泱泱大国,历史浩瀚。对中国而言,19世纪,本应是微不足道的一段普通时期,却让这座古老的国家承载了意义重大的变迁。这一世纪的中国曾一度在政治、经济、文化等方面停滞不前,人们的封建残存思想依旧是制约社会发展的一大桎梏。但之后鸦片战争的爆发,正如“导火索”般打开了中西文化交流的大门,为中国带来第一批西方传教士,带来了西方的文明成果。西方传教士、外交官等对中国文化典籍的英译,也把中国文化传到了西方。19世纪中国文化典籍英译的译者大都来自英美的传教士、外交官、商人等,我们将这一现象称为“侨居地翻译”。可以说,侨居地翻译是典籍英译发展的基石。而近年来习总书记提出的共建“丝绸之路经济带”和“21世纪海上丝绸之路”两大倡议(即“一带一路”)正可以作为典籍英译发展的重要思想导向,同丝绸之路一样,不仅加深了中西方文化的交汇,突出两种文化的共性,更是中西文化碰撞的一个重要契机。 Great country, history vast. For China, the nineteenth century should have been a trivial ordinary period, but the ancient country had undergone a significant change. In this century, China once stagnated politically, economically and culturally. The feudal remnants of the people still remain a major constraint on social development. However, the outbreak of the Opium War later opened the door for the exchange of Chinese and Western cultures just like the “fuse”, brought the first batch of Western missionaries to China and brought about the achievements of civilization in the West. Western missionaries, diplomats and other English translation of Chinese cultural books, but also to the Chinese culture reached the West. Most of the translators of English translations of 19th-century Chinese cultural books come from Anglo-American missionaries, diplomats, businessmen, etc. We call this phenomenon “translator’s place of residence”. It can be said that the translation of aliens is the cornerstone of the development of English translation of classics. In recent years, General Secretary Xi has proposed that the two major initiatives of building the “Silk Road Economic Belt” and the “21st Century Maritime Silk Road” (that is, “Belt and Road”) can be translated as English versions of classical Chinese books The important ideological direction, like the Silk Road, not only deepens the intersection of Chinese and Western cultures, but also highlights the commonalities of the two cultures. It is also an important turning point in the collision between Chinese and Western cultures.