This manuscript, attributed to the British diplomat and prominent Sinologist Thomas F. Wade (1818–1895), features his English translation of the first half of Chapter One of the Chinese literary classic Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong Lou Meng). The translation itself spans 20 pages and is believed to date from around 1880 or earlier.
Notably, the translated text corresponds to excerpts cited in Edward Chalmers Werner’s article “The Translation of Chinese,” published in The China Journal in 1927, suggesting that this manuscript may be the very source Werner referenced.
Beyond the translation, the manuscript contains an extensive set of scholarly annotations, demonstrating Wade’s detailed engagement with the text. These are organized as follows:
Translation: 20 pages
Notes to Chapter I: 20 pages (132 notes)
Notes to Chapter II: 67 pages (373 notes)
Notes to Chapter III: 74 pages (373 notes)
Notes to Chapter IV: 21 pages (149 notes)
In total, the manuscript comprises over 200 pages of meticulous translation and commentary, offering rare insight into one of the earliest English renderings of Dream of the Red Chamber and the linguistic scholarship of the late 19th century.
The translation (20 pages) and Notes to Chapter I (20 pages) are preserved in loose-leaf format.
