Historical Studies (Chinese Edition)

No.6, 2013

 

Translation Problems of Early Sino-British Treaties

(Abstract)

 

Qu Wensheng

 

From 1844 to 1845, the translation problems with The Treaty of the Bogue and The Treaty of Nanking were revealed through successive back-translations by Walter Henry Medhurst in the Chinese Repository. A comparison of the official Chinese and English language versions of the two early treaties shows noteworthy problems of addition, omission and misinterpretation. These translation problems can be understood and interpreted in the light of the fact that the Qing side had relinquished the right to employ its own translators and knew little about the principles of international law. Researchers into the history of Sino-foreign treaties and Sino-foreign relations should give careful attention to the role of translation in the history of this period.