周桂笙（1873-1936）在1903 年於《新小說》（第1 卷第8 號）上連載 法國作家鮑福（Fortuné du Boisgobey，1821-1891）在1884 年出版的《疤 面瑪歌》（Margot la Balafrée），命名為《毒蛇圈》，由趼廛主人（吳趼人， 1866-1910）評點，連載至終刊（第24 號）仍未完，咸被認為是中國翻譯 西方偵探小說的重要作品。以往的研究者曾談出《毒蛇圈》中文翻譯的多 重面向與意義，然而，此書的翻譯始末、源本何來、今人可如何理解此段 翻譯公案等議題，關注者少，誠為憾事。本文首先追本溯源，釐清《毒蛇 圈》的譯介經過，將之放在一個跨文化流動（transculturation）的框架下論 析，將之視為上世紀之交全球化通俗文化流動以及報刊文化消費之案例。 本文更通過對法文原作、英文譯本《蛇蜷之中》（In the Serpents’ Coils， 1885）、日文翻譯《如夜叉》（黑岩淚香譯，1891）及中文翻譯《毒蛇圈》 等不同譯本之細讀、比對，及對當時各地文化脈絡的考察，進一步分析譯者的翻譯立場、翻譯策略與視域，如何影響譯本面貌。本文尤其著重於周桂笙翻譯策略的爬梳，視其譯本為原文的再生而非叛逆，並考察此譯本如何展現譯者在新舊、東西文化間的掙扎，以及其現代文化想像。

This paper examines various translations of a French “roman policier” (detective novel) entitled Margot la Balafrée (1884) by Fortuné du Boisgobey (1821-1891) in England, Japan and China during the turning point of last century. The translation of the text from French into English, Japanese and Chinese resembles a transnational tour, and this boundary crossing involves a complex negotiation between different cultures, which can be seen in a great number of discrepancies between the original text and its translated versions. This paper firstly argues that the translated versions of the novel can be read in the cultural context of the global trend for popular consumption of exciting and mysterious series stories which were related to the prosperous print culture in big cities. This paper further compares the French, English, Japanese and Chinese versions, observing how these translators rewrite the details of the story according to and under the influence of their own culture, outlook, and translation strategies. The role of the translators can also be seen from the study of the discrepancies among these versions. In the end, this paper will show that, the discrepancies and differences, especially in the Chinese and Japanese versions, illustrate how the translators have struggled between the new and the old, the Western culture and the Eastern culture, revealing their modern cultural imagination. Namely, their translations are not meant to be loyal to the original text, but serve to reflect new purposes in the transcultural journey at the turn of the century.