晚清民初「域外翻譯」研究

晚清民初，大量翻譯文學進入中國，為中國帶來現代性變革。無論是魏源的政治修辭，還是林紓的翻譯小說，皆可見出翻譯之於近代中國的意義。然而，近代中國知識份子是否曾經透過翻譯以回應西方？本研究將近代中文譯者所進行之外語翻譯稱之為「域外翻譯」。域外翻譯並不以忠實、透明的譯文為側重點，翻譯者皆著眼於中國文化的對外輸出，並且意圖透過此種「由外語講述的中國」於西方展現影響力，為中國文學尋求世界性地位，才是此類譯者們最終的翻譯目的。而不同的翻譯策略，亦使得原本的中文文本發生變形、轉化、脫胎。故本研究以陳季同、辜鴻銘與林文慶三位譯者作為個案，考察此三位譯者所採用之策略。並留意到譯者的國族身份：中國知識份子（陳季同）與海外華人群體（辜鴻銘、林文慶）。中國知識份子如何透過外語，在中國文學傳統與西方現代性之間徘徊，值得留意。同時，海外華人對於中文的熟悉程度相對較低，卻對中國文化有著高度的認同與想像，其游離於中文（中國）與英文（英殖民）之間，而翻譯行為正提供了一適切的空間，讓他們以外語表現中國特質。本研究認為，域外翻譯的框架得以讓兩種類型的譯者同時進入研究視閾，透過語言、文化與國族的跨度展現多方辯證，深化了近代翻譯研究的深度與面向。

關鍵字

域外翻譯；跨文化研究；陳季同；辜鴻銘；林文慶

並列摘要

In late Qing dynasty and early Republic period, a great number of translated literature has brought the modernity change within China. Both the political rhetoric from Wei Yuan and the translated novels of Lin Shu showed that “Translation” has a significant meaning to modern China. However, have Chinese intellectuals ever respond to the West through translation? This study defines the foreign languages translations, which were carried out by Chinese translators, as “extraterritorial translation”. Fidelity and transparency are not the upmost elements in extraterritorial translation. Instead, the translators took translation as cultural propaganda, and show its intended influence by depicting China in foreign languages in order to achieve their utmost goal of finding China a place in world literature. Through different strategies of translation, the translators also modified, changed, and transformed the original Chinese literature. Therefore, this research uses case study method to analyze the translating strategies of Tcheng Ki-tong, Ku Hung-Ming and Lim Boon Kim. The national identity of the three translators were also pointed out, with Tcheng Ki-tong as an intellectual who grew up in China, Ku Hung-Ming and Lim Boon Kim are the Chinese immigrations in Malaysia and Singapore. How Chinese intellectuals had to hover between the Chinese literary tradition and the western modernity through foreign languages is rather noticeable. Meanwhile, although Chinese immigrations are relatively less familiar with the language Mandarin, and yet they have deep self-identifications and picturesque imaginations with Chinese culture. Chinese immigrations in Malaysia and Singapore were wandering between Chinese(China) and English(British colony). These practices of translation happened to provide a space for the translators to show the Chineseness in English. In this research, the framework of “extraterritorial translation” created a field of study that included these two types of translators, and through the various crossover among languages, cultures, and nations, “extraterritorial translation” expended the depths and diversity of translation study in modern China.