中國傳統以天朝思想關照天下，與鄰近地區國家建立一種朝貢體制，明、清兩代 已臻完善。但自18 世紀下半，英國竭力嘗試打開中國的大門，1793 及1816 年兩 次派遣使團來華，然後在1834 年正式派駐官員，並最終以戰爭及條約確定兩國對 等關係。在清廷被迫加入國際大家庭(“entry into the family of nations”)的過程中， 翻譯扮演至為重要的角色。由於政治體制及外交理念的歧異，加上雙方國力的較 勁，英國派華最高官員職銜的翻譯出現多番轉折，且與今天我們所習慣理解的並 不完全一致。本文主要討論自馬戛爾尼使團訪華到第一次鴉片戰爭結束後所出現 的幾個主要英國官銜的翻譯，從1793 年馬戛爾尼被乾隆指定為「貢使」開始，到 1834 年的「商務監督」，以至鴉片戰爭期間出現的「欽差」、「全權大使」，以 及根據〈南京條約〉於各口岸設立的「領事」，重點分析個別翻譯的文化內容以 及當中所包含的政治意義，從而展示翻譯在中國近代治發展中的角色。

When the British attempted to force open the door of Imperial China in the 18-19th centuries, confrontations and even hostilities were inevitable, culminating in the outbreak of the First Opium War in 1840. The present paper deals with one interesting phenomenon in Sino-British interactions in the period between the Marcartney Mission, the first official diplomatic mission sent by the British government to China in 1793, and the Opium War: the Chinese translation of the official titles of the most senior British personnel in China. This is not a technical issue, but one that involves, apart from the cultural differences as well as the difference in officialdom structures, the power relationship between the two nations. While Lord Macartney had to accept most reluctantly the label of gongshi (Tributary envoy) imposed by Emperor Qianlong, Pottinger, with the gunboats behind him, could freely adopt the Chinese title qinchai (Imperial commissioner) in his negotiation of the Treaty of Nanking. The paper also discusses the translation of such official titles as Superintendent of Trade and Consul before and after the Opium War.