Professor Dubs' Translation of the Biography of Wang Mang

with a keen appreciation of the great value of these translations, and of the labor and learning bestowed on them by the translators. The third volume of Prof. Dubs' History of the Former Han Dynasty appeared in 1955, and has accordingly been described and commented upon by various scholars.2 The improvement of Prof. Dubs upon the two earlier translations of the biography of Wang Mang3 has been duly noted. However, only one reviewer, so far as I am aware, has really gotten down to cases where problems of translation are concerned, and that only in a manner touching a few technical terms, titles, and the like.4 Perhaps it is correct to say, with Prof. L. S. Yang, that this translation is, in general, highly reliable. 5 But it is equally true that defects are bound to exist, especially in so large an undertaking, and by their mere existence to mislead the reader. Having had some occasion to refer to Prof. Dubs' version, especially his render

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