通事與奸民：明末中英虎門事件中的譯者

The Bogue Incident Translator, 1637

1637 年，英國人約翰。威德爾 （John Weddell， 1583–1642） 率領商船隊到澳門和廣州試圖進行貿易，結果造成武裝衝突，擾攘了半年才勉強完成買賣離開。對於這次中英第一次正式接觸的歷史事件，史家有不少的論述，但卻忽視了問題的核心：翻譯—特別是譯者—在事件中所扮演的角色，以致無法真正全面準確理解事件，原因是這次虎門事件所出現的翻譯問題不只限於溝通上的困難，而且涉及一名來自中方的通事李葉榮從中營私舞弊。這不但嚴重地扭曲了雙方的溝通和了解，更讓整個事件變得複雜。本文重點不在討論這次虎門事件本身，而是希望同時利用和對比中英雙方的原始資料，集中察看翻譯人員在這次事件中所扮演的角色。

In 1637, John Weddell's trade fleet arrived in Macao and tried to trade withthe Chinese in Guangzhou, the first attempt of its kind by the British. Unfortunately,there were serious miscommunication problems, and a number of minorhostilities broke out between the two parties. It took the British six months tocomplete a small number of transactions, with a pledge made by Weddell thathe would not step on Chinese soil again. This so-called Bogue Incident has attractedthe attention of the historians, for it was the first direct contact betweenBritain and China. Although there are a number of studies on the incident, nonepays attention to the issue of translating/interpreting. This is lamentable becausein the incident the translator/interpreter from the Chinese side, a linguist bearinga Portuguese name, Paulo Norette, played a critical role in shaping the course ofevents. The present paper, by consulting first hand material in Chinese and English,examines the role of the translator in this important event in the history ofSino-British relations.