Editing Editorial Guidelines (section)

== Style Guide for Translations ==
=== Scope & Translation Register ===
* Applies to the generated English editions corresponding directly to the preserved source texts.
* The register must be rigorously academic. Translations are not strictly literal word-for-word substitutions but must stay as close to the original text as possible.

=== Structural Anchoring Alignment and Translation Mapping ===
Translations must identically mirror the low-level heading structure of their corresponding original texts, utilizing the exact same page number headings to keep text pairs perfectly locked in sequence across the archive. 

==== Technical Heading Formatting ====
* '''Standard Rule:''' Every page segment must match the original layout by initiating sections with a low-level heading.
** If the original text is available in the RBP wiki, use <code><nowiki>{{opage|#}}</nowiki></code>, replacing "#" with the page number.
** If the original text is '''not''' available in the RBP wiki, use <code><nowiki>==== Page # ====</nowiki></code>, replacing "#" with the page number.

==== Determining Translation Page Breaks ====
Because Asian languages use vastly different syntax and word orders compared to English, finding the precise point to split an English translation to match an original page break is structurally difficult (especially in Japanese, due to trailing verbs and modifying clauses). Translators must navigate this anchoring using the following priority system:
* '''Priority 1 (The Exact Syntactic Split):''' Wherever possible, the translator must place the English page heading at the exact point in the English sentence that corresponds to the semantic transition in the original text. This means a single English sentence will frequently be split across two wiki page headings.
* '''Priority 2 (The Sentence Boundary Exception):''' If an original page break occurs at a point where the Japanese or Chinese syntax is so deeply inverted that splitting the English sentence creates complete gibberish or destroys the meaning of the passage, the translator may place the page heading at the nearest logical grammatical boundary (such as the end of the immediate English clause or sentence). 

==== Typography for Split English Sentences ====
* '''No Mechanical Hyphenation:''' If an English sentence or phrase must be split across an English page heading, do not use hyphens or ellipses at the end of the line. Capitalize the first word of the text resuming under the new heading only if it marks the start of a completely new sentence. Otherwise, let it resume in lowercase.
** ''Syntax Example (English Split):''
<pre>
He argued passionately for the complete overthrow of the imperial
==== Page 2 ====
system and the liberation of the agricultural class.
</pre>

=== Inline Translation Conventions: Names & Terminology ===
To balance rigorous academic depth with scannability, translators must adhere to strict rules regarding when and how original scripts are embedded directly into the English translation text.

==== Handling Personal & Place Names ====
* '''First Mention Rule:''' The very first time a personal name, organization, or historical location is mentioned within a translated text, it must be written in Latin script followed immediately by its original native script version enclosed in parentheses.
** ''Example:'' "When Uchiyama Gudō (内山愚童) published his critique of the imperial system..."
* '''Subsequent Mention Rule:''' Every subsequent mention of that same name or entity within the text must use the Latin script alone. Do not repeat the original script.
** ''Example:'' "Following his arrest, Gudō was transported to..."

==== Inline Terminology & Source Script Injections ====
* '''Permitted Cases:''' Translators may inject original language terms (in their original script and/or standard romanization) in parentheses immediately following an English translation for:
# Unusual, highly niche, or idiosyncratic radical terminology.
# Particularly dense or hard-to-translate passages.
# Any critical instance where providing the original text is deemed necessary, important, or useful for scholarly analysis.
* '''The Principle of Parsimony (Sparsity):''' Inline script injections disrupt the flow of reading. Therefore, this practice must be used '''as sparingly as possible'''. 
* '''Workflow Guidance:''' If a term requires more than a simple parental script reference to be understood, or if a passage is so difficult that it requires a lengthy linguistic explanation, do not cluster the main text body. Move the analysis entirely to a footnote instead.

=== Footnotes & Technical Commentary ===
Footnotes are an integral part of the translation and should provide readers with the historical, linguistic, and technical background necessary to understand the source text. Their purpose is to make specialized material accessible without interrupting the flow of the translation itself.

Footnotes should be used whenever they significantly improve the reader's understanding of the text, including (but not limited to):
* '''Technical terminology''': Explain Buddhist, Marxist, political, philosophical, or other specialized terms that may be unfamiliar to a general academic audience.
* '''Historical context''': Provide concise background on historical events, organizations, institutions, publications, legal systems, or political circumstances mentioned in the text when they cannot reasonably be assumed to be common knowledge.
* '''People and places''': Briefly identify historical figures, organizations, geographical locations, or other proper nouns whose significance would not be immediately apparent to most readers.
* '''Language and translation''': Explain idioms, puns, rhetorical devices, unusual grammatical constructions, culturally specific expressions, or difficult terminology where the English translation alone cannot adequately convey the original meaning.
* '''Textual and editorial issues''': Record significant variant readings, ambiguities, uncertainties, reconstruction decisions, or other editorial observations that are relevant to the translation.
Footnotes should remain concise and directly relevant to the passage they annotate. They should clarify the text rather than distract from it, and should avoid lengthy digressions unless such discussion is essential for understanding the document.

The MediaWiki Cite extension should be used for all annotation. The final section of every translation page must be titled Notes and should contain only the code <code><nowiki><references /></nowiki></code>.