A Study Of Chinese-translated Biography About Columbus In The Late Qing Dynasty

Columbus,an Italian navigator active in the second half of the 15 th century,was one of the major figures in the Age of Great Navigation.In the late Qing Dynasty,stories of foreign adventurers became widely known,among which Columbus was the most popular adventurer.Under the background of Western learning spreading to the east in the late Qing Dynasty and saving the nation,the translators of Columbus in the late Qing Dynasty took traditional morals and ethics as the center,injected traditional morals into the heroes of Europe and the United States,presented the old morals with a new image,and created a new hero model.This paper takes four long translations of Columbus as the center of discussion,and analyzes them from three perspectives: the constitution,the function and the characteristics of translation.The in-depth study and comparison of Columbus’ s translations in the late Qing Dynasty will not only help to analyze the different positions and ideological tendencies of translators in the late Qing Dynasty,but also help to investigate the common characteristics of translation.The first chapter gives an overview of the translation documents of Columbus in the late Qing Dynasty,which can be divided into three types: newspaper serials,combined biographies and single books.Among these three types,Columbus published by Shanghai Pictorial Daily,Hashimoto Customs translation of the Opening of the United States Pavilion Dragon Voyages Alone Several Combined Biography,Ningbo New Society published The World’s Twelve Masters,and Lin Wanli compiled the long-form single edition of Columbus are the most important texts.The second chapter discusses the composition of Columbus’ biography in the late Qing Dynasty.This chapter introduces the history of Columbus from the initial period,the learning period,the active period and the retirement period.In the initial period,the translator focuses on Columbus’ s love for sailing and his desire to find the new world when he was young,which is the germination of his ideal career.In the study period,the translator focuses on the process of Columbus lobbying the European countries to realize his goal of sailing west.After going through many hardships,he finally won the support of the Queen of Spain,which laid the foundation for him to find the new world and realize his dream.In the active period,the translator paid special attention to Columbus’ s first voyage and the twists and turns of discovering the American continent.In the retirement period,the translator mainly describes the sad scene of Columbus’ s success and slander,and he had to die in a sad mood.These four translations first confirm Columbus’ s identity as an adventurer,and show Columbus’ s enterprising,indomitable and highly endurance personal spirit.Next,the translation highlights Columbus’ s image as an adventurer from the perspective of biographical conflicts,anecdotes and details.Finally,the translation explains how Columbus achieved his great career from the aspects of his character formation,his way of seeking knowledge,his achievements in navigation and so on.Chapter three introduces the functions and compilation features of Columbus’ s translation in the late Qing Dynasty.The translators of the late Qing Dynasty chose Columbus,a Western hero,as the interpreter to carry out moral teachings and inspirational teachings to the readers,in order to promote heroism and patriotism,improve national morality,stimulate national ambition,so as to achieve the purpose of new people to save the country.The translation of Columbus in the late Qing Dynasty was deeply influenced by Liang Qichao: first,it inherited the style of Liang Qichao’s new style commentary;The other is imitating the "plain and vivid" style advocated by Liang Qichao.The translation of Columbus in the late Qing Dynasty was a product of responding to the enlightenment requirements of The Times in the critical period of social change and transformation in China.Although it can be seen that the traditional intellectuals vacationed between reform and conservatism,its role and influence were extremely farreaching.