CAJ | 학술논문

英国偕我公会著名传教士苏慧廉( William Edward Soothill)在中国温州传教长达25年，对中西宗教文化交流做出了巨大的贡献。文章将以译者的汉学家身份为切入点，对其《妙法莲华经》英译本进行探析。试图探究出：以一名严谨的职业汉学家的身份翻译此经，苏氏，相对于先前其他的一些传教士译者而言，已摈弃固有的基督偏见，翻译更加客观、准确，简明，进而揭示其翻译的真正动因是为西方学者研习佛经之用，为了达到中西宗教文化的密切交融。
영국해아공회저명전교사소혜렴( William Edward Soothill)재중국온주전교장체25년，대중서종교문화교류주출료거대적공헌。문장장이역자적한학가신빈위절입점，대기《묘법련화경》영역본진행탐석。시도탐구출：이일명엄근적직업한학가적신빈번역차경，소씨，상대우선전기타적일사전교사역자이언，이빈기고유적기독편견，번역경가객관、준학，간명，진이게시기번역적진정동인시위서방학자연습불경지용，위료체도중서종교문화적밀절교융。
Preaching in Wenzhou, China for 25 years, the well-known Protestant missionary of English Methodist Free Church Mission, W.E.Soothill has done quite a lot for the Sino-western cultural exchanges. After leaving Wenzhou, Soothill devoted himself to the study on the exchanges between the religious culture of China and western countries, to the study on the three religions of China (Confucianism, Buddhism and Taoism), especially on the classics of Buddhism, and to the translation of Chinese Buddhist Classics. At the same time, he succeeded in translating The Lotus Sutra. As a professional sinologist, not a mere Protestant missionary, he must have handled his rendering of The Lotus Sutra in a distinctive way. This paper, from the angle of the translator’s sinologist identity, conducted a thorough analysis of his English version of The Lotus Sutra, trying to probe into Soothill’s true motivation of translating The Lotus Sutra, unraveling his inclination to forsake Christian bias by translating it in a more objective, accurate and concise way and debunking the fact that he endeavored to study and interpret Chinese Buddhist Classics for the sake of the western learners ’ better study and understanding of Chinese Buddhist culture so as to foster a harmonious interconnection between Chinese religious culture and that of the West.