Sources and Opinions of Translated Fiction in the Guangdong-Hong Kong Region During the Late Qing Era: A Case Study of Zhongwai Xiaoshuo Lin (Chinese and Foreign Fiction Forest)

Abstract

<p>The status of fiction rose significantly during the late Qing period. Zhongwai Xiaoshuo Lin (Chinese and Foreign Fiction Forest) emerged as one of the most well-known literary publications in the Guangdong-Hong Kong region, with its editors Huang Shizhong and Huang Boyao developing influential theories on the role of fiction. This essay specifically examines the editorial selection process of translated fiction in the magazine through three analytical dimensions. First, it presents a comprehensive source analysis, identifying the origins of 7 out of the 11 translated novels featured in the publication. Then it discusses how the Huang brothers’ fiction theories – characterized by employing diverse narrative techniques to engage readers, utilizing technological novelties as tools for enlightenment, and cultivating moral character through scientific rationalism and emotional verisimilitude – systematically shaped their translation choices. Ultimately, the paper positions these translation practices within broader landscape of late Qing literary adaption, highlighting their distinctive contribution to cross-cultural literary translation.<br></p>

晚清時期小說的地位得到顯著提升，《中外小說林》作為此時粵港地區最重要的一份小說雜誌，主編黃世仲、黃伯耀兄弟的小說理論深具代表性。本文對《中外小說林》中翻譯小說的研究聚焦選材這個層面。首先考證出該雜誌共11篇翻譯小說中7篇作品的來源。接著從黃氏兄弟小說觀的三個方面，以多變的敘事藝術吸引讀者、用新事物與新科技來啟蒙讀者、小說中的科學精神及情感描寫均可以培養讀者的理想品格，來分析這些時代觀念如何影響《中外小說林》翻譯小說的選材。最後總結《中外小說林》的譯作在晚清翻譯文學中的獨特價值