传统中华文化的大力传播离不开翻译，而对于这些带有一定内涵的文化术语，该如何英译呢？下面由杭州中译翻译公司为您讲解中华文化中关于“天下”的词中英文翻译。

　　都：Metropolis

　　周朝时，各诸侯国的政治中心都叫做“都”；秦汉以后，统指国都、帝王的治所。后规模大、人口多的城邑都可称为“都”。

　　During the Zhou Dynasty, the political center of all ducal states was called du. From the Qin and Han dynasties onward, du referred to the place where the emperor lived. Later, all cities large in scale and population were called du.

　　京（京师）：Capital of a Country

　　京师者何？天子之居也。京者何？大也。师者何？众也。天子之居，必以众大之辞言之。 （《公羊传•桓公九年》） （“京师”是什么？是天子居住的地方。“京”指什么？是指[规模] 宏大。“师”指什么？是指[人口] 众多。天子居住的城邑，必须用“众”“大”这样的词语来形容。）

　　What does jingshi mean? It is the place where the Son of Heaven resides. What does jing mean? It means grandeur and magnificence. What does shi mean? It means a lot of people. No words other than populous and grandeur can best describe the place where the Son of Heaven lives. (Gongyang’s Commentary on The Spring and Autumn Annals)

　　城：Fortress / City

　　四周由城墙环绕的城邑。“城”本指城墙、城郭，是筑土而成的、具有军事防御及防洪功能的设施，城外一般挖有护城河。古代王朝国都、诸侯封地、卿及大夫的封邑，都以筑有城墙的聚落为中心，所以称为“城”。“城”音“盛（chénɡ）”，意思是“容纳民众”。其根本功能为保护民众，是“民惟邦本”这一政治理念的具体体现。

　　Cheng (城) is a city with walls surrounding it. The Chinese character for cheng originally referred to inner and outer city walls built of earth, with military defense and flood control functions. Usually, it was surrounded by a moat. In ancient times, the state capital of a monarch, the fief of a prince, and a manor estate granted by a monarch to a minister or a senior official all had a walled settlement as the center, hence the name cheng.

　　四海：Four Seas

　　全国各地或世界各地。古人认为中国的疆域四面环海，各依方位称“东海”“南海”“西海”和“北海”，合称“四海”。它蕴含着远古中国人关于中国和世界的地理图景：“九州”居“天下”之中，“天下”由“九州”及其周边“四海”组成，中国是“海内”，外国则是“海外”。

　　Four Seas refer to the territory of China or the entire world. The ancient Chinese believed that China was a land surrounded by Four Seas – the East, West, North, and South seas. The term suggests what the ancient Chinese conceived to be the map of China and the world: Nine zhou (regions) were located at the center of tianxia (all under heaven). Tianxia consisted of nine zhou and its surrounding Four Seas. China was within the Four Seas, while foreign lands were outside the Four Seas.

　　海外：Outside the Four Seas / Overseas

　“四海之外”，指古代中国疆域之外、国外，也指边远地区。古人认为中国疆域四周环海，各依方位称“东海”“南海”“西海”和“北海”，合称“四海”，所以称中国以外的地方为海外。

　　Outside the Four Seas refers to the territory outside China, foreign lands, or remote areas. The ancient Chinese thought that China’s territory was surrounded by the Four Seas (the East, West, North, and South seas). Therefore, places outside China were outside the Four Seas.