1 - DAVIS, John Francis

Introduction: Sir John Francis Davis (1795–1890) was one of the most prolific of the early translators. He started off as a junior clerk at the East India Company’s factory in Canton, where after learning Chinese with the help of both Staunton and Morrison, he translated numerous official documents as part of his duties. In his spare time he also translated novels, short stories, and plays.

Davis went on to become the second governor of Hong Kong in 1844, but conflicts with mercantile interests and the nascent judiciary led to him leaving Hong Kong and returning to England in 1848, where he continued to write about China but ceased all translation activities.

The Fortunate Union is probably Davis's best-known translation; it is a retranslation of the scholar-beauty romance Hao Qiu Zhuan, first translated in 1769 by Bishop Percy as The Pleasing History. Davis also translated two plays, some short stories, and moral maxims, as well as various miscellaneous materials as part of his job at the East India Company.

A protege of Sir George Staunton, to whom Davis dedicated his translation of The Fortunate Union, Davis learnt Chinese on the job at the East India Company under the tutelage of Robert Morrison.