[THOM, ROBERT] (Compiler): 伊索寓言 Yishi Yuyan (Yī suǒ yùyán) Esop's Fables written in Chinese by the Learned Mun Mooy Seen-Shang, and Compiled in their present form (with a free and literal translation) by his pupil Sloth. Macao, Canton Press Office, 1840.
Folio. Pp. (ix), xxi, (iv), 104. With one lithographed plate of Chinese characters. Text in English, Chinese and romanizations in the Nanking and Cantonese dialects. Early 20th century cloth with original wrappers bound in at the end. Small marginal repairs on the title page and the two following leaves. Rare first edition of Thom's translation of Aesop's fables into Chinese. It is the first complete Chinese translation of the fables and became the most important and influential version in 19th century China. It contains 81 fables (Yùyán) mainly based on the English edition produced by Roger L'Estrange in 1692, preceded by a long preface and an introduction to written Chinese characters. The short stories are printed in Chinese characters (woodblocks) accompanied by the Mandarin pronunciation of Nanking (Roman letters) and the Cantonese dialect (italics). Both according to Dr. Morrison's orthography. In another column, a free English translation is given together with an English "direct translation" of the Chinese characters. Robert Thom came to China in 1834 and initially worked for the trading house Jardine, Matheson & Co. in Canton. He was an official linguist during the First Opium War and participated as a translator in the negotiations for the Treaty of Nanking. In 1843 he was appointed British consul in Ningbo. He dedicates this work to William Jardine, James Matheson and Henry Wright "by whose bounty the entire expense of his Chinese education was defrayed". According to the preface, this translation of the fables was selected from various ancient sources such as Phaedrus, Avanius, Barlandus, etc. Thom dictated the fables, in Mandarin, to his teacher Mun Mooy Seen-Shang, who wrote them down in a simple style called "tsã-luh", the lowest and easiest form of Chinese composition. The first selection of the stories was published in 1837-8 and was well received by the Chinese. "They had their run of the Public Courts and Offices - until the Mandarins - taking offence at seeing some of their evil customs so freely canvassed - ordered the work to be suppressed. ... The application was once perceived - and the justice of the remark admitted immediately" (Preface). The Western tradition of using fables in education and sermons indirectly paved the way for their transmission to China. In the 17th century, the Jesuits adapted and used Aesop's fables in their Chinese sermons. The fables came to influence and challenge the traditional Chinese way of writing fictional stories which had always been based on true historical events. (See Diss.: Wu, Pei-Lin "Aesop's fables in China, the transmission and transformation of the genre" (Illinois). Cordier BS 1683. Lust 1065. See: Asiatic Journal and Monthly Register for British and Foreign India, China and Australasia. Vol. XXXVI - new series. Sept. - Dec. 1841. pp. 182-3.
Sachgebiete: Asien, China, Fabeln
15.08.2026 - 13:34
14000,- EUR
Charlotte Du Rietz Rare Books
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