Translating Ancient Wisdom with ChatGPT: I borrowed this ebook from the library “Master of the Three Ways; Reflections of a Chinese Sage on Living a Satisfying Life”. It contains the writings of Hung Ying Ming, a 17th-century sage, and the translation is by William Scott Wilson.
I thought the book was great, so I searched online for the original Chinese version, which is known as 菜根谭 (The Vegetable Root Discourses…not the sexiest name).
Anyway, I discovered that Wilson’s translation was a little too loose and verbose. I used ChatGPT to translate the original verses and I analysed the Chinese words myself. Take for example verse 28:
处世不必邀功，无过便是功；
与人不求感德，无怨便是德。
Wilson’s translation:
“Living in the world is not necessarily a matter of waiting eagerly for every chance to perform a meritorious deed. Making no mistakes is itself a meritorious deed; Interacting with people is not a matter of seeking others to feel gratitude for your own virtue. Not earning their hostility is in itself a virtue.”
ChatGPT’s translation:
“Living in the world, there is no need to seek credit, avoiding mistakes is already an achievement; In dealing with others, do not demand gratitude, avoiding resentment is already a virtue.”
ChatGPT also helped me to break down each verse and understand the meaning of ancient Chinese phrases.
There are so many ways to use Gen AI to do self-learning!