The Translation And The Reception Of Traditional Chinese Drama In France(1789-1870)

In the first half of the 19th century,several Chinese dramas are translated into French by French Sinologistes.At the same time the research of these Sinologists on this sujet also appeared.The interest in Chinese theatre seems to be related to two factors.On the one hand,English travelers who wrote on China tended to deny the earlier opinion on traditional Chinese theatre that had been established mainly by French Jesuits in the 18th century.On the other hand,the French Romantics who wanted to bring changes to the French literature were very attracted by translations of foreign works.Although the plan for the translation of Chinese drama was proposed by French Sinologists in the 1820s,the project was not realized until 1830s because of all kinds of difficulties.The research of Stanislas Julien on Chinese poetry and that of Antoine Bazin on Chinese customs were of value for French translations of Chinese Drama.But their focus were also responsible for several errors in the comprehension of the texts.Moreover,in their translations,we can observe the influences of both the French Jesuits of the 18th century and the positivistic science of the 19th century.Because the 1830s and 1840s were a period of prosperity and development of culture,the translations of Chinese Drama quickly spread to French audiences and readers.The Romantics around Etienne Delecluze were especially interested in them.The resemblance between the Chinese and English theatre emphasized by these Romantics seems to have made Chinese theatre one of sources of the Romantic movement against the Classisism.However,cutural gaps also hindered the French public from appeaciating the Chinese plays better,especially regarding their lyricism.Although lyricism is very essential for Traditional Chinese Drama,it was neglected by the French translators and scholars.In spite of that,these translations and research proved to be an important part of Sino-French cultural exchanges in the 19th century,and had many echos in later years.