Interpreters in Early Imperial ChinaThis monograph examines interpreters in early imperial China and their roles in the making of archival records about foreign countries and peoples. It covers ten empirical studies on historical interpreting and discusses a range of issues, such as interpreters identities, ethics, non-mediating tasks, status, and relations with their patrons and other people they worked with. These findings are based on critical readings of primary and secondary sources, which have rarely been utilized and analyzed in depth even in translation research published in Chinese. Although this is a book about China, the interpreters documented are, surprisingly, mostly foreigners, not Chinese. Cases in point are the enterprising Tuyuhun and Sogdian interpreters. In fact, some Sogdians were recruited as China s translation officials, while many others were hired as linguistic and trading agents in mediation between Chinese and Turkic-speaking peoples. These idiosyncrasies in the use of interpreters give rise to further questions, such as patterns in China s provision of foreign interpreters for its diplomatic exchanges and associated loyalty concerns. This book should be of interest not only to researchers in Translation and Interpreting Studies, but also to scholars and students in ancient Chinese history and Sinology in general. |
Contents
| 1 | |
2 Bridging language barriers in encounters with China in sixthcentury Asia | 21 |
Was it translated? | 43 |
4 Translation officials in Tang China 618907 | 59 |
5 Interpreters and archival records of foreign contacts of imperial China | 77 |
6 Interpreters and the writing of histories about interlingual encounters | 91 |
7 Interpreters as consultants in historiography in eighthcentury China | 103 |
8 Interpreters and the making of the Kirghiz Memoir and Kirghiz accounts | 117 |
9 Oral translators in outbound diplomatic correspondence | 135 |
An issue of loyalty | 149 |
Conclusion | 159 |
The thirteen letters and the two exceptions | 165 |
| 167 | |
| 177 | |
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Common terms and phrases
ancient archival records Asian Central Asia chapter Chinese court Chinese officials Chinese translation compiled Court translators cultural Deyu Deyu’s diplomatic discussed documented Drompp’s translation dynasty early imperial China emperor ethnic evidence first first millennium foreign envoys frontier Fu and Zhou Fu’s Han Chinese Han dynasty Hephthalites historians historical records historiography history bureau history of interpreting Houhanshu Iia Dan’s imperial audience imperial China inter interlingual exchanges interpreter’s interpreting events interview Kirghiz account Kirghiz envoys Kirghiz Memoir Kumedhan language mediation Liang Liangshu linguistic non-Chinese officials ofificials ofthe oral translation Paekche poems presented preters qaghan reference reflected region script Secretariat Secretariat’s translators Silla sixth century Sogdian language Sogdian translators specific steppes Sui dynasty Tang China Tang court textual Tian Gong Tiirk Tiirkic tion translation officials Translation Studies tribal tribes tributary tribute Turkic language Tuyuhun Uighiirs Uighurs visiting envoys written Chinese written language Xintangsha Xuanzang Yamato Zhigongtu Zhu Fu