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ABSTRACT: The purpose of this paper is to provide a brisk, clear, and broad overview of the English translation history of the famous eighteenth century Chinese novel, Hongloumeng (Dream of the Red Chamber). It attempts to show that Western interest in this novel was much earlier, and more extensive, than has been commonly assumed by Chinese scholars. This will be done by first quickly describing the various stages the novel's English translation history as well as English Hongxue has gone through. Two recent discoveries that have been made about the earliest translations of Dream of the Red Chamber will then be briefly discussed. Next, I will offer a general defense of the novel's nineteenth century British translators and commentators. Then recommendations concerning areas where further translation history research needs to be done will be offered. Finally, the remainder and bulk of the paper will consist of two extensive timetables listing important dates in the English translation history of Honglou meng as well as English Hongxue. These timetables give capsule summaries of key developments, and also frequently provide quotes from books or articles (primarily from nineteenth and early twentieth century critics) so that the reader is exposed to a variety of voices on the novel. The timelines are also intended to give the reader a concrete, chronological feel for how the Western conversation about Hongloumeng unfolded.
KEYWORDS: Hongloumeng, English translation history, English Hongxue, Sino-English translators, sinology
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John Minford, the famous Sino-English translator, has correctly observed that:
The history of translation is a bothersome and often neglected field of study 'But despite its daunting nature, translation history has a great deal to offer the student of history in the broad sense. We can see in the practice of translation a sharply focused crystallization of the state of understanding between cultures. From each one page of translated text, much emerges, much is preserved of a dialogue being conducted between two cultures at a moment in time.1
The study of the English translation of Hongloumeng, and the way it was received and interpreted in the West is important because it ultimately provides us with a running commentary on the West's constantly changing (and static) perceptions of China. The purpose...