五行學(xué)說(the theory of five elements)是中國(guó)古代的一種物質(zhì)觀。五行包括金、木、水、火和土五種要素。五行學(xué)說強(qiáng)調(diào)整體概念，描繪了事物的結(jié)構(gòu)關(guān)系和運(yùn)動(dòng)形式。五行學(xué)說認(rèn)為宇宙萬(wàn)物都是基于這五種要素的運(yùn)行和變化。這五個(gè)要素相互作用，不但影響到人的命運(yùn)，同時(shí)也使宇宙萬(wàn)物循環(huán)不已。五行學(xué)說成熟干漢代 (the Han Dynasty)，之后廣泛應(yīng)用于中醫(yī)、建筑和武術(shù)(martial arts}等領(lǐng)域。

　　表達(dá)難點(diǎn)

　　1.第2句五行中的“金”指“金屬”，而非“黃金”，故第2句中應(yīng)譯為metal，而非gold。

　　2.第3句中的第2個(gè)分句“描繪了事物的結(jié)構(gòu)關(guān)系和運(yùn)動(dòng)形式”可處理為狀語(yǔ)，表伴隨狀態(tài)，用分詞短語(yǔ)describing the structural relationships and forms of movement of matters 來(lái)表達(dá)。

　　3.第4句中的“五行學(xué)說認(rèn)為”可譯為the theory holds that...，亦可譯為according to the theory，承前句，“五行學(xué)說”可簡(jiǎn)單轉(zhuǎn)換表達(dá)為“該學(xué)說”(the theory)。“宇宙萬(wàn)物”可譯為the universe，強(qiáng)調(diào)整體，也可表達(dá)為 everything in the universe。

　　4.第5句有三個(gè)分句，可把“這五個(gè)要素相互作用”處理成主干，“不但影響到……，同時(shí)也使宇宙萬(wàn)物……”處理為結(jié)果狀語(yǔ)，用分詞短語(yǔ)來(lái)表達(dá)，“不但……同時(shí)也”可用結(jié)構(gòu)both... and...或... as well as...來(lái)表達(dá)，故整句譯為 These five elements interact with each other, affecting...as well as making...。

　　5.最后一句“五行學(xué)說成熟于漢代，之后廣泛應(yīng)用于……”可用并列結(jié)構(gòu)譯出：The theory got mature in the Han Dynasty and was widely employed...。翻譯賓語(yǔ)“中醫(yī)、建筑和武術(shù)等領(lǐng)域”時(shí)，先譯出中心詞fields，再用like或者such as來(lái)引出例子。

　　參考譯文

　　The theory of five elements is a concept of matter in ancient China. The five elements include metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The theory of five elements emphasizes on an overall concept, describing the structural relationships and forms of movement of matters. The theory holds that everything in the universe is based on the movement and change of these five elements. These five elements interact with each other, affecting a person's fate as well as making the universe move in endless cycles. The theory got mature in the Han Dynasty and was widely employed in the fields like traditional Chinese medicine, architecture, and martial arts.