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The Two Interpreters During Qing-Britain EncountersThe
two interpreters, Li and Staunton, were the people through whom the
interchanges between Qing China and the British Empire filtered.
Harrison,
H. (2021). The perils of interpreting: The extraordinary lives of two
translators between Qing China and the British Empire. Princeton University
Press.Source:https://press.princeton.edu/books/hardcover/9780691225456/the-perils-of-interpreting?srsltid=AfmBOopW56JJTKA7PhjLDnUsD6J-3cPU6GdUu-djgb6FpE6pEC1PNj4OThis
was a significant historical moment of East-West encounter: In 1792, the
British government sent George Macartney to lead a delegation that set sail
from Portsmouth to China. After a year-long journey, they arrived in Chengde in
the summer of 1793 to meet Emperor Qianlong. The most widely discussed aspect
of this historic meeting is that Macartney, by refusing to perform the kowtow
according to Qing court etiquette, angered Qianlong, who then rejected all of
Macartney's requests. This incident is often regarded as the beginning of
cultural conflict between China and the West.In
her book The perils of interpreting: The extraordinary lives of two translators
between Qing China and the British Empire, Oxford historian Henrietta Harrison
vividly describes the scene of Macartney's audience with Qianlong: “dressed in
the robes of the Order of the Bath with ostrich plumes nodding over his head,
knelt before the Qianlong emperor, and held up in both hands above his head a
gold box set with diamonds containing a letter from George III”.The
narrative then shifts to a lesser-known historical detail: how did the
communication between Macartney and Emperor Qianlong take place? Henrietta
Harrison points out that Qianlong was fluent in both Chinese and Manchu, and had
a good grasp of Mongolian, Tibetan, and Uighur. Therefore, when receiving
delegations from these regions, he did not need a translator. However, when
receiving Macartney, the first British envoy to China, a translator was
indispensable.Who
was the translator? What language was used? Surprisingly, it was not a direct
translation between Chinese and English. During Macartney’s
audience with Emperor Qianlong, he spoke in Italian, which was translated into
Chinese by a Catholic priest named Li Zibiao, who was kneeling behind him,
dressed in British-style clothing and wearing a white wig. Li Zibiao was from
Liangzhou in northwest China and had studied in Naples, Italy, as a child. He
spoke simple Chinese rather than the formal court dialect. Li translated Qianlong’s words into elegant Italian for Macartney. After Macartney
withdrew, his deputy Staunton and Staunton’s
12-year-old son, George Thomas (junior Staunton), were also received, with Li
again translating, this time into Latin. The junior Staunton, who understood
both Latin and Chinese, impressed Qianlong so much that the emperor took a
pouch from his waist and presented it to him as a gift.![]()
Li
Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton are the protagonists of this book. Through
the perspectives of these two translators, the book explores and analyzes the
interactions and conflicts between Qing China and the British Empire. At that
time, few possessed the necessary language skills, making translation
indispensable for diplomacy.The
book tells the story of Qing-British encounters, exchanges, and eventual
conflicts by paralleling the lives of Li Zibiao and junior Staunton. Li Zibiao
was a Catholic priest who received years of missionary training in Naples and
served as the official translator for the Macartney Embassy. George Thomas
Staunton, on the other hand, was only 12 years old when his father brought him
aboard the embassy ship, HMS Lion. During the mission, junior Staunton became
fluent in Chinese and later played a crucial role in diplomacy during the
Canton trade and the Opium War. The book is divided into 20 chapters across
four parts, chronologically reconstructing the main phases of their lives: the
experiences that shaped their cross-cultural upbringing (Chapters 1-4); how Li
Zibiao acted as translator and mediator between the Qing court and the
Macartney Embassy (Chapters 5-11); Staunton’s role as a translator and
writer during the final decade of Canton trade (Chapters 12-16); and, in the
last four chapters, the book discusses their later years in their home
countries and how their stories were eventually forgotten (Chapters 17-20).Li
Zibiao and junior Staunton shared many commonalities. Both led extraordinary
and rare lives. Li Zibiao left his home in the northwestern border region of
China as a teenager, traveled to Naples to study Latin, Greek, and Hebrew, and
formed a close friendship with a future Italian duke. He lived in Naples for
twenty years and traveled across Europe during the wars of the French
Revolution. Staunton, meanwhile, learned Latin and Chinese from an early age,
met Emperor Qianlong as a boy, flew Chinese kites in Wiltshire during the
1790s, wrote a Chinese-language booklet to help introduce vaccines to China,
and translated the Laws of the Qing Empire.It
can be said that Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton were intermediaries
between Qing China and Britain, seeking to promote cross-cultural understanding
and respect. Both Li and Staunton came of age in the 18th century, and their
approach to translation reflected the worldview of that time. One of the most
notable examples is the Chinese character "夷," often used by
the Chinese to refer to the British. Both Li and Staunton understood it to mean
"foreigner." However, by the 1830s, British writers advocating for
war insisted it meant "barbarian," a view that became widely known
among British parliamentarians. Staunton vehemently opposed this, arguing that
such a translation was morally wrong because it "tended to deepen the rift
between us and the Chinese."When
translating for the Macartney Embassy, the terms Li Zibiao used aimed to bridge
gaps and ensure successful negotiations. For instance, "贡"
was translated as "gifts (munera)" rather than "tribute,"
"夷" was rendered as "foreigners
(externi)" instead of "barbarians," and Macartney was
consistently referred to as "ambassador (legatus)." The frequently
mentioned phrase about the British being "submissive" was translated
into two different expressions, both removing any connotation of subjugation.
One described the British as "satisfied and peaceful (animo content et pacifico),"
while the other stated that the emperor was aware of the British king's
"great benevolence (magnam benevolentiam)." This mention of the
British king's benevolentiam was just one instance where the term
"benevolence" was used. The Latin term implies goodwill, and its
English cognate, "benevolence," suggests a degree of condescension,
which balanced the emperor's own condescension. Overall, the translation
exhibited greater cultural relativism than the original text, frequently
referring to Chinese customs (mos et consuetudo Sinica, Sinicis moribus),
whereas the original merely mentioned customs and institutions. The Latin text
avoided the direct tone of the Chinese and instead adopted a balanced approach
between the English and Chinese perspectives: the Chinese followed their
customs, while the British king was benevolent, as was the Chinese emperor.The
lives and careers of Li Zibiao and junior Staunton mirrored one another.
Everything they did as translators shaped their lives until the end. Neither
was a professional translator: Li Zibiao was a Catholic priest and missionary,
while junior Staunton’s career in China involved trade as an employee of the British East
India Company. They were enlisted as translators for the Macartney Embassy due
to their linguistic and cultural skills. Both had spent their early years
abroad studying, mastering foreign languages and cultures, and developing
cross-cultural communication abilities. While abroad, they were both foreigners
on a distant continent; upon returning home, they remained different from their
peers, their unique upbringing leaving them somewhat alienated. The process of
cross-cultural contact and exchange eventually led to tensions between nations,
making their lives particularly difficult. Both men lived to an old age, and
while their knowledge of foreign lands went unappreciated, at least they
survived and avoided exile.China’s Earliest Overseas StudentsChina’s
initial contact with Britain was a result of the growth of global trade in the
early modern world, stemming from the spice trade between Portugal, the
Netherlands, and Asia in the 16th century. The Portuguese established trading
posts in Goa, Malacca, and Macau along the southern coast of China.
Accompanying the merchants were Catholic missionaries, and over the course of
two hundred years, these missionaries spread throughout China. Li Zibiao's
ancestors were among the first families to convert to Christianity, and through
the global Catholic network, he was sent to Europe to study.The
story of Chinese students studying abroad is often understood to have begun
with Yung Wing, American missionaries, and the Self-Strengthening Movement.
However, long before this, Chinese students were already studying in Europe.
The Chinese College in Naples was founded in 1732, and when 13-year-old Li
Zibiao arrived there in 1773, he joined 15 other Chinese students who were
training to become priests. During the reign of Emperor Qianlong, 40 Chinese
boys and junior men studied at the college in Naples, and Li Zibiao was just
one of them.At
the age of 11, Li Zibiao set out from Liangzhou, following the priest Guo
Yuanxing. From Macau, they boarded a French ship, sailed to Mauritius, rounded
the southern tip of Africa, arrived in Paris, traveled south to Marseille, and
eventually sailed to Naples, where Li Zibiao arrived at the age of 13.Approximately
forty years earlier, Matteo Ripa, a missionary who had returned to Naples from
the court of Emperor Kangxi, founded the College of the Holy Family of Jesus
Christ, also known as the Chinese College. Ripa believed that the Jesuits’approach to missionary work was flawed and that the best way to spread the
Gospel in China was by training Chinese priests. He recruited the first group
of Chinese students and established a religious community to teach them. Later,
the college also began admitting local students, whose tuition became a
significant source of the college’s income.![]()
The
Chinese Church and College in the early nineteenth century
At
the Chinese College, Li Zibiao studied Latin, arithmetic, Italian, Greek, and
Hebrew. He also studied Chinese. At the age of 17, Li began the specialized
education required for his future profession as a priest. In 1784, at the age
of 24, he was ordained. In 1791, Li traveled to Rome to take his final
theological exam, where he achieved the highest score of "excellent"
and earned the Pope’s commendation. After living in Naples for nearly twenty years, Li
successfully completed all the requirements to become a missionary. He became
fluent in Latin, Italian, and Chinese, was familiar with the cultural world of
Europe’s elite, and received specialized training for
working in China.The
entrance hall of the Chinese College. In the centre of the emblem are the
Chinese characters for the Holy Family and round the outside is the Latin motto“Go out into the whole world, and preach the gospel to all peoples.”Chinoiserie
porcelain boudoir created for Queen Maria Amalia in the royal palace at Portici
in 1759. The Chinese writing is real, unlike that in most European chinoiserie.
The Chinese students provided texts for the craftsmen to copy. Here a “distant
minister” (yuanchen) presents praises to King Carlo.The Perils of TranslationInterpretation
in diplomacy always takes place within specific social and political contexts.
It not only grants the interpreter power but also places them in potential
danger, which is the origin of the book's title, The Perils of Translation.Interpreters
are the most critical figures in negotiations between nations and may find
themselves caught in dangerous political interactions. When relations between
countries turn hostile, translation becomes a perilous task. After completing
his translation duties for the Macartney mission, Li Zibiao wrote that only a
"thoroughly foolish person" would take on such a dangerous job—even
before there were any substantial conflicts between China and Britain.In
times of military tension, being known to possess extensive knowledge about the
other side became particularly dangerous due to suspicions of loyalty. When
such risks arose, interpreters and translators were often the first to suffer.
In 1759, Hong Renhui was imprisoned for submitting a petition to extend trade with
the British, and the Chinese man who assisted him, Liu Yabian, was publicly
executed. It was decreed that only Chinese translators employed by merchant
houses and registered with the government could serve as interpreters for the
British, as these individuals could be held accountable for their actions. Liu
Yabian’s execution served as a stark warning to interpreters who ignored such
risks.Junior
Staunton later became a renowned translator of Chinese and a key figure in
British trade with China. However, after the British navy seized Macau by force
in 1808, two of his Chinese friends were exiled to the frontier. When Emperor
Jiaqing threatened to capture him, Staunton had to leave China, never to
return. During Jiaqing’s reign, there was also a crackdown on Catholicism, seen
as a foreign religion, forcing Li Zibiao into hiding. European missionaries,
who had served at the imperial court since the arrival of the Jesuits in the
16th century, were nearly all expelled. Li Zibiao spent the rest of his life preaching
in the remote region of Lu’an. As anti-Christian measures intensified during
Jiaqing’s reign, his safety was constantly at risk. He remained in hiding
throughout his life, never being discovered.The
experiences of these two interpreters illustrate that while foreign language
skills are essential when engaging with another culture, they also bring trust
issues and the risk of being in danger when relations between nations
deteriorate. This book argues that many people in China at the time possessed
substantial knowledge of Europe, but the threat posed by Britain made having
such knowledge dangerous, leading many to conceal it.What
exactly did China know about Europe in the early 19th century? And why was this
knowledge not passed on to the highest decision-makers? The book contends that
the perils of translation explain why China’s political leaders in the mid-19th
century were so ignorant of Britain.
1.“THERE
IS PERHAPS no more striking instance of the clash between advanced and
traditional societies than the proud encounter, at the end of the eighteenth
century, between Britain and China—the first country to be
gripped by the industrial revolution and the most brilliant of all civilizations
rooted in custom.…Or
that they, a nation of 8 million,5 were so confident of their status as “the
most powerful nation of the globe” that they intended
to deal on an equal basis with a country whose population was 330 million,
one-third of the human race. Or that the Middle Empire—“the only civilization under heaven”—flatly
rejected their every request.” - Alain Peyrefitte, The Immobile Empire![]()
2.”THE
MOST SPLENDID of Macartney’s gifts to Qianlong, intended to
demonstrate Britain’s modernity, was the planetarium, a
working model of the solar system. In return Qianlong gave the ambassador
various objects of traditional arts and crafts: jade sculptures, silk purses,
and cloisonnés, decorated enameled vases whose
partitions, set off by fine brass wires, created compartmentalized scenes.…why
China so quickly lost its centuries-long lead over other civilizations. The
Macartney mission suggests at least two explanations: first, at a time when
Western nations were expanding across the world, China turned in on itself;
second, China obstinately curbed innovations, while Europe nurtured them.”- Alain
Peyrefitte, The Immobile EmpireCityReads ∣Notes On Cities"CityReads", a subscription account on WeChat,
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