A Study on the 1904 Chinese Translated Version of "<i>The Treasure Island</i>"

Abstract

Treasure Island is a novel published by Stevenson in England in 1883. Because of its great literary value, it has become a must-read literary work recommended by the Ministry of Education in compulsory education. At present, many translations have been published. It was first introduced in China in 1904 (the 30th year of the Guangxu era). This translation was born in the special historical period of the late Qing Dynasty, which has important research significance, but it has not attracted the attention of relevant research in mainland China, and more research has focused on the new translation within Chinese domestic. Based on this, this study takes the scanning version of Treasure Island published by the Commercial Press in 1904 as the object, studies some features of this version. It was found that this version is a re-creation of the original text that is adapted to the culture of the country. The language form selects a high variety language with high communication ability, avoiding sensitive and offensive content, changing the narrative perspective, and making a condensed description at the same time. These experiences may have some help in countering cultural colonialism and protecting weak cultures today, and also make supplements to the translation research activities in the late Qing Dynasty.