Babel, or The Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of The Oxford Translators' Revolution

Content Warning: The source material for this section includes representations of child abuse. It also includes outdated, offensive terms for Chinese people, racial stereotypes, and racial violence.

The chapter opens with an epigraph in Spanish and its translation into English; the author argues that language and imperialism are inextricably linked.

Professor Richard Lovell extracts a Cantonese boy from his house after his family dies of cholera. Lovell is a translator—a magician who uses the imperfect match between words in English and another language to create potential that is then stored in silver bars. Lovell uses a silver bar to heal the little boy.

It is 1823. Before this epidemic, the boy lived in poverty with his mother and extended family. His childhood had a few oddities—an English-speaking maid taught him English, and the boy periodically received English novels.

Lovell forces the boy to take an English name—Robin Swift—and tells Robin that he will go to England to learn the art of translation. With no other options, Robin agrees to surrender the Cantonese name that connects him to his lineage and signs a contract that makes Lovell his guardian. Robin’s first official act of translation comes as he is leaving Canton to go to England.