Wikipedia

Qian Daosun

Qian Daosun (1887–1966) was a Chinese writer and translator.[1] His renowned translations include the Inferno part of the Divine Comedy, Man'yōshū and The Tale of Genji.[2][3][4] Qian was born in a family of officials and scholars.[5]

Qian Daosun
Native name
钱稻孙
Born1887
Huzhou (Wuxing), Zhejiang
Died1966
OccupationTranslator, Writer, Teacher, Librarian
NationalityChinese
Notable worksTranslation: The Tale of Genji, Man'yōshū

Life

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Early life

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In 1900, when Qian was 13 years old, he went to Japan with his diplomat father, and studied at Keio Yochisha Elementary School, Seijo Gakkou, and Tokyo Koto Shihan Gakkou.[6] Later Qian went to Belgium and Italy with his family and received education first in French, Italian, and later in German and medicine before he returned to China.[5] In 1912, together with Lu Xun and Xu Shoushang, Qian co-designed the Twelve Symbols national emblem.[7] Since 1927, Qian taught Japanese in the Tsinghua University, where he obtained the professor's title in 1931, while also being the head of the university library.[8]

Family members

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Mother: Shan Shili (1856–1943), courtesy name Shouzi, was born in Xiaoshan, Zhejiang.[9] Shan Shili accompanied her husband on several missions since 1899 to countries such as Japan, Russia, the Netherlands, and Italy.[10] And wrote the first Chinese female account of women's experience travelling abraod, Gui Mao Lv Xing Ji (癸卯旅行记 1903). Shan also compiled Gui Qian Ji (归潜记 1910) and The First Edition of the Continuation of the Beautiful Lady's Beginning (清闺秀正始再续集初编 1944).[11]

 
Qian Daosun's father 錢恂

Father: Qian Xun (1854–1927), famous diplomat in the late Qing dynasty.[12] Between 1899 and 1908, Qian Xun was appointed to go to Japan (1899), Russia (1903), the Netherlands (1907), and Italy (1908).[13] In 1912, Qian became the first director of Zhejiang Provincial Library.[14] In 1914, he served as a member of the Senate of the Republic of China and participated in politics.[15] In 1917, Qian Xun worked as the editor at the National History Compilation Office of Peking University.[16]

Career life: Ministry of Education

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Qian Daosun worked at the Ministry of Education of the Beiyang government between 1912 and 1927.[17] Together with Lu Xun and Xu Shoushang, he designed the Twelve Symbols national emblem during his first year in office.[18] In March 1913, the Commission on the Unification of Pronunciation organized by the Ministry of Education passed the proposal, which Qian participated in the drafting, to adopt Jiuwen (later renamed to ‘Zhuyin’) as the system of phonetic symbols to standardize the pronunciation of Mandarin Chinese characters.[19]

Qian Daosun was a colleague and a close friend of Lu Xun between 1912 and 1915.[20] According to Lu Xun's Diary, they also helped prepare the 1914 National Children's Art Exhibition.[21] While Qian was visiting Tokyo in 1916, the correspondence between him and Lu Xun continued via letters and postcards.[22] In August 1917, Qian was appointed to work in the Department of College Education to tackle the difficulties associated with the admission criteria.[23] Qian became an appointed member of the National Anthem Research Committee in December 1919, and the Beiyang government ordered a change of the national anthem to the Song to the Auspicious Cloud in 1921.[24]

Career life: Librarian

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After leaving the Ministry of Education in 1927, Qian Daosun took on different positions at higher education institutions in Beijing, one of which was the lecturer of Japanese language at the National Tsinghua University Library.[25] Between 1913 and 1944, however, Qian also worked at different libraries in Beijing, such as the Capital Library (nowadays the National Library of China) between 1913 and 1914, the National Beijing College of Fine Arts in 1925, and the National Peking University Library in 1931.[26]

In 1936, after completing the handover procedures with Zhu Ziqing, Qian Daosun officially served as the director of the National Tsinghua University Library and facilitated a considerable growth in the number of library collections before the outbreak of the Marco Polo Bridge Incident of the Japanese invasion in July 1937.[26] Qian set up the “Library Director’s Reception Day” to communicate directly with the readers and granted professors the authority to recommend and purchase books on the library's behalf.[26]

According to the recollections of Jin Yuelin, when Qian Daosun worked at the National Tsinghua University Library, he opposed Jin's determination to resist the Japanese invasion as he believed that the Japanese invaders, facing resistance, would be very likely to commit genocide against Chinese people.[27] Between 1940 and 1945, Qian endured the Wang Jingwei Regime and worked as the Secretary to the pseudo-Peking University.[26]

Five years after the Nanjing Massacre took place, Qian Daosun delivered a speech at the National Central University in Nanjing (controlled by Wang Jingwei's regime) in 1943.[28] During his speech, Qian advised the students to be responsible not only for their studies but also for their own health:[28]

“In today's era, unlike how things were in the past, you cannot expect others to pity you when you are sick.” said Qian, “We must know that the right to pity does not belong to the patient but to others. Patients have no right to demand pity from others. We individual persons belong to the country, not to our own. For this reason, I think that significant events in the world should start with self-cultivation. Not only should we have a sound body, but we must also have a sound spiritual self-cultivation. Only then can we be Chinese and make great contributions to the country.” [28]

Career life: Professional translator

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After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, Qian Daosun was first assigned to the Qilu University in Shandong to teach medicine as a retained member in the early 1950s.[5] "I had to carry my own clothes and go to the post alone,” Qian later told his colleague at the People's Literature Publishing House, “but it was much better than living in jail."[5] A few years later, Qian was transferred back to Beijing and worked as an editor at the publishing house of the Ministry of Health.[29] After his retirement in 1956, he worked as a guest interpreter for People's Literature Publishing House.[29] The famous Chinese translator Wen Jieruo said: “apart from Qian Daosun, it is hard to imagine that there is another person who can translate such a difficult academic work into such an easy-to-understand, elegant text”.[30]

Works

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Design

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Together with Lu Xun and Xu Shoushang, Qian Daosun designed the Twelve Symbols national emblem (十二章國徽) (1913).[18]

Books edited

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A book on modern Chinese writings (中国现代文读本 1938) is a collection of modern Chinese writings and consists of 20 volumes edited by Qian Daosun, You Bingqi (尤炳圻), and Hong Yanqiu (洪炎秋).[31][32]

Poems written in Jail (1946)

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In 1946, after the KMT-ruled Nationalist government took control, Qian Daosun was charged with “conspiracy with enemy countries and plotting against one's own country,” sentenced to ten years in prison, and deprived of his civil rights for six years.[30] While Qian was in prison, he sent to his friend the classical-style verses he composed while he was in prison, and three of those poems were published in the newspaper Qiao sheng bao in November.[33]

Translation

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Divine Comedy (神曲一臠 1921)[2]

Qian translated the opening part of Dante's Divine Comedy in the form of Chu Ci and published it in Fiction Monthly.[34]

The Tale of Genji (源氏物語 1957)[35]

He began translating slowly and carefully to interpret The Tale of Genji in 1933.[35] In the 1950s, the People's Literature Publishing Company commissioned Qian to translate The Tale of Genji, but due to his slow writing, Feng Zikai took place instead and became the first translator who translated the whole chapter.[36] In 1957, Kiritsubo (桐壺), translated by Qian, was published in the magazine Yi Wen (譯文). Qian translated the first five chapters, but all but Kiritsubo were lost during the Cultural Revolution. In order to reproduce the atmosphere and stylistic characteristics of the original text, Qian used Written vernacular Chinese.[37]

Man'yōshū (漢譯萬葉集選 1959)[3]

Han yi wan ye ji xuan (漢譯萬葉集選, 1959) is the first Chinese-translated collection of Man'yōshū, edited and translated by Sasaki Nobutsuna and Qian Daosun and proofread by Ichimura Sanjiro, Suzuki Torao, Maekawa Saburo, and others.[4] Translation continued during the Sino-Japanese War, but after the end of the war in 1944, contact between Sasaki and Qian was lost, and publication was postponed.[6] However, the connection was resumed in 1955, and thanks to Kojiro Yoshikawa of Kyoto University, the book was finally published in 1959, with funding from the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (日本学術振興会). Sasaki and Qian likely met at the first Greater East Asia Literary Conference (第一回大東亜文学者大会) in 1942.[6]

Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Ihara Saikaku senshū (近松門左衛門・井原西鶴選集 1987)[38]

A collection book of Ihara Saikaku's The Eternal Storehouse of Japan (日本永代蔵, Nippon Eitaigura, 1688) and Reckonings that Carry Men Through the World or This Scheming World (世間胸算用, Seken Munesan'yō, 1692) and Chikamatsu Monzaimon's The Love Suicides at Sonezaki (曾根崎心中, Sonezaki shinjū, 1703), The Love Suicides at Amijima (心中天網島, Shinjū Ten no Amijima, 1721), Kagekiyo Victorious (出世景清, Shusse kagekiyo, 1685) and Shunkan. It was published as part of Nihon bungaku sousho (日本文学叢書).[38] Qian's translation was submitted to a publisher in 1963, but due to the chaos and oppression during the Cultural Revolution, it was not published for more than 20 years.[39]

Other translations

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  • Jintai kaibougaku vol. 1 (人体解剖学 第一巻 1916)[40]
  • Jintai kaibougaku vol. 2 (人体解剖学 第二巻 1916)[41]
  • Zoukei bijutsu (造形美術 1924)[42]
  • You kao gu xue kan dao de zhong ri wen hua di jiao she (由考古学上看到的中日文化底交涉 1930)[43]
  • Ri ben jing shen yu jin dai ke xue (日本精神与近代科学 1937)[44]
  • Nihon shika sen (日本詩歌選 1941)[45]
  • Bonjuki : youkyoku (盆樹記 : 謡曲 1942)[46]
  • Ying hua guo ge hua (樱花国歌话 1943)[47]
  • Handcart Songs (荷車の歌 1961)[48]
  • Tōa gakkikō (東亜楽器考 1962)[30]
  • Wooden puppet joruri (木偶浄瑠璃 1965)[49]
  • Screenplay of Rashomon (1979)[50]

Further reading

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References

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  1. ^ Culture Hanba "- Life of Qian Inan That Translated Manyoshu" Toho Bookstore, 2014 . ISBN 9784497214041
  2. ^ a b 檀, 德 (1924). 神曲一脔. Translated by Qian, Daosun. 商务印书馆[发行者].
  3. ^ a b 呉, 衛峰 (2017). "銭稲孫と日本古典文学の中国語訳 ―『源氏物語』「桐壺」巻の訳を中心に―". 55: 37.
  4. ^ a b Zou, Shuangshuang (2011). "佐佐木信綱選、銭稲孫訳『漢訳万葉集選』研究 ― 成立背景、出版事情、翻訳をめぐって―". 4. Translated by Qian, Daosun. Journal of East Asian Cultural Interaction Studies: 98. ISSN 1882-7748.
  5. ^ a b c d 文洁若."我所知道的钱稻孙." 读书, no.1, 1991, pp. 55–62. doi:CNKI:SUN:DSZZ.0.1991-01-007. [pp. 60]
  6. ^ a b c Zou, Shuangshuang (2011). "佐佐木信綱選、銭稲孫訳『漢訳万葉集選』研究 ― 成立背景、出版事情、翻訳をめぐって―". 4. Translated by Qian, Daosun. Journal of East Asian Cultural Interaction Studies: 104. ISSN 1882-7748.
  7. ^ Lu, Xun. “Ren zi ri ji (壬子日記) [1912]” Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 13.
  8. ^ Professor Junsei Inagaki "Makita Makoto authored works" 8, Ryuke-gosa, 1986, 121–124
  9. ^ “单士厘生平简介.” 单士厘生平简介 – 族讯文化, 1 Jan. 2000, www.zuxun100.com/wenxian/8746.
  10. ^ “单士厘：母亲是孩子的第一个老师: 社会科学报.” 单士厘：母亲是孩子的第一个老师 | 社会科学报, 3 May 2018, www.sohu.com/a/230304225_550962.
  11. ^ Gao, Xinping. “高辛萍：单士厘与《癸卯旅行记》.” 近代中國網, 1 Mar. 2019, modernchina.org/5178.html.
  12. ^ Li, Xiaodi. “晚清的两位外交官与百科全书编纂.” 中华文史网, www.qinghistory.cn/qsjj/qsjj_sxwh/426014.shtml.
  13. ^ “晚清著名外交家钱恂.” 文秘帮, 18 Sept. 2022, www.wenmi.com/article/py0h2v02enj4.html.
  14. ^ 百廿浙图 嘉惠书藏：浙图与名人故事之钱恂与浙江图书馆, 10 Nov. 2020, wenhui.whb.cn/third/yidian/202011/10/379354.html.
  15. ^ 钱恂：为自强学堂发展奠定基础, 16 Dec. 2004, www.cnhubei.com/200412/ca636611.htm.
  16. ^ “【校史】湖北工艺学堂首任提调--著名外交家、学者钱恂.” 【校史】湖北工艺学堂首任提调--著名外交家、学者钱恂-武汉科技大学, 8 Apr. 2018, www.wust.edu.cn/info/1591/369601.htm.
  17. ^ Chen, Keyao. “’Lu Xun ri ji’zhong de Qian Daosun (《鲁迅日记》中的钱稻孙).” Journal of Modern Chinese Studies, no.4, 2013, pp. 103–107, doi:CNKI:SUN:ZXZD.0.2013-04-018. [pp. 106.]
  18. ^ a b Lu, Xun. “Ren zi ri ji (壬子日記) [1912]” Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 13.
  19. ^ Lu, Xun. “Gui chou ri ji (癸丑日记) [1913]” Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 41.
  20. ^ Lu, Xun. Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 1–174.
  21. ^ Lu, Xun. “Gui chou ri ji (癸丑日记) [1913]” Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 68.
  22. ^ Lu, Xun. “Bing chen ri ji (丙辰日记) [1916]” Lu Xun Ri Ji. Beijing: People's Literature Publishing House,1976, pp 205–206.
  23. ^ Ministry of Education. “Order NO.36 (委任令第三十六号 六年八月十一日).” Jiao yu gong bao (教育公报), vol.4 no. 13, 1917, National Index to Chinese Newspapers & Periodicals, pp. 13.
  24. ^ Ministry of Education. “Order NO. 107 (第一百〇七号 十二月十日).” Anhui jiaoyu yue kan (安徽教育月刊), no. 24, 1919, pp.3.
  25. ^ Chen, Keyao. “’Lu Xun ri ji’zhong de Qian Daosun.” Journal of Modern Chinese Studies, no.4, 2013, pp. 106. doi:CNKI:SUN:ZXZD.0.2013-04-018.
  26. ^ a b c d Liu, Jiaku and Yang, Xuejing. “Briefing on Qian Daosun’s Career in Library.” Journal of Academic Libraries, no. 4, 2014, pp. 116–120. doi:CNKI:SUN:DXTS.0.2014-04-023. [pp. 116–117.]
  27. ^ 葛胜华."鲁迅先生的三位酒友." 文学自由谈, no.4, 2006, pp. 136–143. doi:CNKI:SUN:WXLT.0.2006-04-020. [pp.142.]
  28. ^ a b c Qian, Daosun. “Zhou hui ji lu: Beijing da xue zhi guo qu yu xian zai (周会记录：北京大学之过去与现在).” Zhong da zhou kan (中大周刊), no. 90, 1943, pp.1–3. CLC Number: G649.285.3.
  29. ^ a b 文洁若."我所知道的钱稻孙." 读书, no.1, 1991, pp. 55–62. doi:CNKI:SUN:DSZZ.0.1991-01-007. [pp. 56.]
  30. ^ a b c 文洁若."我所知道的钱稻孙." 读书, no.1, 1991, pp. 55–62. doi:CNKI:SUN:DSZZ.0.1991-01-007. [pp. 60–61.]
  31. ^ 岡村, 敬二 (1992). "Japan in the Collection of Bei-jing Modern Science Library". 日本研究 : 国際日本文化研究センター紀要. 国際日本文化研究センター. 7: 115. ISSN 0915-0900.
  32. ^ 北京近代科学图书馆编 (1938), 中国现代文读本, 白水社
  33. ^ Qian, Daosun. “Qian Daosun yu zhong shi (钱稻孙狱中诗).” Edited by Zhen, Qiao sheng bao (侨生报), November 14, 1946, pp.5.
  34. ^ 「文化漢奸」と呼ばれた男 – 万葉集を訳した銭稲孫の生涯. 東方書店. 2014. pp. 57–59. ISBN 9784497214041.
  35. ^ a b 呉, 衛峰 (2017). "銭稲孫と日本古典文学の中国語訳 ―『源氏物語』「桐壺」巻の訳を中心に―". 55: 40.
  36. ^ Ying, Liu (2016). "Study on Chinese Translation of Saikaku's Ukiyozōshi: 'Selected Works of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Ihara Saikaku'". Translated by Qian, Daosun. 国際日本文学研究集会会議録: 49. ISSN 0387-7280.
  37. ^ 呉, 衛峰 (2017). "銭稲孫と日本古典文学の中国語訳 ―『源氏物語』「桐壺」巻の訳を中心に―". 55: 37–38.
  38. ^ a b Ying, Liu (2016). "Study on Chinese Translation of Saikaku's Ukiyozōshi: 'Selected Works of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Ihara Saikaku'". Translated by Qian, Daosun. 国際日本文学研究集会会議録: 43. ISSN 0387-7280.
  39. ^ Ying, Liu (2016). "Study on Chinese Translation of Saikaku's Ukiyozōshi: 'Selected Works of Chikamatsu Monzaemon and Ihara Saikaku'". Translated by Qian, Daosun. 国際日本文学研究集会会議録: 48. ISSN 0387-7280.
  40. ^ 石川, 喜直 (1915). 人体解剖学(第一卷). Translated by Qian, Daosun. 吐凤堂书店.
  41. ^ 石川, 喜直 (1915). 人体解剖学(第二卷). Translated by Qian, Daosun. 吐凤堂书店.
  42. ^ Zou, Shuangshuang (2012). "翻訳家銭稲孫と日本人との交遊－谷崎潤一郎、岩波茂雄を中心に". 國文學. 関西大学国文学会. 96: 304. ISSN 0389-8628.
  43. ^ 原田, 淑人 (1930). 由考古学上看到的中日文化底交涉. Translated by Qian, Daosun. 清华周刊社.
  44. ^ 永井, 潜 (1937). 日本精神与近代科学. Translated by Qian, Daosun. 近代科学图书馆.
  45. ^ 岡村, 敬二 (1992). "Japan in the Collection of Bei-jing Modern Science Library". 日本研究 : 国際日本文化研究センター紀要. 国際日本文化研究センター. 7: 115. ISSN 0915-0900.
  46. ^ 盆樹記:謡曲, translated by Qian, Daosun, 北京近代科學圖書館, 1942.
  47. ^ Zou, Shuangshuang (2011). "佐佐木信綱選、銭稲孫訳『漢訳万葉集選』研究 ― 成立背景、出版事情、翻訳をめぐって―". 4. Translated by Qian, Daosun. Journal of East Asian Cultural Interaction Studies: 100. ISSN 1882-7748.
  48. ^ 山代巴 (1961). 板车之歌. Translated by Qian, Daosun; 叔昌. 作家出版社.
  49. ^ 有吉, 佐和子 (1965), 木偶浄瑠璃, translated by Qian, Daosun, 作家出版社
  50. ^ Akutagawa, Ryunosuke; Kurosawa, Akira; Hashimoto, Shinobu (1979). 罗生门. Translated by Qian, Daosun; Li, Zhenglun. 中国电影出版社.
  51. ^ Wu, Weifeng. “Qian Daosun and His Chinese Translations of Japanese Classical Literature: On the Chapter of Kiritsubo of The Tale of Genji.”比較文学, 2012, vol. 55, pp. 298, https://doi.org/10.20613/hikaku.55.0_294.
  52. ^ Shizunaga, Takeshi. “Dr. Sun Yat-sen's Visit to Fukuoka and the History of China-Japan Academic Cooperation at Kyushu University.” Journal of Asian Humanities at Kyushu University, 2017, no.2, pp.143–148. https://doi.org/10.5109/1806145.
  53. ^ Gao, Changxu. “Chapter Study in mobility: Tian Dewang and his experience at the University of Florence (1935–1937).” Words and visions around/about Chinese transnational mobilities 流动, edited by Valentina Pedone and Miriam Castorina, 2023, Florence: Firenze University Press, pp. 83–97.
  54. ^ Widmer, Ellen. “Foreign Travel through a Woman’s Eyes: Shan Shili’s ‘Guimao Lüxing Ji’ in Local and Global Perspective.” The Journal of Asian Studies 65, no. 4 (2006): 769. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25076129.
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