A Practical Report On The Translation Of Historical Text Named Commercial Hand Book Of China （Excerpt） From The Perspective Of Register Theory

Historical texts undoubtedly occupy a quality position in translation practice.Based on the translation of Julean Arnold’s Commercial Hand Book of China（excerpt）,this paper studies the difficulties encountered in translating encyclopedia-type historical texts from the perspective of three variables of the Register theory.The translation project of the historical text of Commercial Hand Book of China has hundreds of thousands of words,covering a wide range of fields.The first volume covers China’s area and population,physiography and climate,administration,education,agriculture,mining,communications,public works,ports and concessions,finance,industry,shipping and travel facilities,commercial organizations,and other related aspect of trade;the next volume covers the Chinese government’s system,Chinese history and American relations,judicial procedures,trademarks,patents and copyrights,tariffs and domestic taxes,currency,measurement,exchanges and banking,concessions and titles;weights and guilds and chambers of commerce;the position of the comprador;Chinese products of interest to American manufacturers and importers;China’s industrial and commercial progress and prospects;advertising in China;labor and living conditions;land values;Chinese customs and etiquette;and numerous other subject of interest to American business men having transactions with the Far Entern markets.The author selected four chapters（10,966 words in total）to write a translation practice report,and strived to restore the original information to the greatest extent,to reproduce a true historical fact for the reader.The source text of this translation practice report covers Chinese society,culture,and economy in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China.It brings together the latest information on China’s trade trends for American businessmen.It is also the most detailed publication in its kind published by the U.S.Department of Commerce.Designed specifically for the benefit of American businessmen,this handbook has helped the U.S.exporters build more effective interest in many fields of China,providing them with ample opportunity to become familiar with the basic trading potential of this important and interesting country.Under the guidance of Halliday’s Register theory,this translation practice report will select proper meanings for the professional and general vocabularies at the Field level,analyze objective translations for the "there be" pattern and passive sentence at the Tenor level,and translate the attributive and adverbial clauses into written language at the Mode level by means of case analyses,therefor to explore the impact on the translation of Commercial Hand Book of China（excerpts）and finally finish the final translation.