The Dilemma and Choices of Indirect Translation: The Transformation of Chinese Classical Novels in Europe from the Early Translations of Yu Jiaoli

Abstract

ABSTRACTPrevious studies on the Yu jiaoli 玉嬌梨 (The Two Fair Cousins) often directly compared the English indirect translation with the Chinese original by neglecting the French translation as the intermedia, treating the two translators as one person and collectively referring to them as the “Westerners.” This article reexamines French translation and English indirect translation in the Anglo-French competition in the early 19th century. Influenced by the trend of Academic Sinology established in France and the dominating French way of intellectual trade between China and Europe, the French translation showed more faithfulness than literariness. However, the English translator was faced with the dilemma and choices of translation – relying on Abel-Rémusat’s good reputation and being more faithful to his translation or being deviated from the French translation by intentional mistranslations, abridgment, and deletions of the main text and the paratext under the multiple purposes of economy, politics, business, and culture. The English translator’s unfamiliarity with the Chinese language has inadvertently produced more mistranslations, further increasing the distance from the French translation.

Keywords

• Yu Jiaoli
• indirect translation
• Abel-rémusat
• 《玉嬌梨》
• 间接翻译
• 阿贝尔·雷慕沙