Global Civilization Studies
GCS, Vol. 1, No. 1, 2026, pp.77-86.
Print ISSN: 3106-0978; Online ISSN: 3106-0986
Journal homepage: https://www.gcsjournal.com
DOI： https://doi.org/10.64058/gcs260105rdbjd
姚达兑（Yao Dadui）
摘要：波乃耶父子可能是最早系统关注中国神话的汉学家，其译著《中国神话选》即为代表。波乃耶牧师长期在广州传教，其子则成长为汉学学者。该译作于1881-1884年间分九次连载于《中国评论》，前两次连载附有大量注释和多篇附录，其征引的中西文献繁复多样。借助国内外多所大学及研究机构馆藏和数据库的检索，可以厘清这些被征引文献的来源及其学术脉络。由此推知，波乃耶父子在编译过程中展现出超越传教士背景的自觉学术意识。《中国神话选》不仅是早期比较民俗学与比较宗教学研究的重要案例，也为中外神话与文学的对比研究提供了有益的启示，其对文明互鉴的意义亦不容忽视。
关键词：波乃耶牧师；詹姆士·波乃耶；《中国神话选》；汉学文献；学术自觉
作者简介：姚达兑，海南大学人文学院教授，研究方向为比较文学与世界文学。电子信箱：yaodadui@foxmail.com。
Title: Rev. Dyer Ball and James Dyer Ball’s translation of Scraps from Chinese Mythology: Citation of Sources and Scholarly Consciousness
Abstract: Rev. Dyer Ball and his son James Dyer Ball were among the earliest sinologists to engage systematically with Chinese mythology, and their translation Scraps from Chinese Mythology stands as a representative work. Rev. Dyer Ball spent many years as a missionary in Guangzhou, while his son grew up there and later became a sinologist. The translation was serialized in nine installments in The China Review between 1881 and 1884. In the first two installments, Dyer Ball added extensive annotations and appendices, citing a wide range of Chinese and Western sources. Through searches conducted across major libraries and research institutions in China and abroad, the provenance and scholarly networks of these cited sources can be reconstructed. This investigation reveals that the Balls demonstrated a conscious scholarly awareness that went beyond their missionary background. Scraps from Chinese Mythology is thus not only an important early case for comparative folklore and comparative religion, but also
provides valuable insights into the study of Chinese and Western mythologies and literatures, contributing to broader reflections on cross-cultural exchange and mutual understanding of civilizations.
Keywords: Rev. Dyer Ball; James Dyer Ball; Scraps from Chinese Mythology; Sinological Sources; Scholarly Consciousness
Author Biography: Yao Dadui, Professor at the Collage of Humanities, Hainan University. Research area: Comparative Literature and World Literature.
Received: 15 January 2026 / Revised: 26 Mar 2026 / Accepted: 02 Apr 2026 / Published online: 30 May 2026 / Print published: 30 June 2026.
