品运河古韵,观钱塘怒涛,寻浙江记忆——解读美国传教士晏文士等人百年前的钱江观潮游记

On the Memories of Kashing Canals and of the Hangchow Bore——Reading the Sketches Written by Charles K.Edmunds and Others A Century Ago

美国传教士晏文士发表在《大众科学月刊》上的一篇海宁观潮连载文章,是他在中国各地旅行时细心观察和记录的成果之一。它详细记载了作者从上海至海宁的旅途见闻和在海宁观看钱江大潮的细节和感受。与同期的葛骆和葛利等其他两位外国人所写的钱江观潮游记一样,它为我们了解百年前的杭嘉湖地域文化提供了一个客观的参照。由于上述游记是用英文、德文等欧洲文字发表的,而且文章中有不少人名、地名和意思比较隐晦的专门术语,一般的读者难以看懂,需要有人对此加以翻译和解读。本文便是这样的一种尝试。

＂A Visit to the Hangchow Bore＂ in The Popular Science Monthly （1908） is one of Charles K. Edmunds＇ sketches written during his travels around China in early 20th century. It records in great details his observations of and reflections on what he saw along the canals between Shanghai and Haining, as well as the Hangchow Bore. Like other similar sketches by John Green and William R. Kahler during approximately the same period, it provides an objective reference to our understanding of the local culture in the regions of Jiaxing and Haining a century ago. Unfortunately these sketches were written either in English or in German, and in them there are many proper names and special terminology that need expli- cation. The present paper is an attempt in this direction.