The Translation and Dissemination of *The Communist Manifesto* in China

*The Communist Manifesto* (hereinafter referred to as the *Manifesto*) is one of the most widely circulated and influential classic Marxist texts. Since its official publication in 1848, it has spread across the globe and changed the world through more than 200 languages and over 1,100 editions; since it entered the purview of the Chinese people in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, it has influenced and nurtured countless revolutionaries, exerting a profound impact on Chinese society and historical development. Over more than 120 years, the Chinese people’s translation, interpretation, and dissemination of the *Manifesto* have not only allowed the ideological radiance it contains to transcend time and space, but have also borne witness to the history of the Communist Party of China’s pursuit of ideals and firm convictions amid changing times, as well as its assiduous quest for adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

《共产党宣言》（以下简称《宣言》）是发行量最大、影响范围最广的马克思主义经典文献之一。自1848年正式出版以来，它通过200多种文字、1100多个版本传遍全球、改变世界；自19世纪末20世纪初进入国人视野，它更是影响、培育了无数革命者，对中国社会和历史发展产生了深刻影响。百廿余年来国人对《宣言》的翻译、解读、传播，不仅让其所蕴含的思想光芒穿越时空，更见证了时代变迁下中国共产党追求理想、坚定信念的历史和对马克思主义中国化时代化的孜孜追求。

From Europe to China

从欧洲到中国

The *Manifesto*’s entry into China began with excerpted translations, followed by full-text translations, which were subsequently revised continuously. This process can be divided into three stages.

《宣言》进入中国是从摘译开始的，之后出现了全文译本，在此基础上又不断修订，前后可分为三个阶段。

The first stage, from 1899 to 1919, was a period of translation and introduction, primarily consisting of citations, excerpts, and partial translations. The earliest recorded introduction of the *Manifesto* into China was by the British missionary Timothy Richard and Cai Erkang. In 1899, they published in *The Review of the Times* under the title *Datongxue* [1]1 Franz Mehring (1846–1919) was a German Marxist historian and literary critic; his biography *Karl Marx: The Story of His Life* remains a standard reference. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) was a German playwright and philosopher; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) were, respectively, Germany’s foremost poet and its most influential idealist philosopher. a summary in classical Chinese, outlining and selectively paraphrasing portions of *Social Evolution* by the British sociologist Benjamin Kidd. In introducing “Marx’s words,” the article added a sentence not found in Kidd’s original: “Those who pool capital to undertake affairs have power that covers the five continents, suddenly surpassing that of monarchs and ministers over a single state.” This corresponds precisely to the line in the *Manifesto*: “The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilization.” [2]2 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The “Two Integrations” refer to the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture. With the modernization of Japan and the spread of socialism there, the number of Chinese students and scholars in Japan grew, making Japan the main channel for transmitting Marxism to China in the early 20th century. Revolutionary members of the Tongmenghui [3]3 The Tongmenghui (Chinese United League) was a secret revolutionary society and political party founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1905, which later became the Kuomintang., such as Ma Junwu and Song Jiaoren, participated in the translation and introduction of the *Manifesto*. In 1905, Zhu Zhixin, in *Minbao* [4]4 *Minbao* (People’s Report) was the official organ of the Tongmenghui, published in Tokyo from 1905 to 1910., excerpted and translated portions of the text with reference to Japanese and English translations. In 1908, Minming [5]5 Minming was the pen name of Liu Shipei, a Chinese anarchist and classical scholar who later turned to traditionalism. sought to serialize the preface and subsequent chapters in the *Tianyi* journal, but as the political situation in Japan took a sharp turn, the translation and dissemination of the *Manifesto* were restricted and suppressed. Nevertheless, the spark had already been sown among the Chinese people. In 1919, domestic publications such as *Weekly Review*, *New Youth*, and *The National* successively excerpted and translated portions of the *Manifesto*. In the same year, a mimeographed abridged edition translated from the German original circulated, and the demand among the Chinese people for a full Chinese translation of the *Manifesto* was on the verge of emerging.

一是1899年至1919年译介阶段，以引用、摘译、节译为主。最早有记载介绍《宣言》进入中国的是英国传教士李提摩太（T. Richard）和蔡尓康。二人于1899年在《万国公报》上以《大同学》之名用文言文的形式提纲挈领、择要转述了英国社会学家本杰明·颉德（B. Kidd）《社会进化论》的部分章节。该文在介绍“马克思之言”时增补了颉德原著未见的一句话：“纠股办事之人，其权笼罩五洲，突过于君相之范围一国。”这正与《宣言》中“资产阶级，由于开拓了世界市场，使一切国家的生产和消费都成为世界性的了”一句一致。随着近代日本西化及社会主义的传布，中国留日学生、学者日众，日本成为20世纪初向中国传输马克思主义的主渠道。同盟会革命者马君武、宋教仁等就参与了《宣言》的译介，1905年朱执信在《民报》上参照日英译本摘译了部分文字。1908年民鸣想要在《天义》报连载序言及后续章节，但随着日本国内政局急转，《宣言》的翻译和传播受到限制和镇压，然国人火种已播，1919年国内《每周评论》《新青年》《国民》等陆续摘译了《宣言》的部分章节，同年流传出译自德文原版的油印节本，国人对《宣言》全文中译本的需求呼之欲出。

The second stage, from 1920 to 1949, was the period of full-text translations. This stage produced seven full Chinese translations: the 1920 translation by Chen Wangdao based on Japanese and English editions; the 1930 translation by Hua Gang based on an English edition; the 1938 co-translation by Cheng Fangwu and Xu Bing based on a German edition; the 1943 translation by Bo Gu based on a Russian edition; the 1943 translation by Chen Shoushi; the 1948 translation by Qiao Guanhua based on an English edition; and the 1949 Moscow “Centenary Edition” translation by Xie Weizhen based on the German original. Many veteran revolutionaries were influenced by Chen Wangdao’s translation and embarked on the revolutionary path. Mao Zedong told Edgar Snow that among the three books that established his Marxist faith, the foremost was the *Manifesto*: “By the summer of 1920 I had become, in theory and to some extent in action, a Marxist, and from then on I considered myself a Marxist.” In 1949, Zhou Enlai said to Chen Wangdao at the First National Congress of Literary and Art Workers: “We were all educated by you.” Deng Xiaoping also said, “My introductory teacher was *The Communist Manifesto* and *Communism ABC*.”

二是1920年至1949年全文译本阶段。此阶段共出现七个全文中译本，分别为1920年陈望道据日英文版的译本，1930年华岗据英文版的译本，1938年成仿吾、徐冰据德文版的合译本，1943年博古据俄文版的译本，1943年陈瘦石译本，1948年乔冠华据英文版的译本以及1949年谢唯真据德文原版的莫斯科“百周年纪念版”。许多老一辈革命家正是受陈望道译本的影响走上了革命道路。毛泽东对斯诺说过他建立马克思主义信仰的三本书，为首的即是《宣言》：“到了1920年夏天，在理论上，而且在某种程度的行动上，我已成为一个马克思主义者了，而且从此我也认为自己是一个马克思主义者了。”1949年周恩来在第一届文代会上对陈望道说：“我们都是您教育出来的。” 邓小平也曾说：“我的入门老师是《共产党宣言》和《共产主义ABC》。”

The third stage, from 1949 to the present, is the period of translation revision. In 1953, Renmin University of China published a revised edition by Cheng Fangwu, and in 1987, the People’s Publishing House published another; the former reviser noted that “a very small number of copies were printed for internal school use.” The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau [6]6 The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau is the official Chinese government body responsible for translating Marxist classics and Party documents. “reprinted” and “collated” Xie Weizhen’s 1949 translation in the 1950s and subsequently re-collated and re-translated it in four editions: 1964, 1978, 1995, and 2009. The Bureau also published library editions and commemorative editions in 2014 and 2018, incorporating the latest research findings from both domestic and international sources to enhance the readability of the translation. In 2021, it published an annotated edition that reproduced the historical original appearance of the seven full Chinese translations from the full-text translation stage. Hong Kong’s Xinmiao Publishing House (1998), Hong Kong Joint Publishing (2005), Taiwan’s *Contemporary* magazine (1998), Taiwan’s Faces Publications (2001), Taiwan’s Qisi Publishing House (2003), and Taiwan’s Zuoan Culture Publishing House (2004), among others, have made modifications and published collated editions based on the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau’s work. Additionally, the Ethnic Publishing House has published editions in minority languages such as Mongolian, Tibetan, Uyghur, Kazakh, and Korean, and the Braille Publishing House has published a Braille edition. The quality of the Chinese translations of the *Manifesto* has continuously improved, and its audience has expanded from intellectual elites and leading figures to the general public and people of all ethnic groups.

三是1949年至今译本修订阶段。1953年中国人民大学和1987年人民出版社出版过成仿吾的修订本，前者修订者自述“印出了很少份数，供校内使用”；中央编译局在20世纪50年代“转载”“校订”过1949年的谢唯真译本，并在1964年、1978年、1995年、2009年先后重新校译四个版本。中央编译局2014年、2018年又出文库版、纪念版，吸收了国内外最新研究成果，增强了译文可读性，2021年出校注本，再现全文译本阶段的七个中译本的历史原貌。香港新苗出版社（1998）、香港三联书店（2005）、台湾《当代》杂志（1998）、台湾脸谱文化出版社（2001）、台湾启思出版社（2003）、台湾左岸文化出版社（2004）等分别在中央编译局的基础上改动、校译出版；另外，民族出版社出版了蒙、藏、维吾尔、哈萨克、朝鲜等少数民族版文本，盲文出版社出版了盲文版。《宣言》中译本质量不断提升，其传播对象从知识精英、领袖群体拓展到普罗大众、各族人民。

The translation history of the *Manifesto* is also the history of the dissemination of Marxist truth in China. The translations and editions of the *Manifesto* from different periods jointly bear witness to the process of Marxism taking root, sprouting, and continuously innovating and developing in China, as well as to the history of Chinese Communists’ unceasing self-revolution and persistent pursuit of truth.

《宣言》的翻译史也是马克思主义真理在中国传播的历史，不同时期的《宣言》译本、版本共同见证了马克思主义在中国生根、发芽，不断创新发展的历程，也见证了中国共产党人不断自我革命、坚持不懈追求真理的历史。

Repeated Deliberation Starting from the “Spectre”

从“幽灵”就开始的反复斟酌

Early translations of the *Manifesto* were fragmentary, containing many inaccuracies and even errors by today’s standards. For example, Zhu Zhixin translated the *Manifesto*’s “Workers of the world, unite!” as “Yi! Lai, ge di zhi pingmin, qi an keyi bu fen ye!” [7]7 This is a classical Chinese rendering: “Alas! Come, commoners of all lands, how can you not strive!” Chen Wangdao recalled of the days he translated the *Manifesto*: “It took five times the effort of an ordinary translation.” In translating the *Manifesto*, Chinese Communists underwent countless verifications, weighings, and struggles. The opening line, “A spectre is haunting Europe—the spectre of Communism,” is a typical example.

早期对《宣言》的翻译都是片断的，有许多现在看来不准确甚至谬误的地方，如朱执信就将宣言中“全世界无产者，联合起来！”译为“噫！来，各地之平民，其安可以不奋也！”陈望道回忆他翻译《宣言》的日子时曾说，“费了平常译书的五倍工夫”。对《宣言》的翻译，共产党人经历了无数次的考证、权衡和较量。开篇之句“一个幽灵，共产主义的幽灵，在欧洲游荡”就是一个典型的例证。

Chinese debates over the translation of this line have mainly focused on the two words “spectre” and “haunting.” Marx’s German originals are *Gespenst* and *umgehen*. The former has been rendered into Chinese as “yiwu” (strange object), “guaiwu” (monster), “juying” (giant shadow), “youling” (spectre), “jingling” (spirit), “guaiying” (strange shadow), and so on; the latter as “liuxing” (prevalent), “paihuai” (wandering), “zhizhu” (hesitating), “zuosui” (haunting), “youdang” (roaming), and so on. Cheng Fangwu, believing that Bo Gu’s translation of “youling” (spectre) referred to the soul of the dead and thus deviated from Marx’s original meaning, revised it multiple times, from “juying” (giant shadow) in 1938 to “moying” (demon shadow) in 1958 and then to “mogui” (demon monster) in 1978. He translated the *Manifesto* five times in his life, spending decades continuously refining how to render it accurately, vividly, and vividly into Chinese—a vivid testament to Chinese Communists’ steadfast faith.

国人对这句的译文争议主要集中于“幽灵”“游荡”二词。马克思的德文原文分别为gespenst和umgehen，前者国人译为“异物”“怪物”“巨影”“幽灵”“精灵”“怪影”等；后者则译为“流行”“徘徊”“踯蹰”“作祟”“游荡”等。成仿吾因博古译本的“幽灵”指死人的灵魂认为有失马克思的原意，故从“巨影”（1938）到“魔影”（1958）再到“魔怪”（1978），多次修改。他一生曾五译《宣言》，几十年不断地推敲如何准确、鲜明、生动地译成中文，是中国共产党人坚守信仰的生动例证。

Progress was made by consulting translations in other languages. In the English translation reviewed by Engels, the two words were rendered as *spectre* and *haunt*; in the Japanese translation, as *kaibutsu* (monster) and *haikai* (wandering); in the Russian translation, as *prizrak* and *brodit*. The German, English, Japanese, and Russian versions all convey meanings of phantom, spectre, non-human apparition, with a sense of terror, and the accompanying predicates carry usages of (ghostly) haunting, moving slowly, or troubling. The Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, taking the original language of the base text as the standard and consulting the understanding of other foreign-language translations, settled on “youling” (spectre) and “youdang” (roaming) in 1964 and 1995 respectively, and has not changed them since. Full respect for the original text, correct understanding, and faithful expression have always been the fundamental principles adhered to by several generations of translators at the Bureau, reflecting a spirit of rigorous truth-seeking and continuous improvement in compilation and translation.

这个问题在参看其他语言的译本时有了进展。上述二词在恩格斯阅过的英译本中被译为spectre和haunt，日译本为“怪物”和“徘徊”，俄译本为Призрак和бродит。德、英、日、俄都表达了幻影、幽灵、非人的鬼怪等义项，有恐怖的意味，而后搭配的谓词又有（鬼魂）出没、徐行、纠缠的用法。中央编译局以底本原始语言为标准，参校其他外文译本的理解，分别在1964年和1995年将两处定为“幽灵”和“游荡”，之后再未更改。对原著充分尊重、正确理解、忠实表达是几代编译局译者始终遵循的基本原则，反映出严谨求实、精益求精的编译精神。

Mehring, the author of *Karl Marx: The Story of His Life*, once remarked that Marx “attached great importance to the aesthetic harmony of his own works” and possessed a figurative language that could “rival the greatest ‘masters of metaphor’—Lessing, Goethe, and Hegel.” [1]1 Franz Mehring (1846–1919) was a German Marxist historian and literary critic; his biography *Karl Marx: The Story of His Life* remains a standard reference. Gotthold Ephraim Lessing (1729–1781) was a German playwright and philosopher; Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (1749–1832) and Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (1770–1831) were, respectively, Germany’s foremost poet and its most influential idealist philosopher. Thus, on the one hand, Marx uses the “specter” as a metaphor for communism, expressing both the rulers’ fear and hatred of communists who seek to overthrow the existing order, while also hinting that, in the rulers’ eyes, the Communist League is omnipresent and elusive. On the other hand, the “specter” was the enemy’s perception and curse of communism at the time. Marx does not adopt the commendatory term “spirit” but instead uses the pejorative “specter” to identify with it, borrowing the opponent’s derogatory label to create irony, making the word “specter” a tacit understanding among communists. This rhetorical and discursive pragmatics turns the “specter” into the opening monologue of the drama that is the *Manifesto*. Since it is already an invisible “specter,” how can it be publicly proclaimed? Thus, the monologist chooses a high position to face the public, creating an audiovisual effect and a sensational impact, making the rebuttal against the enemy more forceful, producing an outpouring of passion and a strong resonance.

《马克思传》的作者梅林曾评价马克思“很重视自己作品美学上的谐调性”，具有可以“和最伟大的‘譬喻大师’莱辛、歌德和黑格尔媲美” 的形象化语言。因此，一方面，马克思在这里以“幽灵”隐喻共产主义，既表现了当权者对推翻现存制度的共产主义者的又怕又恨，又暗示着当权者眼中的共产主义者同盟无处不在、来去无踪；另一方面，“幽灵”是当时敌人对共产主义的认知和诅咒，马克思没有用褒义的“精灵”而用贬义的“幽灵”自居，是借用对方的蔑称形成反讽，让“幽灵”一词成为共产党人彼此的心照神交。这种修辞和行文的话语语用，使“幽灵”成为《宣言》这幕戏剧的开场独白。既已是不可见的“幽灵”，又如何公开宣告？如此，独白者选择高位面对公众，制造了视听效果和轰动效应，对敌人的反驳更有冲击力，产生激情的宣泄和强烈的反响。

A New Journey in the Dissemination of the *Manifesto* in the New Era

新时代《宣言》传播的新征程

For any work, even the same text, under different temporal and spatial conditions, different aspects of the work become focal points and attract attention based on the specific circumstances of the time and place. The same holds true for the translation and dissemination of the *Manifesto*.

一部作品，即使是同一文本，在不同时空条件下，作品的不同方面会依据当时当地的处境分别成为焦点，被人关注。《宣言》的翻译与传播亦是如此。

The reason Chinese people initially prioritized the translation of the *Manifesto* was largely because it was a classic work based on historical materialism that drew conclusions about socialist revolution. Later, starting from the May Fourth Movement, the interpretive dimension of the *Manifesto* text long remained within the perspective and scope of class struggle. Fortunately, subsequent academic research resolved many previously controversial issues. Chinese scholars’ textual interpretation of the *Manifesto* has played a crucial role in its dissemination. Based on the different types of interpretive themes, this can be divided into three levels. The first level is translational surface-level understanding: before a complete Chinese translation was available, to better render the text, translation research was conducted on the choice of Chinese terms for personal and place names, the selection and application of existing Chinese terminology, and the creation of new terms. The second level is annotative ideological interpretation: to help readers more accurately grasp the ideas of the *Manifesto*, reading materials titled “Annotations,” “Explanations of Terms,” “Summaries and Notes,” and other forms were produced, introducing and discussing the figures, events, and documents involved in the text, as well as the historical background, intellectual origins, and overall structure of the *Manifesto*. The third level is textual-critical scientific elucidation: this involves a comprehensive comparison of the changes in the *Manifesto*’s discourse and the development of its ideas, closely integrating ideological research with current social practice in China, combining contemporary Chinese realities with the textual interpretation of Marx’s philosophy, guiding practice in the New Era, constructing “Chinese discourse,” and demonstrating the classic’s enduring vitality.

国人早期之所以首选《宣言》翻译，多是因为这是一部以唯物史观为基础、得出了社会主义革命结论的经典著作；而后自“五四”开始，《宣言》文本解释的向度长期没有超出阶级斗争的视角和范围，幸而在之后的学术研究中解决了许多以往具有争议性的问题。我国学者对《宣言》的文本解读，对其传播起到了至关重要的作用，根据解读主题类型的不同，可分为三个层次。第一层为译文性的表层理解：在中译本尚未完成时，为更好地翻译文本，会进行对人名和地名的译词、中文已有术语的选择运用，以及对新术语的创造等翻译研究。第二层为注释性的思想解读：为了让读者更准确地理解《宣言》思想，会以题为“注解”“名词解释”“提要和注释”等读本的形式，对文本涉及的人物、事件、文献以及《宣言》的历史背景、思想渊源、整体结构进行介绍和论述。第三层为考证性的科学阐释：会全面比较《宣言》话语的变迁、思想的发展，将思想研究与当前我国的社会实践紧密结合，把当代中国的现实问题与马克思哲学文本解读相结合，指导新时代实践，构建“中国话语”，彰显经典强大的生命力。

In the long term, the translation and interpretation of the *Manifesto* have always been related to the Chinese people’s level of understanding of Marxist theory, the international and domestic sociopolitical environment, and the needs and practices of the Chinese revolution or Chinese construction. While being translated, interpreted, and disseminated, the *Manifesto* has also been a process of being integrated into the Chinese revolution, Chinese construction, Chinese culture, and social needs. Therefore, those textual interpretations of the *Manifesto* that have been filtered and verified by the experience of the Chinese revolution and construction, that align with Chinese culture, and that adapt to the needs of Chinese society and the people, have naturally become an important component of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

长久来看，对《宣言》的翻译和解读一直都同国人对马克思主义理论的理解程度、国际国内社会政治环境、中国革命或中国建设的需要和实践相关。《宣言》在被翻译、解读与传播的同时，也是被中国革命、中国建设、中国文化和社会需求融入的过程。故《宣言》那些被中国革命和建设经验筛选和印证、与中国文化相契合、同中国社会和人民需求相适应的文本解读，就天然地成为马克思主义中国化时代化的重要组成部分。

Currently, domestic textual interpretation of the *Manifesto* has produced scientific elucidations such as “dissemination history,” “discourse history,” and “intellectual history.” There is now more comprehensive and in-depth research on the classic’s expressions of ideas such as globalization, the association of free individuals, productive forces, democratic construction, livelihood construction, and Party building. This is the creative application of the classic by the Communist Party of China, and it is also the reason why classic texts, when read anew, possess eternal charm. In the New Era, adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times has become a new journey for the *Manifesto* after more than 120 years of dissemination.

当前，国内对《宣言》的文本解读出现了“传播史”“话语史”“思想史”等科学阐释，对原典的全球化、自由人联合体、生产力、民主建设、民生建设、党的建设等思想表述有了更全面深入的研究，这是中国共产党人对经典的创造性运用，也是经典文本常读常新、具有永恒魅力的道理所在。新时代马克思主义中国化时代化，业已成为《宣言》在百廿余年传播之后的新的征程。

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC emphasizes the Two Integrations of the basic tenets of Marxism; it emphasizes that writing a new chapter in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times is the solemn historical responsibility of contemporary Chinese Communists; and it emphasizes that the new developments in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era have been written into the Party Constitution, reflecting the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. [2]2 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022. The “Two Integrations” refer to the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture. As stated in the prefaces to the *Manifesto*, “the practical application of these principles” will “everywhere and at all times depend on the historical conditions for the time being.” Only by focusing on excavating those ideological viewpoints that were previously undervalued but are particularly significant for our practice today can we truly grasp and implement the essence of Marxism, and continuously open up new realms for contemporary Chinese Marxism and Marxism in the twenty-first century.

党的二十大报告强调马克思主义基本原理的“两个结合”；强调谱写马克思主义中国化时代化新篇章，是当代中国共产党人的庄严历史责任；强调将习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想新发展写入党章，体现了马克思主义中国化时代化最新成果。正如《宣言》的序言中所说的，“这些原理的实际运用”“随时随地都要以当时的历史条件为转移”。注重挖掘那些过去不够重视而今天对我们的实践特别具有意义的思想观点，才能真正掌握和践行马克思主义精髓，不断开辟当代中国马克思主义、二十一世纪马克思主义的新境界。

Online Editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗