從「有司」到「庶人」：“Right”在《萬國公法》中的翻譯

From the Right of “the Superior” to the Right of “General Public”: The Translation of “Right” in the Wanguogongfa

“right”這一概念進入中國語境的嘗試肇始於1839年，直到譯自《國際法原理》的《萬國公法》出現，「權/權利」一詞才被美國傳教士丁韙良正式冠名，並沿用下來。借用劉禾提出的衍指符號理論，本文探討了西方普通法體系中“right”這一概念的內涵及指稱意義與「權/權利」的差別，分析了該意義在《萬國公法》這一文本中的重建過程，從而再現了該概念是如何進入中國傳統法體系的。通過對《萬國公法》中與該概念相關的文本和詞彙進行語義學統計及分析，本文探討了意義之間固有的裂痕及其意義擴展的過程，以及語言是如何與思維互相影響的。在釐清學界現有觀點的基礎上，本文將現代符號學理論與法學著作翻譯結合起來，對現有的研究提供了補充，並予啟發。

Starting from the theory of Super-Signs developed by Lydia Liu, this paper first attempts to provide an account of the meaning—in terms of signification and representation—and field of reference of the concept of “RIGHT(S)” in the western common law system. Then it goes on to look at how this meaning was reconstructed via codes and conventions coming from the Chinese legal context, which entails moving across language (linguistic) and cultural boundaries to uncover the origin and formation of the super-signs “RIGHT/Quan/Quanli.” To do this, the researcher closely examines the Chinese translation of The Elements of International Law (Wanguogongfa) and engages in a semiotic analysis that deals not with themes and general meanings but with the way in which meaning is produced via the process of translation itself. It is hoped that this project can enrich future studies of legal translation while also suggesting a new direction for legal discourse analysis.