Ricerc@Sapienza

The article is an analysis of the Huaxue cailiao Zhong-Xi mingmu biao 化學材料中西名目表⁠, or Vocabulary of names of Chemical Substances, a glossary of technical and scientific terms edited by the English translator John Fryer (Fu Lanya 傅蘭雅, 1839-1928) in cooperation with his Chinese colleagues, particularly Xu Shou 徐壽(1818-1884). In the first two chapters of the article, the author traces the origin of the glossary, its principles and the translation choices adopted in the text, briefly highlighting the theoretical background of Fryer’s work.

John Fryer was one of the most important foreign translators in China after the Opium Wars. The work that is the final result of his experience at the Jiangnan Arsenal is The Translator’s Vade-mecum. Among the preparatory manuscripts of the glossaries that were published in the Vade-mecum, the author has identified the “Vocabulary of Terms in Naval Architecture.” The purpose of this article is to examine the main features of the Vocabulary, its sources and the peculiarities of the manuscript.