John Fryer's Zhong Xi mingmu biao 中西名目表 and their theoretical background: considerations and perspectives on the study of Fryer and his contribution to modern Chinese lexicon

John Fryer has spent more than 35 years of his life in China, most of them working for the Jiangnan Arsenal. He was first a professor, becoming later a translator of scientific texts into Chinese. He repeatedly stated some of his thoughts on scientific translation, which are reported in different Record of the General Conference of the Protestant Missionaries of China. Fryer highlighted the importance of the creation of a unified and standardised terminology through the editing of glossaries for the sake of other translators and posterity, laying the foundations for the work of following Chinese scholars. Four of these glossaries were published: the Jinshi Zhong Xi mingmu biao 金石中西名目表, the Huaxue cailiao Zhong Xi mingmu biao 化學材料中西名目表, the Xiyao dacheng yaopin Zhong Xi mingmu biao 西藥大成藥品中西名目表 and the Qiji Zhong Xi mingmu biao 汽機中西名目表, others are kept only in manuscript form. These works can be considered as a fundamental step in Fryer's work in translating scientific texts in Chinese, nonetheless they have been often ignored. My paper aims to underline Fryer's innovative considerations on translation of scientific and technical texts through the words reported in the Record, casting light on the value of these glossaries edited dozens of year before standardization could be effectively reached. I hope the paper will encourage an in-depth study of the above mentioned glossaries, in the hope to better highlight the process of formation and standardization of modern Chinese scientific and technical lexicon and the role Fryer, both at personal and institutional level, played for this aim.