Abstracts
Abstract
This paper describes a brief study of Lin Zexu’s translation activities from the perspective of ideology. Lin was not a translator himself, but an initiator and patron of translations. He organised translation activities with sources from foreign newspapers and books to help his anti-opium campaign and resistance to British invasion. Translations from foreign sources were not welcomed by the Qing government and translators were even regarded as traitors. Lin, however, had a contrasting attitude towards translation. To Lin, translation was a way to learn about the outside world and to learn from it. The Qing government, on the other hand, held the view that translations of foreign documents were of little use. The difference between Lin’s view and that of the Qing court can be seen as an ideological divergence between Lin and the government he served. This culminated in the expulsion of Lin from the government, his exile and the termination of his translation activities. This shows how a state instigated ideological position can predominate over an oppositional ideology – in this case to the detriment of the state.
Keywords:
- Lin Zexu,
- translation activities,
- opium war,
- dominant ideology,
- oppositional ideology
Résumé
Cet article est une brève étude des activités de traduction de Lin Zexu, abordée d’un point de vue idéologique. Lin n’était pas traducteur, mais plutôt initiateur et mécène d’activités de traduction. Ses activités de traduction, qui avaient pour objectif de contribuer à sa campagne anti-opium et à la résistance contre l’invasion britannique, se basaient sur des journaux et des livres occidentaux. Les activités de traduction n’étaient pas bien vues par le gouvernement des Qing ; les traducteurs pouvaient même être perçus comme des traîtres. L’attitude de Lin face à la traduction était à l’opposé de celle du pouvoir en place qui estimait que les traductions étaient de peu d’utilité. Pour Lin, la traduction était un moyen de s’informer sur le monde extérieur et d’apprendre de lui. Le conflit idéologique opposant la cour des Qing et Lin aura finalement raison de ce dernier, poussé à l’exil par le gouvernement, ce qui mettra fin à ses activités de traduction. Cette étude de cas démontre que l’idéologie dominante, grâce aux appareils de l’État, tend à l’emporter sur les idéologies qui s’y opposent.
Mots-clés :
- Lin Zexu,
- activités de traduction,
- guerre de l’opium,
- idéologie dominante,
- idéologie oppositionnelle
Resumen
Este trabajo es un breve estudio de las actividades de traducción de Lin Zexu desde la perspectiva de la ideología. Lin no era traductor, sino un iniciador y mecenas de traducciones. Organizó actividades de traducción a partir de periódicos y libros extranjeros para ayudar a su campaña contra el opio y resistencia a la invasión británica. Las traducciones de fuentes extranjeras no fueron bien recibidas por el gobierno Qing y los traductores fueron incluso considerados como traidores. Lin tenía una visión de la traducción contraria a la del gobierno. Para Lin, la traducción era una manera de conocer el mundo exterior y aprender de él. El gobierno Qing, por otro lado, opinaba que las traducciones de documentos extranjeros eran de poca utilidad. La diferencia entre la visión de Lin y la de la corte de Qing radica en una divergencia ideológica entre Lin y el gobierno al que servía. Esto llevó a la expulsión de Lin del gobierno, su exilio y el fin de sus actividades de traducción. Este estudio demuestra cómo una posición ideológica promovida por el Estado puede predominar sobre una ideología de oposición, en este caso en detrimento del Estado.
Palabras clave:
- Lin Zexu,
- actividades de traducción,
- guerra del opio,
- ideología dominante,
- ideología de oposición
Appendices
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