翻译家马礼逊汉籍英译事业述评

Robert Morrison as a translator: Achievements in Chinese-English translation

翻译并非传教士马礼逊来华之主业,但他在英译中国文献方面取得了卓著成就。其英译作品包括两部成册译作、大量报刊文章以及《华英字典》等工具书和教材中极其丰富的词、句、段、篇译文,内容涵盖儒家典籍、官府文件、通俗作品和时事报道等。马礼逊的翻译基本坚持"直译"策略,综合运用直译、意译、逐字译以及"翻译加注释"等多种方法,为中国文化在英语世界的传播做出了开创性贡献。

Although translation did not rank among the top priorities of Robert Morrison’s mission to China, his pioneering work did contribute tremendously to the westward move of Chinese culture. His translations include two books, quantitative periodical articles, as well as detached phrases, paragraphs and articles seen in the dictionaries and textbooks he compiled, covering Confucian classics, official documents, popular literature and news reports. Guided by the strategy of "literal translation", Morrison adopted various methods such as literal translation, free translation, "word for word" translation and "translation + illustration".