The Perils of Interpreting (The Opium War)

US Naval History Podcast

When the biggest country in the world and the most powerful country in the world can't even talk to each other, how can they possibly avoid war? Well, in the case of the Chinese and British in the early 19th Century... they didn't!

In this episode of the U.S. Naval History Podcast, I interview Professor Henrietta Harrison on the leadup to war that in some ways parallels our world today.

We discuss:

- The difficulty in getting the right information to the country's leaders and the dangers when this does not happen well

- How difficult it is to translate not only languages, but cultures and worldview between Anglo-American English and Chinese

- How just being close enough to do the direct translation in often seen. as inherently suspicious

- The not-so-great fates of the two key interpreters between England and China

- The First Opium War

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