韦斯顿与19世纪中国诗歌的英译与传播

Research on Weston and the Translation andDissemination of Chinese Poetry in the 19th Century

英国业余汉学家韦斯顿于19世纪初翻译了一系列汉语诗歌,这些诗歌的中文原稿主要来自英国皇室购买的传教士手稿和古董爱好者收藏的中国瓷器。译本在断句、字面释义等方面都存在不少错误,但是诗歌大意的自由译文准确率较高。韦斯顿的翻译是借助西传欧洲的汉语字典及当时欧洲的汉语研究成果完成的,译本彰显了中国物质文明在中英早期文学交流中发挥的重要作用,同时也体现了乾隆诗歌在英国知识阶层的实际影响力和英国汉学早期业余汉学家的汉诗认知水平。

British amateur sinologist Weston translated a series of Chinese poems in the early 19th century.The original Chinese manuscripts are mainly from missionary manuscripts purchased by the British royal family and Chinese porcelains collected by antique enthusiasts.There are many errors in the translation in terms of sentence breaks and literal interpretations,but the free translation of the general ideas are accurate.Weston’s translation was completed with the Chinese dictionary transmitted to Europe and researches on Chinese at that time.The translation shows the importance of Chinese material civilization in the early literary exchanges between China and Britain,and reflects the influence of Qianlong Emperor’s poetry in the British Intelligentsia and the cognitive level of English amateur sinologists in the early period of British Sinology.