论金斯密《道德经》译介中的误读

Thomas William Kingsmill’s Misreading of Dao De Jing

《中国评论》是19世纪下半叶最有影响力的英文汉学期刊,刊载了一批中国古代优秀哲学典籍的译介作品。1899年,金斯密译介的《道德经》刊载在《中国评论》上。由于金斯密的中国语言文学学识有限,并受“早期中国文明西来说”、西方汉学家“疑古”思潮和“西方中心主义”思想影响,他在译介《道德经》过程中误读了《道德经》作者及其核心思想、原文语义以及道家思想。虽然如此,金斯密译介《道德经》在中西文化交流方面还是起到了重要作用,扩大了19世纪《道德经》在英语世界的影响。

The China Review is the most influential English journal in the late 19th century.It has translated an excellent collection of ancient Chinese philosophies into English.In 1899,Thomas William Kingsmill translated Dao De Jing into English and published it in The China Review.Because of his incompetency of Chinese language and literature,influenced by the thought of“early Chinese civilization from the West”,the“antiquistic”thoughts of Western sinologists,together with that of“Western Centralism”,he misread the author of Dao De Jing and its core thoughts,the semantic meaning of the classic as well as the Taoist thoughts.In spite of these,Kingsmill’s translation of Dao De Jing still plays an important role in the cultural exchange between China and the West,having expanded the influence of the classic in the English world in the 19th century.