十九世纪西方人视野中的《三国演义》——以郭实腊的《三国志评论》为中心

Romance of the Three Kingdomsin the Western View in the 19th Century——A Study on Notice of the San KwǒChe written by Charles Gutzlaff

《三国志评论》是英语世界对于《三国演义》的第一次系统解读,1838年9月刊载于近代著名英文报刊《中国丛报》,虽然是一篇书评,但它对于中国小说的海外传播却产生了深远影响。本文考订出该文的作者是第一位清代德国来华新教传教士郭实腊,在此基础上,结合他对于中国文学的整体理解与认识,分析了这篇书评四方面的问题:情节译介、人物重构,以及译介者对于《三国演义》的总体评价和译介缘由。在郭实腊的大力推介下,中国历史小说得到了清代来华西士的广泛认同,在当时几乎造就了一枝独秀的文体神话,这对于推动中国小说的海外译介意义重大。

Notice of the San Kw6Chewas the firstsystematical interpretation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms in the Englishworld. It was published in the famous modern English periodical The Chinese Repositoryin September 1838. Although it was a book review, it made a far-reaching influence on the spreading of Chinese fictions overseas. This paper has found the anonymous reviewerto beCharles Gutzlaff, the first German protestant missionary who came to China in the Qing Dynasty. In view ofhis overall understanding and knowledge of Chinese literature, this paper focuses on four aspects of the book review： the translation of theplot, the reshaping of characters, and the reviewer＇ s overall evaluation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and his reasons for translating. Thanks to Charles Gutzlaff＇ s strongintroduction, Chinese historical novelswere widely recognized by Western people who came to China in the Qing Dynasty, and almost became a style myth among Chinese fictions. This has great significance for promoting the translation of Chinese fictions overseas.