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The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire Hardcover – November 9, 2021

by Henrietta Harrison (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings
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A fascinating history of China’s relations with the West―told through the lives of two eighteenth-century translators

The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney’s fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East’s lack of interest in the West. In The Perils of Interpreting, Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney’s two interpreters at that meeting―Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in relations between China and Britain. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars.

Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court’s ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li’s influence as Macartney’s interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain.

Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, The Perils of Interpreting offers an empathic argument for cross-cultural understanding in a connected world.

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  1. Print length
    312 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Princeton University Press
  4. Publication date
    November 9, 2021
  5. Dimensions
    6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    0691225451
  7. ISBN-13
    978-0691225456
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Winner of the Kenshur Prize, Bloomington Center for Eighteenth-Century Studies"

"Shortlisted for the Wolfson History Prize"

"Shortlisted for the Cundill History Prize, McGill University"

"A History Today Book of the Year"

"

Harrison digs equally in Chinese and European archives, finding abundant vivid material from which to reconstruct [Li and Staunton’s] stories, weaving them together to rewrite the opening chapter of Sino–British relations as a series of unfortunate events in which a word, a look or a gesture could alter the course of the encounter. . . . An invigorating re-vision. . . . Harrison’s strength is in narrating lives lived and reminding us that the consequences were never preordained.

"---Timothy Brook, Times Literary Supplement

"

Today the fiasco of 1793 is the postulate for an elaborate paradigm that is supposed to explain China’s decline in power in the 19th century. . . . But the paradigm is problematic: it isn’t only ahistorical but, as Henrietta Harrison suggests in The Perils of Interpreting, it focuses on the wrong people.

"---Pamela Crossley, London Review of Books

"

Harrison could not have picked two more fascinating men to focus her book on. Both Li and Staunton lived truly extraordinary lives and the reader is led vividly through each. . . . Not only is The Perils of Interpreting an empathetic portrait of two men, it also deftly reveals the critical importance of translation and of interpreters―for without them neither cross-cultural interactions nor cross-cultural understanding can even begin.

"---Sarah Bramao-Ramos, History Today

"

Often the most readable books on Chinese history are those that use detailed accounts of the lives of individuals to illuminate the great events of their time. Oxford professor Henrietta Harrison’s The Perils of Interpreting: The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators between Qing China and the British Empire is a fine example, providing a fresh description of the 1793 embassy from Britain’s King George III to the Manchu Qianlong emperor through the eyes of those who mediated, rather than those of the principals.

"---Peter Neville-Hadley, South China Morning Post Magazine

"[The Perils of Interpreting] reads like a swashbuckling adventure novel. . . . [A] vivid reconstruction of an era."---John Krich, Nikkei Asia

"

[The Perils of Interpreting] takes a familiar story―the deteriorating diplomacy between Britain and Qing China from the 1793 Macartney Mission and the Opium War―and masterfully retells it through the lives of two translators.

" ― History Today

"[Harrison’s] prose is pictorial and vivacious, effortlessly carrying the reader into a new domain of empathy and historical awareness. The unique and intimate stories of translators offer an antidote to simplistic accounts. . . . The result is a book that thoroughly transforms what we know about Sino-British encounters leading up to the Opium War."---Jenny Huangfu Day, Journal of Chinese History

"Marvelous."---Haun Saussy, Journal of the American Oriental Society

"The Perils of Interpreting offers extraordinarily fresh information deftly crafted into a narrative embracing biography, imperial history, maritime history, British political history, religious history, and the history of Chinese and British relations. Harrison, an adroit storyteller, designed the book as a chronologically told story of two men, two cultures, and two imperial powers attempting to communicate between worlds. . . . Harrison’s attention to interpretation, its delicacy, its omissions as well as its expressions reveals how power inheres in language, and power is as much in the hands of translators as in the hands of leaders of state. This fascinating, deeply researched, highly informed account is microhistory at its very best."---Carla Mulford, The Eighteenth-Century Intelligencer

"Harrison’s rich book opens up so many lines of inquiry that it is bound to produce a wealth of follow-up studies. Let us hope that they will be as eye-opening and enjoyable to read."---Eun Kyung Min, Eighteenth-Century Studies

"Fascinating."---Hamish Gobson, Think Scotland

"By comparing and contrasting the lives of the two interpreters, The Perils of Interpreting provides an informed understanding on the history of Sino-Western interactions and the world of the British and Chinese empires and would be a good read for historians and general readers alike."---Song-Chuan Chen, The Journal of British Studies

"[A] meticulous piece of research."---Matei Idu and Alina Pelea, Revue Internationale d'Études en Langues Modernes Appliquées

Review

“This is a story about two interpreters, but it is so much more than that. The Perils of Interpreting is a powerful and deeply original exploration of two major empires, China and Britain, and the ways they understood each other. Bringing together a sweeping perspective of the Chinese-British encounter with empathetic portraits of the individuals involved, this book is essential reading for historians of China and Europe alike.”―Rana Mitter, author of Forgotten Ally: China’s World War II, 1937–1945

“Brilliantly researched and beautifully written, The Perils of Interpreting looks at the mirrored, intertwining lives of interpreters George Thomas Staunton and Li Zibiao. This is one of the most eye-opening books I have ever read on the early era of Chinese-British relations.”―Stephen R. Platt, author of Imperial Twilight: The Opium War and the End of China’s Last Golden Age

“Harrison’s multifaceted archival analysis adds a humanistic touch to the history of intercultural politics and shows that the more interpreters understand, the more suspicious they appear. The choices and influence of the Macartney embassy’s interpreters shaped not only their own fates, but also the historical narratives of Chinese-British relations, then and now.”―May Bo Ching, City University of Hong Kong

“This is a wonderful and important book. Providing a wholly new and poignant lens on one of the most famous episodes in the history of Sino-British relations, it focuses on the roles and lives of the translators who made communication between Qing China and Britain possible. Harrison offers extraordinarily rich and moving insights into the interactions between the Chinese and British governments, and the enormous challenges of promoting understanding and dialogue between geographically remote languages and cultures.”―Julia Lovell, author of Maoism: A Global History

“The Perils of Interpreting takes a brilliant historical look at cross-cultural experiences and friendship. Harrison narrates the meeting between a Chinese man who learned Latin in Europe and a young Englishman who learned Chinese while working in China. Their fascinating story of being between two cultures and the dangers in interpreting them is all the more topical now, and their experiences remind us of the vital importance of language and translation in the understanding of cultures today.”―Nicolas Standaert, author of The Interweaving of Rituals: Funerals in the Cultural Exchange between China and Europe

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Princeton University Press (November 9, 2021)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Hardcover ‏ : ‎ 312 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0691225451
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0691225456
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.5 x 1 x 9.5 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 21 ratings

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Henrietta Harrison

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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
21 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Rk
5.0 out of 5 stars who knew translating could be so imperiling
Reviewed in the United States on August 6, 2022
Verified Purchase
Just an excellent book written about events years ago, which is quite relevant today
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Andy McKinney
5.0 out of 5 stars Henrietta Harrison writes like a novelist
Reviewed in the United States on April 6, 2023
Harrison takes the interwoven lives of two men, Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton, and uses them to tell the modern public about the struggle between Britain and China in the early 19th century. She covers the opium war and the tea trade and even mentions the great Taiping Rebellion. She explains all of this through the lives of a Chinese priest and a boy with a decidedly strange up bringing.
As interesting as the subject matter is, her writing is even better. She is a magnificent researcher, finding details of people's lives in Chinese and British records, including but not exclusively, letters, memoirs, and books written by those involved in historic events. But she puts these facts together in an accessible and diverting way.
I read this academic work as quickly as I would an engaging novel.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Roger Harrison
5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent in every respect
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 12, 2023
Verified Purchase
This is an excellent book full of information backed up by outstanding research..
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nicholas markantonatos
5.0 out of 5 stars Interpreters
Reviewed in Germany on July 13, 2022
Verified Purchase
Thoroughly interesting topic. This book added a lot to the unsuccessful British embassy mission to the
Qianlong court in Chengde with the two interpreters playing such a pivotal role which brings to life
their interesting story which has not been previously examined in such depth, How interesting would it be
if Ms Harrison researches and maybe writes a book on William Alexander, the junior artist of the mission,a
most competent artist. This will conclude, I think, the story on someone who depicted in such clarity
aspects of life in China in the late 18th century being a witness and travelling with this embassy mission.
Happy to have purchased this book.
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Za Vas
5.0 out of 5 stars 翻訳・通訳の二つのアプローチ
Reviewed in Japan on January 15, 2023
Verified Purchase
1793年に清朝の乾隆帝に謁見したイギリス人ジョージ＝マカートニーの通訳を務めた二人の人物の生涯を追った非常に興味深い人物史。
一人はマカートニーの随員であったジョージ＝レナード＝スタントンの12歳の息子ジョージ＝トーマス＝スタントン（本書のカヴァーに登場する人物）。もう一人はカトリック教徒としてナポリに（秘密）留学していた中国人の李自標。後者は、嘉慶帝時代のカトリック弾圧のなかで中国国内に残って秘密裡に布教活動を行っていた後半生が興味深い。前者は広東で東インド会社に協力して財を築いた後にイギリスへ帰国して下院議員となるが、政治活動はほとんど行わず、周囲からは際物扱いされた不遇な後半生が描かれている。またスタントンは死後に乾隆帝からの下賜品などをアジア協会に寄贈するが、そのほとんど全てが散逸してしまったとの記述には呆れかえるほかない。
筆者は表題の「危険（peril）」としてスタントン及び李自標と、彼と広東で通訳の同僚であったロバート＝モリソンとのアプローチの相違から浮かび上がらせている。スタントンは同時代のフランス革命に熱狂していた父の影響で正規の学業を踏むことなく、中国語も李自標などとの交流を通じての独習であったことと、その実践の場が外交であったこととによって、スタントンも李自標も互いの差異をできうる限り減らして相互理解を深めて成果を挙げる方向での通訳に専心した。李自標の英語学習も同じ方式であった。他方で、ロバート＝モリソンは聖書の翻訳を志したために正確無比な翻訳を心掛け、結果として互いの差異を明らかにする通訳の方向へと進んだ。彼は中国語の辞書の編纂にも取り組んだ結果、モリソンの方式が後の時代の中国学習者にも受け継がれた。スタントン・李流の差異低減ではなく、モリソン流の差異強調の通訳・翻訳方法が、非ヨーロッパの他者性を強調する時代風潮に適ったことも筆者は指摘して本書を終えている（pp. 270-271.）。
乾隆帝はネパールに遠征した腹心の将軍である福康安などを通じて、18世紀のインドでのイギリスの軍事活動について知っており、福康安はカルカッタのイギリス総領事に照会もしている（p.107.）。そのため1793年8月に中国本土上陸直後にマカートニーは喬人傑と王文雄からインドでのイギリスの侵略ならびに清のグルカ族討伐へのイギリスの介入可能性について問いただされている（p.106.）。筆者は当時の清朝が世界情勢に疎いというステレオタイプを否定する一方で、上述したスタントン・李流の通訳方法は、両者に受け入れ可能な妥協点を目指して努力して将来のイギリスからの遣使計画を育んだ点で、マカートニーの成果を失敗と断じる従来の評価を否定して成功であったと評している（p.270.）。
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