Timothy Richard ( 1845-1919 ) , an English Baptist missionary inChina, was the first in translating an American novel into Chi-nese. His Chinese version of Looking Backward, 2000 - 1887, a19th century American novel by Edward Bellany, appeared in1891 in Wanguo Gongbao ( Review of the Times) published inShanghai. This publication was earlier than the publication in1901 of Harriet Beecher Stowe’s Uncle Tom’s Cabin translated byLin Shu and Wei Yi, which was long considered as the firstAmerican novel rendered into Chinese. The article discusses thehistorical and cultural context of the translation, the translator’sstrategy, the characteristics of the version and the influence onChinese intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty.
