War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London
The British Empire was a latecomer in establishing Chinese studies. British Sinologists made strenuous efforts to establish the first program at the University College London in the mid-1830s. The empire did not contribute to the making of it. University College London, the institution where the...
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| Other Authors: | |
| Format: | Journal Article |
| Language: | English |
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2021
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| Online Access: | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147594 |
| _version_ | 1811690433433042944 |
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| author | Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui |
| author2 | School of Humanities |
| author_facet | School of Humanities Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui |
| author_sort | Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui |
| collection | NTU |
| description | The British Empire was a latecomer in establishing Chinese studies.
British Sinologists made strenuous efforts to establish the first program
at the University College London in the mid-1830s. The empire did not
contribute to the making of it. University College London, the
institution where the program was set up, was apathetic about the
whole establishment. When the first term ended, University College
London was unwilling to continue the program despite the clamor for
learning Chinese in the society. The program was finally revived in
1846, only this time at another college at the University of London.
Relying on an extensive amount of private and public archival records
centering on Sir George Thomas Staunton, this paper demonstrates
that it was under his patronage that the Chinese program was
reinstitutionalized in London. Known to be an unassuming political
figure, Sir George Staunton was determined to rekindle the program.
Not soon after the Treaty of Nanking was signed did a scandal of
translation break out: an article in the peace treaty was missing in the
translated version. The interpreter for the British Empire was accused
of being bribed by the Chinese to betray the British Empire. Was it
true? Or was this simply a political intrigue to humiliate the British?
In fact, during the war, Staunton, being an old Chinese hand
and an expert of Chinese translation, had already warned about the
vulnerability of the government in view of the chronic lack of competent interpreters. However, as party politics prevailed, his good
intentions were ignored. Even worse, he was sidelined. After seeing
that the scandal had hijacked Britain’s war glory, he was resolute in
fixing the problem. This time he used his own might to set the tone for
British Sinology for years to come. |
| first_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:03:55Z |
| format | Journal Article |
| id | ntu-10356/147594 |
| institution | Nanyang Technological University |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-10-01T06:03:55Z |
| publishDate | 2021 |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | ntu-10356/1475942021-04-07T01:21:04Z War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui School of Humanities Humanities::Language Sir George Staunton Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff The British Empire was a latecomer in establishing Chinese studies. British Sinologists made strenuous efforts to establish the first program at the University College London in the mid-1830s. The empire did not contribute to the making of it. University College London, the institution where the program was set up, was apathetic about the whole establishment. When the first term ended, University College London was unwilling to continue the program despite the clamor for learning Chinese in the society. The program was finally revived in 1846, only this time at another college at the University of London. Relying on an extensive amount of private and public archival records centering on Sir George Thomas Staunton, this paper demonstrates that it was under his patronage that the Chinese program was reinstitutionalized in London. Known to be an unassuming political figure, Sir George Staunton was determined to rekindle the program. Not soon after the Treaty of Nanking was signed did a scandal of translation break out: an article in the peace treaty was missing in the translated version. The interpreter for the British Empire was accused of being bribed by the Chinese to betray the British Empire. Was it true? Or was this simply a political intrigue to humiliate the British? In fact, during the war, Staunton, being an old Chinese hand and an expert of Chinese translation, had already warned about the vulnerability of the government in view of the chronic lack of competent interpreters. However, as party politics prevailed, his good intentions were ignored. Even worse, he was sidelined. After seeing that the scandal had hijacked Britain’s war glory, he was resolute in fixing the problem. This time he used his own might to set the tone for British Sinology for years to come. 2021-04-07T01:21:04Z 2021-04-07T01:21:04Z 2017 Journal Article Kwan, U. S. P. (2017). War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London. Journal of Translation Studies, 1(1), 183-206. 1027-7978 https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147594 1 1 183 206 en Journal of Translation Studies © 2017 Department of Translation, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. Published by The Chinese University Press. All rights reserved. |
| spellingShingle | Humanities::Language Sir George Staunton Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff Kwan, Uganda Sze Pui War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title | War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title_full | War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title_fullStr | War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title_full_unstemmed | War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title_short | War of translation, treaty of Nanking, and diplomatic deception : Sir George Staunton and the birth of two early Chinese programs at the University of London |
| title_sort | war of translation treaty of nanking and diplomatic deception sir george staunton and the birth of two early chinese programs at the university of london |
| topic | Humanities::Language Sir George Staunton Karl Friedrich August Gützlaff |
| url | https://hdl.handle.net/10356/147594 |
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