The Perils of Interpreting : The Extraordinary Lives of Two Translators Between Qing China and the British Empire

**An impressive new history of China’s relations with the West****―told through the lives of two language interpreters who participated in the famed Macartney embassy in 1793** The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney’s fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East’s disinterest in the West. In __The Perils of Interpreting__, Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney’s two interpreters at that meeting―Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in relations between China and Britain. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars. Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court’s ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li’s influence as Macartney’s interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain. Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, __The Perils of Interpreting__ offers an empathic argument for cross-cultural understanding in a connected world. An impressive new history of China's relations with the West --told through the lives of two language interpreters who participated in the famed Macartney embassy in 1793 The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney's fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East's disinterest in the West. In The Perils of Interpreting , Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney's two interpreters at that meeting--Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in China-British relations. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars. Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court's ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li's influence as Macartney's interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain. Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, The Perils of Interpreting offers a valuable argument for cross-cultural understanding in a better-connected world. An impressive new history of China's relations with the West--told through the lives of two language interpreters who participated in the famed Macartney embassy in 1793The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney's fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East's disinterest in the West. In The Perils of Interpreting, Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney's two interpreters at that meeting--Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in British-China relations. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars.Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court's ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li's influence as Macartney's interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain.Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, The Perils of Interpreting offers a valuable argument for cross-cultural understanding in a better-connected world A fascinating history of China's relations with the West—told through the lives of two eighteenth-century translators The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney's fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East's lack of interest in the West. In The Perils of Interpreting , Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney's two interpreters at that meeting—Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in relations between China and Britain. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars. Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court's ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li's influence as Macartney's interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain. Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, The Perils of Interpreting offers an empathic argument for cross-cultural understanding in a connected world. "The 1793 British embassy to China, which led to Lord George Macartney's fraught encounter with the Qianlong emperor, has often been viewed as a clash of cultures fueled by the East's disinterest in the West. In The Perils of Interpreting, Henrietta Harrison presents a more nuanced picture, ingeniously shifting the historical lens to focus on Macartney's two interpreters at that meeting--Li Zibiao and George Thomas Staunton. Who were these two men? How did they intervene in the exchanges that they mediated? And what did these exchanges mean for them? From Galway to Chengde, and from political intrigues to personal encounters, Harrison reassesses a pivotal moment in relations between China and Britain. She shows that there were Chinese who were familiar with the West, but growing tensions endangered those who embraced both cultures and would eventually culminate in the Opium Wars. Harrison demonstrates that the Qing court's ignorance about the British did not simply happen, but was manufactured through the repression of cultural go-betweens like Li and Staunton. She traces Li's influence as Macartney's interpreter, the pressures Li faced in China as a result, and his later years in hiding. Staunton interpreted successfully for the British East India Company in Canton, but as Chinese anger grew against British imperial expansion in South Asia, he was compelled to flee to England. Harrison contends that in silencing expert voices, the Qing court missed an opportunity to gain insights that might have prevented a losing conflict with Britain. Uncovering the lives of two overlooked figures, The Perils of Interpreting offers an empathic argument for cross-cultural understanding in a connected world." -- Publisher's description contents Acknowledgments · ix Dramatis Personae · xi Introduction 1 PART I LIVES THAT CROSSED THE WORLD 15 chapter 1 The Li Family of Liangzhou 17 chapter 2 George Leonard Staunton of Galway 26 chapter 3 Li Zibiao’s Education in Naples 37 chapter 4 George Thomas Staunton’s Peculiar Childhood 50 PART II LI ZIBIAO A ND LORD MACARTNEY’S EMBASSY 59 chapter 5 Finding an Interpreter for an Embassy to China 61 chapter 6 Crossing the Oceans 72 chapter 7 Other Possible Interpreters 85 chapter 8 Li Zibiao as Interpreter and Mediator 100 chapter 9 Speaking to the Emperor 114 chapter 10 Becoming an Invisible Interpreter 129 chapter 11 Li Zibiao after the Embassy 141 PART III GEORGE THOMAS STAUNTON AND THE CANTON TRADE 153 chapter 12 George Thomas Staunton Becomes an Interpreter 155 chapter 13 Sir George Staunton, Translator and Banker 168 chapter 14 The British Occupation of Macao and Its Aftermath 182 chapter 15 A Linguist and His Troubles 195 chapter 16 The Amherst Embassy 207 PART IV EXCLUSION 221 chapter 17 Li Zibiao’s Last Years in Hiding 223 chapter 18 Staunton in Parliament 233 chapter 19 The Opium War 247 chapter 20 Forgetting 259 Conclusion 270 Abbreviations · 275 Glossary · 277 Notes · 279 Selected Bibliography · 319 Illustration Credits · 331 Index · 333 10.1515_9780691225470-fm 10.1515_9780691225470-toc 10.1515_9780691225470-001 10.1515_9780691225470-002 10.1515_9780691225470-003 10.1515_9780691225470-004 10.1515_9780691225470-005 10.1515_9780691225470-006 10.1515_9780691225470-007 10.1515_9780691225470-008 10.1515_9780691225470-009 10.1515_9780691225470-010 10.1515_9780691225470-011 10.1515_9780691225470-012 10.1515_9780691225470-013 10.1515_9780691225470-014 10.1515_9780691225470-015 10.1515_9780691225470-016 10.1515_9780691225470-017 10.1515_9780691225470-018 10.1515_9780691225470-019 10.1515_9780691225470-020 10.1515_9780691225470-021 10.1515_9780691225470-022 10.1515_9780691225470-023 10.1515_9780691225470-024 10.1515_9780691225470-025 10.1515_9780691225470-026 10.1515_9780691225470-027 10.1515_9780691225470-028 10.1515_9780691225470-029 10.1515_9780691225470-030 10.1515_9780691225470-031