CUHK Faculty of Arts is pleased to announce that Professor Lawrence Wang-chi Wong from the Department of Translation, his monograph,《龍與獅的對話：翻譯與馬戛爾尼訪華使團》 (Dialogue Between the Dragon and the Lion: Translation and the Macartney Mission, 東方出版中心 Orient Publishing Center, 2023), has been honoured with the prestigious 19th Wenjin Book Award by the National Library of China, recognising his outstanding academic contribution.
The Wenjin Book Awards Committee praised Professor Wong's interdisciplinary work for its nuanced linguistic and cultural insights into the 1793 Macartney Mission, achieved through extensive archival research and rigorous analysis. The book reexamines this inaugural diplomatic encounter between China and Britain through the lens of translation, shedding light on early Sino-British relations by dissecting the backgrounds of the mission’s interpreters and analyzing the translation and reinterpretation of various documents, such as letters of state and imperial edicts. This comprehensive re-evaluation of a pivotal event underscores the critical role of translation in China’s early diplomacy. Professor Wong's fresh perspective and meticulous archival research have significantly advanced scholarly understanding in the fields of modern Chinese translation history and Sino-British diplomatic history.
We extend our heartfelt congratulations to Professor Wong on this well-deserved national recognition of his research accomplishments.
