Robert Thom (translator) facts for kids
Robert Thom (simplified Chinese: 罗伯聃; traditional Chinese: 羅伯聃; pinyin: Luóbódān; 1807 – 14 September 1846) was an English diplomat and translator who lived in the 1800s. He worked in Guangzhou (which was called Canton back then) and helped a big trading company called Jardine, Matheson & Co.. Robert Thom also worked with the British army during the First Opium War (1839 – 1842). For his books and writings, he used the pen name Sloth.
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Robert Thom's Life
Robert Thom worked for the trading company Jardine, Matheson & Co. There, he learned to speak Mandarin Chinese very well.
A Diplomat and Translator
When fighting started between Britain and China's Qing dynasty in late 1839, Robert Thom became very important. He, along with other Chinese translators like John Robert Morrison and Karl Gützlaff, helped the two sides talk to each other.
In July 1840, during the First Opium War, Thom sailed north from Guangzhou on a ship called HMS Blonde. He was the translator for Captain Thomas Bourchier. The ship stopped near a place called Namoy (now Kinmen) to deliver a letter. This letter was from the British Foreign Secretary, Lord Palmerston. It asked China to open up for more trade with other countries.
Working for Peace and Trade
Captain Bourchier noticed that cannons were being set up on a nearby fort. So, Robert Thom bravely rowed a small boat towards the shore. He carried a sign that warned if the ship was fired on, Captain Bourchier would fight back. A crowd of Chinese people gathered on the shore. Some swam towards Thom's boat, and he almost got hit by arrows and gunshots as he shouted the warning from his sign. Captain Bourchier kept his word and fired at the fort and ships, then left.
In 1841, Thom also helped the British during an expedition up the Broadway River from Macao to Guangzhou. Later, he became the British Consul (a type of diplomat) in Ningbo. He passed away there on 14 September 1846.
His Writings and Translations
In 1840, Robert Thom translated Aesop's Fables into Chinese. People said he was one of the very few Westerners who spoke the Beijing dialect of Mandarin Chinese extremely well. He also translated an old Chinese story from the Ming dynasty called The Lasting Resentment of Miss Keaou Lwan Wang, a Chinese Tale. Besides that, he wrote several textbooks to help students learn the Chinese language.
