彭斯是中国翻译最早又最多的英国诗人之一,重译率很高。译者很早知道他的苏格兰身份,然而百余年汉译彭斯历程只是概念上将他定位为苏格兰农民诗人。晚清民初多关注其淳朴爱情诗歌,1920年代热衷其诗歌阶级属性,1980年代视野开阔,但仍未注意其苏格兰身份认同在汉译中的呈现问题。2014年苏格兰公投及其结果,意味着苏格兰身份之于苏格兰人的重要意义。近半苏格兰人不愿意生活在富裕的大不列颠,皆因丰富的民族身份认同资源足以支撑他们寻求独立的苏格兰之路。彭斯就是其中重要的文化资源之一。因此,彭斯汉译史需要重新检讨。 Burns is one of the earliest and most influential English poets in China, with a high rate of retranslation. The translator had known his Scottish identity very early, yet the hundred years of Chinese translation of Burns’ history merely conceptualized him as a Scottish peasant poet. In the late Qing Dynasty and early Republic of China, more attention was paid to his simple love poems. Since 1920s, he was enthusiastic about his poetry class attributes. In the 1980s, he had a broad vision, but he still failed to pay attention to the question of how his identity was translated in Chinese translation. The 2014 Scottish referendum and its outcome mean the importance of Scottish identity to the Scots. Nearly half of the Scots are unwilling to live in wealthy Great Britain because of their rich national identity sufficient resources to support their quest for independence in Scotland. Burns is one of the important cultural resources. Therefore, the translation of Burns’ Chinese history needs a review.