Dialogue between the Dragon and the Lion: How to "mess up" the first official diplomatic contact between China and the UK? | Event | China and the UK
In 1793, the Macartney Mission's visit to China was the first formal diplomatic contact between China and Britain. For a considerable period of time, people's understanding of this event was generally: "The political and economic structures of China and Britain are completely different, and the governments of both countries have adopted a tenacious and uncompromising attitude of resistance in order to maintain their social systems and historical traditions." The occurrence and development of diplomatic events have an unavoidable factor - translation. When British people send missions to China, there will inevitably be language barriers. In order for the mission to effectively communicate with the Qing court, it must rely on translation, which means that translation is an important element of the mission's activities in China.
What role did translation play in the Marco Polo delegation's visit to China? What is the significance of understanding this event for us? The new book "Dialogue between the Dragon and the Lion: Translation and the Macartney Mission to China" by Professor Wang Hongzhi from the Department of Translation at the Chinese University of Hong Kong is the first to study the Macartney Mission from a translation perspective, rewriting the research landscape of the history of Sino English relations. Recently, Wang Hongzhi, who visited the East Hall of Shanghai Library, gave a wonderful academic lecture based on years of research, taking readers back to the historical scene of the first dialogue between "dragon" and "lion", revealing how the translator "messed up" the historic meeting between the Qianlong and Macartney missions.
As the first official contact between China and Britain, the impact of the Macartney Mission's visit to China in 1793 on the historical development of the two countries is beyond doubt. However, communication and translation issues between the missions have rarely entered the view of researchers. During the lecture, Wang Hongzhi focused on the visit of the Macartney delegation to China and emphasized how the translation of translators, diplomatic documents, gift lists, national documents, and imperial edicts became the most crucial elements in the interactive process, given that China and Britain had not yet established an effective communication mechanism at that time. The lecture, accompanied by precious archival images, shared vivid and interesting historical details with the audience. For example, the astronomical instrument brought by the mission, which showcases the strength of the British nation and the advanced technological level of Europe, has been translated as "a large telescope", leaving people confused; Both Chinese and English interpreters were not nationals of their respective countries, and the translation of official documents between the two sides was rewritten... These factors led to the inability of both the mission and the Qing court to accurately understand each other's intentions. Qianlong's attitude towards the mission changed sharply, and the mission returned in vain. The first official contact between China and Britain ultimately ended in unhappiness.
The Dialogue between the Dragon and the Lion: Translation and the Macartney Mission to China is published in simplified Chinese by the Oriental Publishing Center. The book consists of seven chapters that depict the translation process of the Macartney Mission's visit to China on a time axis, showcasing the importance of translation in Macartney's visit to China and even modern Chinese diplomatic activities. The book is rich in information and rigorously discussed, providing novel insights into multiple issues in mission research, filling the gap in existing mission research, and providing important references for the study of modern Chinese translation history and Sino English diplomatic history.
Professor Zou Zhenhuan from the Department of History at Fudan University believes that this book places the unique challenges faced by the Macartney Mission in translation for the first time in the context of translation history, successfully revealing a universally significant theme - that translation research plays an extraordinary and significant role in major historical events. Professor Huang Xingtao from the Institute of Qing History at Renmin University of China commented that this is a unique perspective on diplomatic history, a masterpiece of translation history that reflects political competition and cultural exchange, and a crystallization of exploring the interconnected and constantly challenging path of writing "translation event history". "Modern Chinese history is actually a cross-cultural translation history, full of uncertainty, which is the most important characteristic of modern academia," said Li Xuetao, a professor at the School of History of Beijing Foreign Studies University.
