Interpreting for Governance: The Manchu Conceptualization of ‘tongshi’ in Early Qing China

This paper examines the Manchu conceptualization of ‘ tongshi 通事’, whose Manchu equivalents being ‘ tungse ’ and ‘ hafumbukū ’ diachronically, as interpreters and their role in shaping the discourse on multi-lingual governance through interpreting in early Qing China from the early 17th century to late 18th century. Philological research of Manchu and Chinese archives from this period shows a process of acculturation, where the Chinese concept of tongshi and the established Chinese translation tradition on which it was based were adapted into a dynamic and multifaceted Manchu terminological system driven by Manchu rulers’ language policies and their practical needs for governing foreign affairs and a multiethnic population.