Chapter 42 Translator's Notes of "Zarathustra's Preface" [1]

Translator's Notes of "Zarathustra's Preface" [1] "Zarathustra's Vorrede" (AlsoSprachZarathustra) is one of Nietzsche's important works, a total of four, and "Preface" (Zarathustra'sVorrede), written between 1883 and 1886 .Because it was only written for three years, this book cannot contain all of Nietzsche's thoughts; because it has also been three years, contradictions and gaps are inevitable. The preface has a total of ten verses, which are now translated in the front; there are many inappropriate places in the translation, and I will come back to make corrections after the translation is completed in the future.Nietzsche's articles are both very good; this book is also integrated with Proverbs (Sprueche), and the appearance is often contradictory, so it is not easy to understand.Now, a brief explanation of the meaningful nouns and cryptic sentences is as follows:

The first section tells that after Zarathustra entered the mountain, he went down the mountain with great enlightenment; and his going down (Untergang) means going up. Zarathustra is the leader of Zoroastrianism in Persia. China has known it for a long time, and it was translated as Suluzhi in ancient times; but this book only uses his name, which has nothing to do with the teachings. Only the uphill and downhill and the eagle and snake are based on the classics of the Zoroastrianism (Avesta). [3] and mythology. The second section describes the meeting between the saint of knowledge (Zarathustra) and the saint of faith in the forest.

Section III Zarathustra said Superman (Uebermensch) [4].The walker refers to the old hero who takes adventure as his career; the crowd will gather to watch him, but once he falls, they all disperse.Gespenst refers to all fanciful ideas: Such as soul, god, ghost, eternal life and so on.Not your sins—but your self-satisfaction screaming to heaven...that is, it is not your sins that are doomed to you, but your self-satisfaction, and your fear of breaking the law; see section 9 for what it means to break the law. Section IV Zarathustra said how to prepare for the emergence of Superman.The other side of the star is called beyond this world.

Section V Zarathustra said the last man (DerLetzteMensch) [5]. Section 6 After Zarathustra came out of the mountain, only one dead body was harvested. The clown (Possenreisser) has two meanings: one is a philosopher with utopian thinking, saying that all equality and freedom in the future will make the walker fall; the other is Nietzsche himself.Because he is also an idealist (G. Naumann said), but it may be inaccurate (O. Gram-zow).Tickling you with your heels means running ahead of you.Losing his head means being flustered. In the seventh section, Zarathustra realized that he was too far away from the masses.

In the eighth section, Zarathustra is threatened by the clown, ridiculed by the gravesmith, and resentful by the hermit. Totengraeber is a person who specializes in burying the dead, referring to a poor historian who only knows how to clean up the old things and has no vision for the future; he not only hates Zarathustra, but also hates walkers, but he can only curse.The old man is also a kind of believer, but he is completely different from the saint in the forest. He only knows how to give alms regardless of life or death. Section IX Zarathustra gets new truths, seeks living partners, and buries dead bodies.My (Zarathustra) happiness is creation.

In the tenth verse the eagle and the serpent lead Zarathustra down.Both the eagle and the snake are signs: the snake represents intelligence, representing eternal reincarnation (Ewige Wiederkunft); the eagle represents pride, representing Superman.Cleverness and pride are the Superman; foolishness and pride are the masses.And this foolish arrogance is the result of education (Bildung). ※ ※ ※ [1] This article, together with the translation of "Zarathustra's Preface", was first published in September 1920, in the fifth issue of the second volume of the monthly "Xin Chao", signed by Tang Qi.

"Zarathustra", the full name "Thus Spoke Zarathustra", pretends to be an ancient Persian sage, and promotes the theory of "superman". 〔2〕The old translation of Zoroaster by Su Luzhi can be found in the volume of "Xixi Congyu" written by Yao Kuan in the Song Dynasty.Zoroaster, or Zarathustra, is said to be the leader of Persian Zoroastrianism (also known as Persianism, Jackoism). 〔3〕Avesta "Avesta", a Persian classic, is divided into five parts. [4] Superman is a category in Nietzsche's philosophy, which refers to a strong person with talents, wisdom and perseverance beyond ordinary people.

〔5〕A category in Nietzsche's philosophy of the last man, referring to the hopeless, uncreative, mediocre, timid, small and weak, as opposed to the superman.