Wang Tao (writer)
Wang Tao ( Chinese 王韜 ; born November 10, 1828 in Luzhi ; † April 1897 in Shanghai ) was a Chinese translator , reformer, political columnist, newspaper publisher and writer during the Qing Dynasty . He was born Wang Libin in Puli (甫 里), now Luzhi in Suzhou Prefecture.
Life
In 1848, Wang Tao went to Shanghai to visit his father. During his stay in Shanghai, Wang Tao visited the London Missionary Society Printing House. He was warmly received there by Walter Henry Medhurst, his daughters Mary and Ellen. Wang Tao also met William Muirhead , Joseph Edkins , and William Charles Milne , all of whom were fluent in Chinese.
Work at the London Missionary Society
Wang Tao's father died in 1849. To support his family, Wang Tao went looking for work. Walter Henry Medhurst gave him a job in the printing press of the London Missionary Society in Shanghai, where he helped Medhurst translate the New Testament from English into Chinese. Wang Tao worked in this printing house for the next 13 years. During this time he translated many English books into Chinese with the missionaries Alexander Wylie and Joseph Edkins. Pictorial Optics , An Elementary Introduction to Mechanics , Concise History of Sino-British Trade , and A History of Astronomy of the Western Countries, among others .
Escape to Hong Kong and live in Scotland
The middle of the 19th century was a time of political upheaval in China. In 1860 the Taiping uprising had taken Suzhou and Changzhou and stood at the gates of Shanghai. During this time, Wang Tao was in contact with the leaders of the uprising. In 1862 he even wrote a letter to one of the leaders under the pseudonym Wang Wan, in which he suggested certain tactics against the Qing government and noted, among other things, that the real enemies of the Taiping were not the foreigners, but the Qing government. When the Qing Army captured Shanghai, the letter fell into the hands of the Qing government and Emperor Tongzhi ordered Wang Tao to be arrested. First he fled to the British Consulate, where he stayed for a month. In October 1862 he fled to Hong Kong in disguise on a ship . So he left his home, which he would not see again for the next 22 years. In Hong Kong, he changed his name from Wang Libin to Wang Tao.
In Hong Kong, James Legge , the director of the Anglo-Chinese College invited Wang Tao to help him translate The Chinese Classics . By 1865, Legge and Wang had mastered the translation of the Shang Shu and The Bamboo Book Annals .
James Legge left Hong Kong in 1867 and returned to Scotland. He sent a letter to Wang Tao inviting him to come to Scotland to continue the translations. After a long journey from Singapore via Ceylon, Penang, Aden, Messina, Cairo, Marseille and London, where Wang Tao captured his impressions in pictures, he arrived in Scotland in dollars. The pictures he drew during this trip he later published as the travel book Jottings from Carefree Travel (1890), the first travel book by a Chinese scholar about Europe.
In 1867, Wang Tao was invited by the Chamberlain of Oxford University to give a speech in Chinese, the first speech ever given in Chinese by an Oxford scholar. He spoke of the importance of cultural exchange between West and East and claimed that the whole world was heading towards a general 'Datong' 大同 (Great Unity - a utopian concept of Confucius ).
In the spring of 1870, the translations of various classics such as the Book of Songs , the I Ching and the Book of Rites were completed.
From 1867 to 1870 Wang Tao traveled extensively, including to Edinburgh , Aberdeen , Huntly , Dundee and Glasgow , often accompanied by James Legge and his eldest daughter.
Return to Hong Kong
After Wang Tao completed his part in the translation of the Chinese classics, he returned to Hong Kong in the winter of 1870. In Hong Kong he wrote two influential books: A Brief Introduction to France and Report on the Franco-Prussian War . The latter was praised by high-ranking mandarins in the Qing government, including Zeng Guofan , Li Hongzhang , and paved the way for Wang Tao's ultimate pardon.
In 1872, Wang Tao acquired the London Mission printing works in Hong Kong and established the Zhong Hua General Printing House .
In February 1874, Wang Tao founded Tsun-wan yat-po (1874-1947, Universal Circulating Herald ), the first Chinese daily newspaper in the history of China. Lin Yutang called Wang Tao the 'father of the Chinese newspaper'.
Trip to japan
In 1879, at the invitation of Japanese writers, Wang Tao spent four months in Japan. He visited many cities, such as Nagasaki , Nagoya and Tokyo , and the notes of the trip were published in the book: Japan Travel .
Return to Shanghai
The fame that Wang Tao enjoyed abroad must have made some impression on the Qing government. In 1884, the influential Li Hongzhang sent a letter to the governor of Shanghai, saying, “This man from Kunshan is a rare genius with an encyclopedic memory. It is unfortunate that he went into exile in Hong Kong, and if it were possible to win his favor, we would not be afraid to pay a royal ransom ”.
In the spring of 1884, Wang Tao and his family returned to Shanghai.
In 1886, Wang Tao became the director of Gezhi College in Shanghai, where he promoted Western-style education.
In 1890 Wang Tao published his travelogue Jottings from Carefree Travels and occasionally worked as a columnist for Shen Pao and the International Tribune ; he wrote about two hundred short stories for Shen Pao, China's most important journal at the time.
influence
Many Chinese writers before Wang Tao introduced Western thought and translated books into Chinese. Wang Tao was the first Chinese scholar to participate in a bilateral exchange; on the one hand, Wang Tao worked with WA Medhurst, A. Wylie and J. Edkins on the translations of Western religious and scientific books into Chinese; on the other hand, he played a crucial role in the translation of the Chinese classics by assisting James Legge during this endeavor.
Wang Tao built a bridge between east and west.
The Wang Tao Memorial Hall is located in a Qing house at No 6. Zhongshi Street, Luzhi township, Suzhou city, China.
Works
Translations by James Legge with the assistance of Wang Tao
- (the list is incomplete)
- James Legge: Sacred Books of China . The Text of Confucianism. Oxford 1885.
- The Book of Change. ISBN 0-88356-000-3 .
- Shu Ching. Book of History.
- Lao Tsu.
- The Hsiao King or Classic Of Filial Piety. ISBN 1-4191-6687-5 .
- The Chinese Classics : Confucian Analects, the Great Learning, the Doctrine of the Mean, the Works of Mencius. (reprint), Oriental Book Store, ISBN 0-89986-353-1 .
Wang Tao's works in English
- My Sojourn in Hong Kong. In: John and Kirsten Miller: Hong Kong. Chronicle Books, San Francisco 1994, ISBN 0-8118-0680-4 .
- Selections from Jottings from Carefree Travels [Man you sui lu]. Tr. Ian Chapman. Renditions 53/54
- Writings of Wang Tao . [excerpts]. In: Ssu-yu Teng, John K. Fairbank: China's Response to the West: A Documentary Survey, 1839-1923. Harvard UP, Cambridge 1954, pp. 137-142.
- H. McAleavy: Translation of 'Mei-Li Hsiao Chuan' 媚 丽 小 传, a Short Story by Wang T'ao. 1953.
Translations from English to Chinese
- A History of Astronomy of the Western Countries. (Xiguo Tianxue Yuanliu), with A. Wylie in 1858.
- W. Whewell's An elementary treatise on mechanics. with A. Wylie
Books and articles in Chinese
- 普法 战 纪Pu Fa Zhan Ji (Franco-Prussian War)
- 法国 志 略Brief History of France
- "淞 滨 琐 话" (Song Bin Shuo Hua) ( Stories from the Shore of Wushong ) ISBN 7-5366-3197-9 .
- 漫游 随 录 图记: "Man Yiu Shui Lu Tu Ji" ("Jottings and Drawings from Carefree Travel") ISBN 7-80603-956-2 , 山东 画报 出版社 2004/6.
- 韬 园 文 录 外 编 (Collection of Essays from The Tao Garden) ISBN 7-80622-787-3 , 上海 书店 2002.
- Jing Shu Jie Chun
- Xi Shu Jie Chun
- Biography of Stanislas Julien
- Biography of Dr. Benjamin Hobson.
Books on Wang Tao
- Paul A. Cohen: Between Tradition and Modernity: Wang T'Ao and Reform in Late Ch'Ing China. Harvard University Press, Cumberland, Rhode Island, USA 1988, ISBN 0-674-06875-0 .
- Henry McAleavy: Wang T'ao. Life and Writings of a Displaced Person (with a Translation of 'Mei-Li Hsiao Chuan', a Short Story by Wang T'ao, 1953.) ISBN 978-0-85187-006-9 .
Web links
- Literature by and about Wang Tao (writer) in the WorldCat bibliographic database
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Wang, Tao |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | 王韜 (Chinese); Wang Libin (maiden name) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Chinese translator, reformer, political columnist, newspaper publisher, and writer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | November 10, 1828 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Luzhi , Suzhou Prefecture |
| DATE OF DEATH | April 1897 |
| Place of death | Shanghai |