Translation as Mission vs. livelihood: Robert Morrison and the politics of bilingual mediation in Qing China

This article examines the translational practices of Robert Morrison, the first Protestant missionary to China, through the theoretical lens of competing institutional logics: the religious logic of evangelism (translation as mission) and the commercial-bureaucratic logic of trade and diplomacy (translation as livelihood). It argues that Morrison’s work exemplifies role multiplexity and strategic bilingual mediation in the face of systemic conflict. Analysing his published and archival texts, the study reveals how Morrison navigated these dissonant demands through theological justification and operational tactics, developing a complex translator’s voice shaped by dual allegiances. The proposed ‘Dual-Logics & Translator’s Voice’ model offers a transferable framework for understanding translator agency in colonial and missionary contexts, highlighting translation as a contested arena of cultural and political power.