Rachel Lung
Biographic Data
| ID | 1624024 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Rachel Lung |
| GIVEN NAMES | Rachel |
| FAMILY NAME | Lung |
| SIGNATURE | LUNG R |
| AFFILIATIONS | Lingnan University, Hong Kong |
| ORCID | 0000-0002-5379-5236 |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 14 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 13 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 14 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1998 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2025 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Categorising references to interpreting in ancient Chinese texts
This article aims to categorise and theorise references to “interpreting” in ancient China. Based on a corpus and textual analysis of texts composed before 600 CE, I observe that these references are primarily the generic engagement of interpreting relating to China-bound tributary trips and assimilation or acculturation “achievements” and not so much the individual interpreter, less still interpreting competence. If interpreting competence recei…
Metamorphosis of a diplomatic interpreting event in ancient China
This article discusses how the earliest known interpreting event in Sinitic China was chronicled and recapped in political and literary writings across different dynasties, in an intertextual process comparable with metamorphosis. This event has continued to shapeshift in writings because of its symbolic importance in promoting Sinocentric sentiments and Confucian ideals. This interpreting record was, unusually, from a comparative perspective, el…
The Jiangnan Arsenal
The Jiangnan Arsenal (1865-1912), a publicly-funded bureau dedicated to the production of military equipment in late Qing China (1664-1911), was established in response to China’s painful defeat in the two Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860). The Arsenal’s translation department, staffed by a total of fifty Chinese scholars and nine Westerners at different times, was set up in 1868 to translate and publish translations of Western books and treat…
Defining Sillan interpreters in first-millennium East Asian exchanges
Interpreting officials are rarely documented in standard histories of imperial China; civilian interpreters are even harder to trace. Surprisingly, however, Japanese monk Ennin’s (794‒864) diary of his China sojourn (838–847) contains thirty-eight references to Sillan interpreters. It is a significant firsthand archive that throws light on Sillan interpreters and interpreting in first-millennium East Asia. Based on a close reading of this diary, …
New Insights in the History of Interpreting
Who mediated intercultural exchanges in 9th-century East Asia or in early voyages to the Americas? Did the Soviets or the Americans invent simultaneous interpreting equipment? How did the US government train its first Chinese interpreters? Why is it that Taiwanese interpreters were executed for Japanese war crimes? Bringing together papers from an international symposium held at Rikkyo University in 2014 along with two select pieces, this volume …
Sillan Interpreters in 9th-century East Asian Exchanges
Interpreters are often anonymously and flimsily archived, given their subsidiary role in diplomatic exchanges. These fragmentary records pose problems for in-depth studies on ancient interpreters. Japanese monk Ennin’s (794-864) diary documenting his decade-long (838-847) China sojourn, however, provides a delightful contrast to this evidence limitation. Known for its authentic, detailed, and objective descriptions, it contains thirty-eight refer…
Interpreters and the Writing of History in China
This article argues that interpreters are crucial figures in the recording of history. Evidence taken from historical texts in ancient China is used to verify the claim that interpreters’ notes might have been used as a reference in composing historical records. By documenting the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) policy to have interpreters interview foreign envoys and submit the relevant accounts to the Bureau of Historiography, this article provides b…
Perceptions of translating/interpreting in first-century China
This article analyzes evidence of translating and interpreting activities (indiscriminately referred to as yi (譯), which also denotes translators or interpreters in classical Chinese) in first-century China between the Latter Han (25–220 AD) Chinese administration and non-Han Chinese minority tribes along the then Southwestern frontier (modern Yunnan and Sichuan provinces). The importance of this archival record to the historical study of transla…
Translation officials of the Tang central government in medieval China
The article documents and differentiates two kinds of translation officials in the central government of the Tang dynasty (618–906 AD) in medieval China: translators in the Court of Diplomatic Reception ( Yiyu 譯語) and translators in the Secretariat ( Fanshu Yiyu 蕃書譯語). The distinction between them is essential because they are often mentioned in the scholarly literature indiscriminately. Given the scarcity of historical records and the absence of…
On the History of Interpreting in China
This is a brief outline of the history of interpreting in China. It describes and analyses the status, roles, and identities of interpreters in the diplomatic history of China up to the early 20th century. The article aims to give a general introduction of the subject and to highlight points of interest for further enquiry, in a Chinese as well as other national contexts in which conditions may be different. Interpreting is far more intangible th…
Interpreters as Historians in China
Subsequent to the western effort in researching the history of interpreting, Chinese scholars have also shown initial interest in the subject. Since China has always valued the recording of history, it seems that historical resources would offer the data required for such an investigation. Interestingly, some historical data relating to interpreting events seem to display a regular linguistic device: the use of dialogues to document exchanges bet…
Translating sensitive texts
Translation is a social activity. As such it is necessary also to consider social and cultural factors in the translation process. Such considerations are essential with texts concerning sensitive topics which may violate the norms of target cultures. This article deals with the translation of texts with sexual references from English into Chinese. It points out that when two languages differ in their presentation of subject matters, distinctive …
Non‐standard language in translation
This article discusses problems in translating non‐standard language features. The material examined are translation tasks made by trainee translators, but the implications have general validity: non‐standard language style is often translated literally into Chinese from European languages, without any consideration of the linguistic and paralinguistic significance of the stigmatised usage in the source texts. This article discusses differences b…
Sociolinguistics and translators' communicative competence
This article discusses how translation students’ inadequate communicative competence in both the source and target languages is a major weakness in translation work. Using authentic examples of English‐Chinese translation errors in the translation of dialogues in fiction, the article shows how a lack of communicative competence contributes to inadequate translation. Despite her support of the well‐established notion that sociolinguistics be inclu…
New Insights in the History of Interpreting
Who mediated intercultural exchanges in 9th-century East Asia or in early voyages to the Americas? Did the Soviets or the Americans invent simultaneous interpreting equipment? How did the US government train its first Chinese interpreters? Why is it that Taiwanese interpreters were executed for Japanese war crimes? Bringing together papers from an international symposium held at Rikkyo University in 2014 along with two select pieces, this volume …
Perceptions of translating/interpreting in first-century China
This article analyzes evidence of translating and interpreting activities (indiscriminately referred to as yi (譯), which also denotes translators or interpreters in classical Chinese) in first-century China between the Latter Han (25–220 AD) Chinese administration and non-Han Chinese minority tribes along the then Southwestern frontier (modern Yunnan and Sichuan provinces). The importance of this archival record to the historical study of transla…
Interpreters as Historians in China
Subsequent to the western effort in researching the history of interpreting, Chinese scholars have also shown initial interest in the subject. Since China has always valued the recording of history, it seems that historical resources would offer the data required for such an investigation. Interestingly, some historical data relating to interpreting events seem to display a regular linguistic device: the use of dialogues to document exchanges bet…
The Jiangnan Arsenal
The Jiangnan Arsenal (1865-1912), a publicly-funded bureau dedicated to the production of military equipment in late Qing China (1664-1911), was established in response to China’s painful defeat in the two Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860). The Arsenal’s translation department, staffed by a total of fifty Chinese scholars and nine Westerners at different times, was set up in 1868 to translate and publish translations of Western books and treat…
Translation officials of the Tang central government in medieval China
The article documents and differentiates two kinds of translation officials in the central government of the Tang dynasty (618–906 AD) in medieval China: translators in the Court of Diplomatic Reception ( Yiyu 譯語) and translators in the Secretariat ( Fanshu Yiyu 蕃書譯語). The distinction between them is essential because they are often mentioned in the scholarly literature indiscriminately. Given the scarcity of historical records and the absence of…
On the History of Interpreting in China
This is a brief outline of the history of interpreting in China. It describes and analyses the status, roles, and identities of interpreters in the diplomatic history of China up to the early 20th century. The article aims to give a general introduction of the subject and to highlight points of interest for further enquiry, in a Chinese as well as other national contexts in which conditions may be different. Interpreting is far more intangible th…
Translating sensitive texts
Translation is a social activity. As such it is necessary also to consider social and cultural factors in the translation process. Such considerations are essential with texts concerning sensitive topics which may violate the norms of target cultures. This article deals with the translation of texts with sexual references from English into Chinese. It points out that when two languages differ in their presentation of subject matters, distinctive …
Sociolinguistics and translators' communicative competence
This article discusses how translation students’ inadequate communicative competence in both the source and target languages is a major weakness in translation work. Using authentic examples of English‐Chinese translation errors in the translation of dialogues in fiction, the article shows how a lack of communicative competence contributes to inadequate translation. Despite her support of the well‐established notion that sociolinguistics be inclu…
Non‐standard language in translation
This article discusses problems in translating non‐standard language features. The material examined are translation tasks made by trainee translators, but the implications have general validity: non‐standard language style is often translated literally into Chinese from European languages, without any consideration of the linguistic and paralinguistic significance of the stigmatised usage in the source texts. This article discusses differences b…
Translating sensitive texts
Translation is a social activity. As such it is necessary also to consider social and cultural factors in the translation process. Such considerations are essential with texts concerning sensitive topics which may violate the norms of target cultures. This article deals with the translation of texts with sexual references from English into Chinese. It points out that when two languages differ in their presentation of subject matters, distinctive …
On the History of Interpreting in China
This is a brief outline of the history of interpreting in China. It describes and analyses the status, roles, and identities of interpreters in the diplomatic history of China up to the early 20th century. The article aims to give a general introduction of the subject and to highlight points of interest for further enquiry, in a Chinese as well as other national contexts in which conditions may be different. Interpreting is far more intangible th…
Interpreters as Historians in China
Subsequent to the western effort in researching the history of interpreting, Chinese scholars have also shown initial interest in the subject. Since China has always valued the recording of history, it seems that historical resources would offer the data required for such an investigation. Interestingly, some historical data relating to interpreting events seem to display a regular linguistic device: the use of dialogues to document exchanges bet…
Translation officials of the Tang central government in medieval China
The article documents and differentiates two kinds of translation officials in the central government of the Tang dynasty (618–906 AD) in medieval China: translators in the Court of Diplomatic Reception ( Yiyu 譯語) and translators in the Secretariat ( Fanshu Yiyu 蕃書譯語). The distinction between them is essential because they are often mentioned in the scholarly literature indiscriminately. Given the scarcity of historical records and the absence of…
Interpreters and the Writing of History in China
This article argues that interpreters are crucial figures in the recording of history. Evidence taken from historical texts in ancient China is used to verify the claim that interpreters’ notes might have been used as a reference in composing historical records. By documenting the Tang dynasty (AD 618-907) policy to have interpreters interview foreign envoys and submit the relevant accounts to the Bureau of Historiography, this article provides b…
Perceptions of translating/interpreting in first-century China
This article analyzes evidence of translating and interpreting activities (indiscriminately referred to as yi (譯), which also denotes translators or interpreters in classical Chinese) in first-century China between the Latter Han (25–220 AD) Chinese administration and non-Han Chinese minority tribes along the then Southwestern frontier (modern Yunnan and Sichuan provinces). The importance of this archival record to the historical study of transla…
Sillan Interpreters in 9th-century East Asian Exchanges
Interpreters are often anonymously and flimsily archived, given their subsidiary role in diplomatic exchanges. These fragmentary records pose problems for in-depth studies on ancient interpreters. Japanese monk Ennin’s (794-864) diary documenting his decade-long (838-847) China sojourn, however, provides a delightful contrast to this evidence limitation. Known for its authentic, detailed, and objective descriptions, it contains thirty-eight refer…
Defining Sillan interpreters in first-millennium East Asian exchanges
Interpreting officials are rarely documented in standard histories of imperial China; civilian interpreters are even harder to trace. Surprisingly, however, Japanese monk Ennin’s (794‒864) diary of his China sojourn (838–847) contains thirty-eight references to Sillan interpreters. It is a significant firsthand archive that throws light on Sillan interpreters and interpreting in first-millennium East Asia. Based on a close reading of this diary, …
New Insights in the History of Interpreting
Who mediated intercultural exchanges in 9th-century East Asia or in early voyages to the Americas? Did the Soviets or the Americans invent simultaneous interpreting equipment? How did the US government train its first Chinese interpreters? Why is it that Taiwanese interpreters were executed for Japanese war crimes? Bringing together papers from an international symposium held at Rikkyo University in 2014 along with two select pieces, this volume …
The Jiangnan Arsenal
The Jiangnan Arsenal (1865-1912), a publicly-funded bureau dedicated to the production of military equipment in late Qing China (1664-1911), was established in response to China’s painful defeat in the two Opium Wars (1839-1842 and 1856-1860). The Arsenal’s translation department, staffed by a total of fifty Chinese scholars and nine Westerners at different times, was set up in 1868 to translate and publish translations of Western books and treat…
Metamorphosis of a diplomatic interpreting event in ancient China
This article discusses how the earliest known interpreting event in Sinitic China was chronicled and recapped in political and literary writings across different dynasties, in an intertextual process comparable with metamorphosis. This event has continued to shapeshift in writings because of its symbolic importance in promoting Sinocentric sentiments and Confucian ideals. This interpreting record was, unusually, from a comparative perspective, el…
Categorising references to interpreting in ancient Chinese texts
This article aims to categorise and theorise references to “interpreting” in ancient China. Based on a corpus and textual analysis of texts composed before 600 CE, I observe that these references are primarily the generic engagement of interpreting relating to China-bound tributary trips and assimilation or acculturation “achievements” and not so much the individual interpreter, less still interpreting competence. If interpreting competence recei…
History (10 works) · China (9 works) · Computer Science (9 works) · Linguistics (9 works) · Philosophy (9 works) · Chinese history and philosophy (6 works) · Interpreter (6 works) · Philosophy (6 works) · Sociology (6 works) · Translation Studies and Practices (6 works)