilizations.
以ChatGPT、DeepSeek为代表的生成式人工智能，以其强大的文本生成与跨语言处理能力，被视为人类传播领域新一轮的“古登堡时刻”。智能技术正在悄然融入各行各业，深刻重塑翻译行业的发展形态与产业生态。在此背景下，亟须厘清人工智能时代翻译能力的时代价值，重塑其内涵边界，探索其实践进路。以人工智能赋能翻译能力建设，对于提升我国国际传播能力并推动文明互鉴具有重要的现实意义。
Throughout the long history of human civilization, translation has always been a key force driving mutual learning among civilizations and social change. From the bilingual decree inscribed on the Rosetta Stone more than 3,000 years ago to the translation of the medieval religious scripture the Bible; from translations of Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Heavenly Spheres propelling the Scientific Revolution to European sinologist James Legge’s translations of the Four Books and Five Classics sparking a dialogue between Chinese and Western thought; and from the proliferation of schools of translation theory in the 20th century to generative-AI technology giving rise to a new mode of knowledge production in translation, the functions of translation have continually transformed along with technological innovation, while the boundaries of translation capacity have continued to move beyond the conversion of linguistic signs. With the deep involvement of generative-AI technology, the value of translation now extends far beyond language itself, becoming an important lever for increasing a country’s discursive power and promoting international communication. Translation capacity in the age of artificial intelligence has therefore become a core yardstick for measuring a country’s cultural soft power and capacity to participate in global governance, directly determining the international influence of China’s narrative system.
在人类文明发展的历史长河中，翻译始终是推动文明互鉴与社会变革的关键力量。从3000多年前《罗塞塔石碑》铭文的双语法令，到中世纪宗教典籍《圣经》的翻译；从哥白尼《天体运行论》译本推动科学革命，到欧洲汉学家理雅各《四书五经》译著引发中西思想对话；从20世纪翻译理论流派的百家争鸣，到生成式人工智能技术催生翻译知识生产新模态，翻译的功能伴随技术革新不断裂变，翻译能力的边界也在不断突破语言符号的转换。随着生成式人工智能技术的深度参与，翻译的价值远远超越了语言本身，成为提升国家话语权、促进国际传播的重要抓手。因此，人工智能时代翻译能力已然成为衡量国家文化软实力与全球治理参与能力的核心标尺，直接决定着中国叙事体系的国际影响力。
Translation capacity is one of the major topics in translation studies. Viewed from the perspective of translator subjectivity, translation capacity comprises three levels: individual, institutional, and national translation capacity. Early conceptions of individual translation capacity were dominated by the idea of the “natural translator,” which required translators to possess bilingual ability—not only command of the vocabulary and grammatical systems of both languages, but also an understanding of the cultural and cognitive patterns behind them—and emphasized the knowledge, character, thinking, and other qualities needed to complete translation tasks and solve translation problems. For example, the renowned Sui-dynasty Buddhist scripture translator Yancong proposed the “eight requisites” in On the Correct Principles of Translation, arguing that translators of Buddhist scriptures must possess eight qualities, including “sincerely cherish the Dharma and aspire to benefit others” and “be well versed in correct translation without abandoning their learning.” Augustine, the medieval European Christian theologian, argued that a translator of the Bible needed “God’s inspiration,” had to “be proficient in both languages,” be familiar with and “sympathetic” to the subject being translated, and possess a certain ability to collate and correct texts. These views of translators are regarded as embryonic models of the competencies of ancient “professional translators” and offer traditional wisdom for modern translation education. Modern translation capacity places greater emphasis on its dynamic, complex, and comprehensive character. Translators are required not only to possess strong political and humanistic qualities, but also practical translation abilities such as integrating knowledge and expressing discourse, communicating across cultures, disseminating information, and collaborating with machines. With the development of translation technology and artificial intelligence, human-machine and human-AI collaboration have attracted considerable attention. Institutional translation capacity refers to the comprehensive capacity of translation organizations to efficiently complete translation tasks and achieve strategic goals through systematic resource allocation and management. Its core features are: first, organization, emphasizing teamwork and division of labor; second, process-based project implementation to ensure quality; third, technology-driven operations that use translation technology to improve efficiency; fourth, strategic orientation toward institutional objectives; and fifth, dynamic adaptation to meet complex and changing cross-cultural communication needs. Together, these features constitute the key competitiveness that enables institutions to manage language services efficiently in a globalized context. According to Research on National Translation Capacity, national translation capacity is the comprehensive ability of a country to rely on institutions, individuals, artificial intelligence, and other diverse actors to promote dialogue, exchange, and mutual learning of knowledge between different languages at home and abroad through translation practice and communication, as well as translation management and development, thereby serving the development of the country’s hard and soft power. National translation capacity emphasizes using translation to safeguard national interests and construct national discourse and narrative systems.
翻译能力是翻译研究的热点之一。译者主体性视角下，翻译能力包括个体翻译能力、机构翻译能力和国家翻译能力三个层级。早期的个体翻译能力以 “自然译者”观为主导，要求译者要具备双语能力，不仅要掌握双语的词汇语法系统，更需要理解语言背后的文化认知模式，强调译者完成翻译任务、解决翻译问题所具备的学识、品性与思维等素养。例如，我国隋代著名佛经翻译家彦琮在《辩正论》中提出的“八备”说，指出佛经译者须具备“诚心爱法，志愿益人”“乃闲正译，不坠彼学”等八种素养。欧洲中世纪基督教神学家奥古斯丁提出《圣经》译者需有“上帝的感召”，必须“通晓两种语言”，熟悉并“同情”所译题材，具有一定的勘校能力。以上译者观，被视为古代“职业译者能力模型”的雏形，为现代翻译教育提供了传统智慧。现代翻译能力更强调其动态性、复杂性、综合性。要求译者不但要有过硬的政治素养与人文素养，还应具备知识融通和话语表达能力、跨文化沟通能力、信息传播能力、人机协同能力等翻译实践能力。随着翻译技术及人工智能的发展，人机、人智协同能力备受关注。机构翻译能力是指翻译机构通过系统性资源调配和管理手段，高效完成翻译任务并实现战略目标的综合能力。其核心特征表现为：一是有组织性，强调团队分工协作；二是项目实施流程化，确保质量；三是技术驱动，借助翻译技术提升翻译效率；四是战略导向，以机构目标为指向；五是动态适配，满足复杂多变的跨文化沟通要求。这些特征共同构成了机构在全球化语境下高效管理语言服务的关键竞争力。根据《国家翻译能力研究》，国家翻译能力是指一个国家依靠机构、个人、人工智能等多元主体，通过翻译实践与传播以及翻译管理与发展等活动，推动国内外不同语言间开展对话交流与知识互鉴，服务一国软硬实力建设的综合能力。国家翻译能力强调通过翻译行为维护国家利益、构建国家话语和叙事体系。
In sum, translation capacity is the comprehensive set of qualities that individuals, institutions, or countries need in the process of cross-language conversion. Its meaning encompasses both the diverse abilities of individuals and the capacities of institutions and the state for coordination and strategic integration. Individual capacity is the foundation of national capacity; institutional and national capacities provide systemic support for individual capacity. The three evolve in coordination, jointly shaping the core competitiveness of national language governance and international discursive competition, meeting the micro-level need for language conversion while supporting the macro-level enhancement of national soft power.
综上所述，翻译能力是个体、机构或国家在跨语言转换过程中所必需的综合性素养，其内涵既包括个体多元能力，也涵盖机构、国家的衔接与战略整合能力。个体能力是国家能力的基石，机构、国家能力为个体能力提供系统性支持，三者协同进化，共同塑造国家语言治理与国际话语竞争的核心竞争力，既满足微观的语言转化需求，又支撑宏观的国家软实力提升。