Abstracts
Abstract
This article analyzes evidence of interpreting activities in first-century China between the Latter Han (25–220 AD) Chinese administration and non-Han Chinese minority tribes along the then Southwestern frontier (modern Yunnan and the west of Sichuan basin). Besides confirming the existence of interpreting events and the subsequent Chinese translation of three tribal sung poems, a tribal tribute to Emperor Ming (r. 58–75) in a Qiang dialect (without a written language, apparently), this piece of evidence is also of interest to historians of interpreting in four aspects, namely, the nature of interpreting activities in China in antiquity; possible political rewards for the amateur interpreter who was a frontier clerk by profession because of possible translation manipulation; textual traces from the Chinese translation of the poems that suggests a possible manipulation in meaning and style; and the (interpreter’s) superior’s part in the manipulation of the translation, which eventually found its way into the standard history of the Latter Han dynasty. Considering the political needs of Latter Han China to promote the Sinicization cause among non-Han tribesmen in the empire, this article argues, based on analyses of the four factors above, that the interpreter, with his rare knowledge of the tribal tongue in the imperial court, might have consciously shaped the translation of the poems to pander to the liking of his superior and the emperor. This article further shows how and why the interpreter, in his official capacity as a frontier clerk, might have capitalized on his competence in a tribal language and manipulated, albeit mildly, the historical records on the Chinese translation of the poems.
Keywords:
- interpreting history,
- sung poems translation,
- manipulation,
- interpreting and translation records in first-century China,
- interpreters and historical records
Résumé
Cet article analyse des preuves de l’existence d’activités d’interprétation pendant le premier siècle en Chine entre l’administration de la dynastie Han postérieure (25-220 apr. J.-C.) et les tribus minoritaires non-Han peuplant la frontière sud-ouest de l’empire (aujourd’hui la province du Yunnan et l’ouest du bassin Sichuan). En plus de confirmer l’existence d’instances d’interprétation et la traduction chinoise subséquente de trois poèmes tribaux chantés, un hommage tribal à l’empereur Ming (r. 58-75) dans un dialecte Qiang (qui ne semble pas avoir eu de langue écrite), ces preuves présentent un intérêt aux historiens de l’interprétation pour la façon dont elles éclairent les quatre aspects suivants : la nature des activités d’interprétation dans l’antiquité chinoise, les récompenses politiques offertes aux interprètes amateurs, commis frontaliers de profession, en échange de la manipulation possible des traductions; les traces textuelles dans les traductions chinoises des poèmes qui laissent supposer une manipulation possible du sens et du style; et le rôle du supérieur (de l’interprète) dans la manipulation de la traduction, laquelle se fraie éventuellement un chemin dans l’histoire de la dynastie Han postérieure. Compte tenu de la nécessité politique pour la dynastie Han postérieure de promouvoir la cause sinisante parmi les tribus non-Han de l’empire, cet article soutient, en se basant sur les analyses des quatre aspects énumérés ci-dessus, que l’interprète, doté d’une connaissance rare de la langue tribale dans la cour impériale, a pu modifier consciemment la traduction des poèmes pour les adapter aux préférences de son supérieur et de l’empereur. De plus, cet article montre comment et pourquoi l’interprète, en sa qualité officielle de commis frontalier, a pu se prévaloir de ses compétences dans la langue tribale et manipuler, quoique légèrement, les archives historiques de la traduction chinoise des poèmes.
Mots-clés:
- histoire de l’interprétation,
- traduction de poèmes chantés,
- manipulation,
- archives de l’interprétation et de la traduction chinoises du premier siècle,
- interprètes et archives historiques
Appendices
References
- BECK, Mansvelt (1990). The Treatises of Later Han: Their Author, Sources, Contents and Place in Chinese Historiography. Leiden, E. J. Brill.
- BIRRELL, Anne (1988). Popular Songs and Ballads of Han China. London, Unwin Hyman Limited.
- BOWEN, Margareta, David BOWEN, Francine KAUFMANN, and Ingrid KURZ (1995). “Interpreters and the Making of History,” in Jean DELISLE & Judith WOODSWORTH, eds. Translators through History. Amsterdam, John Benjamins, pp. 245-73.
- DELISLE, Jean and Judith WOODSWORTH (1995). Translators through History. Amsterdam, John Benjamins.
- DROMPP, Michael R. (2005). Tang China and the Collapse of the Uighur Empire. Leiden, Netherlands, Brill’s Inner Asian Library.
- KLEEMAN, Terry F. (1998). Great Perfection: Religion and Ethnicity in a Chinese Millennial Kingdom. Honolulu, University of Hawaii Press.
- KURZ, Ingrid (1985). “The Rock Tombs of the Princes of Elephantine: Earliest References to Interpretation in Pharaonic Egypt.” Babel, 31(4), pp. 213-218.
- LOEWE, Michael (1968). Everyday Life in Early Imperial China: During the Han period 202BC –AD 220. New York, Dorset Press.
- LUNG, Rachel (in press). “Interpreters and the Writing of Histories in China.” Meta : Journal des traducteurs, 53(2).
- LUNG, Rachel and Donghui LI (2005). “Interpreters as Historians in China.” Meta : Journal des traducteurs, 50(3), pp. 997-1009.
- PAN, Yihong (1997). Son of Heaven and Heavenly Qaghan: Sui-Tang China and Its Neighbor. Bellingham, Western Washington University Press.
- ROLAND, Ruth (1999). Interpreters as Diplomats. Ottawa, University of Ottawa Press.
- ROSSABI, Morris (1983). “Introduction.” China among Equals. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press, pp. 1-13.
- YÜ, Yingshih (1967). Trade and Expansion in Han China: A Study in the Structure of Sino-Barbarian Economic Relations. Berkeley and Los Angeles, University of California Press.
- AN, Zuozhang (1979). A History of Relationship between Former and Latter Han China with the West Region. [Lianghan Yu Xiyu Guanxi Shi]. Shangdong, Qilu shushe.
- FU, Xuanzong and Jianguo ZHOU (2000). Collation and Annotations to the Collected Writings of Li Deyu. [Li Deyu Wenji Jiaojian]. Hebei, Hebei jiaoyu chubanshe.
- FU, Zhengcuo (1991). “The Cultural Link of Ba Shu and Southwestern Barbarians” [Bashu yu Xinanyi de Wenhua Lianxi], in LI, Zhaoming, Xiang LIN and Nanzhou XU, eds. The Histories, Nationalities, Archaeology, and Culture of Ba Shu [Bashu: Lishi, Minzu, Kaogu, Wenhua]. Chengdu, Bashu shushe, pp. 186-196.
- Hanshu. [History of Han Dynasty] (83/rpt.1962). Compiled by Ban Gu. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- Houhanshu. [History of Latter Han Dynasty] (445/rpt.1965). Compiled by Fan Ye. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- Jinshu. [History of Jin Dynasty] (648/rpt.1974). Compiled by Fang Yuanling. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- LI, Dalong (1996). Frontier Administration and Frontier Officials during the Former and Latter Han Dynasties. [Lianghan shiqi de bianzheng yu bianli]. Ha’erbin, Heilongjiang jiaoyu chubanshe.
- LI, Nanqiu (2002). Chinese History of Interpreting. [Zhongguo Kouyishi]. Qingdao, Qingdao Press.
- LUO, Erhu (2000). The Southwestern Part of China in the Qin and Han Dynasties. [Qinhan Shidai de Zhongguo Xinan]. Chengdu, Tiandi chubanshe.
- MA, Zuyi (1998). A Concise History of Translation in China. [Zhongguo Fanyi Jianshi]. Beijing, Zhongguo duiwai fanyi chuban gongsi.
- MA, Zuyi (1999). A History of Translation in China. [Zhongguo Fanyishi]. Part one. Hanwu, Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe.
- OU, Kunbo (1998). The Culture of Dian and Yunnan. [Dianyun Wenhua]. Liaoning, Liaoning jiaoyu chubanshe.
- Shiji [Records of the Grand Historian]. (93BC/rpt.1959). Compiled by Sima Qian. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- Songshu [History of Song Dynasty]. (488/rpt.1974). Compiled by Shen Yue. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- SU, Bing (ed.) (1996). Han and Tang: Great Cultural Phenomenon. [Hantang Qixiang]. Xi’an, Xibei daxue chubanshe.
- WANG, Yanyu (1986). Special Topics on the History of Guizhou. [Guizhou Zhuanti Kao]. Rev. ed. Guizhou, Guizhou renmin chubanshe
- Weishu [History of Northern Wei (Tuoba) Dynasty]. (554/rpt.1974). Compiled by Wei Shou. Rpt. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- YANG, Xiyi and Dayuan REN (1996) “On State Administration” [Guojia Guanli], in Bing SU, ed., Han and Tang: Great Cultural Phenomenon. [Hantang Qixiang]. Xi’an, Xibei daxue chubanshe, pp. 12-22.
- ZHANG, Xiaosong (2006). A System of Official Posts of Minority Peoples in China. [Zhongguo Shaoshu Minzu Zhiguan Zhidu]. Beijing, Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe.
- ZHANG, Zengqi (2004). The Southwestern Barbaric Culture of the Yunnan and Guizhou Plateaux. [Yungui Gaoyuan de Xinanyi Wenhua]. Hubei, Hubei jiaoyu chubanshe.
- ZHAO, Minli (2002). “A Literature Search of the Flourished Development of Songs and Dances Entertainment and the Composition of these Artists in Han Society” [Handai shehui gewu yula shengkuang ji congyi renyuan goucheng qingkuang de wenxian kaocha], in ZHAO, Minli, ed., A Study of Sung Poems in China. [Zhongguo Shige Yanjiu]. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju, pp. 99-116.
- ZHAO, Minli ed. (2002). A Study of Sung Poems in China. [Zhongguo Shige Yanjiu]. Beijing, Zhonghua shuju.
- ZHOU, Jucheng (ed.) (1992). The Ch’in and Han Dynasties: History of Chinese Civilization. [Qinhan Shidai: Zhongguo Wenming Shi]. Taipei, Diqiu chubanshe.
- ZHOU, Weizhou (1996). “On Territories and Ethnicities” [Jiangyu he minzu], in Bing SU, ed. Han and Tang: Great Cultural Phenomenon. [Hantang Qixiang]. Xi’an, Xibei daxue chubanshe, pp. 1-9.