The Dialogue between the Dragon and the Lion

This book reveals how translation became a key factor in the mission's failure. 本书揭开翻译如何成为使团失败的一个关键因素 As the first semi-official contact between China and Britain, the Macartney Embassy of 1793 undoubtedly had a profound impact on the historical development of both nations. However, issues of communication and translation during the embassy have rarely captured the attention of researchers. This book focuses on the critical role that translation played in this Sino-British dialogue. Structured chronologically across seven chapters and driven by a series of probing questions, it examines the backgrounds of the embassy's interpreters and investigates the translation and adaptation of various documents, including diplomatic letters, imperial edicts, gift inventories, and correspondences. Through meticulous excavation and analysis of a wealth of precious archives and multilingual source materials, the book strives to reconstruct the translation processes during the Macartney Embassy's visit to China. It aims to reveal to readers the paramount importance of translation not only in the Macartney mission but also in modern Chinese diplomatic activities as a whole. Rich in detailed and well-substantiated materials, rigorously argued, and offering novel insights into many questions surrounding the embassy, this work fills gaps in existing scholarship on the mission. It serves as an important reference and exemplary model for studies in modern Chinese translation history and Sino-British diplomatic history. 作为中英官方的次正式接触，1793年马戛尔尼使团访华对两国历史发展的深远影响毋庸置疑，然而使团的沟通与翻译问题罕有进入研究者视野。本书聚焦翻译在这次中英对话中扮演的关键角色，全书七个章节以时间为轴线，由多个问题驱动论述，通过对使团译员背景以及国书、敕谕、礼品清单、往来书信等各类文件的翻译和改写的考察，并基于对大量珍贵档案和多门语言文献材料抽丝剥茧式的深入挖掘和分析，力图还原马戛尔尼使团访华事件的翻译过程，向读者展示翻译在马戛尔尼访华事件乃至近代中国外交活动中的至关重要性。本书资料丰富详实，论述严密，对使团研究的许多问题提出了新颖见解，填补现有使团研究的空白，为近代中国翻译史、中英外交史研究提供了重要参考与典范。