明末清初來華耶穌會士為傳教證道筆耕不遂，替後世留下了大量的中文作品，同此之時，又累積了可觀的西文文獻，藉此將在華傳教事業發展介紹到歐洲。於此中西文化交流發端之際，翻譯的重要性不言可喻。有別於先前的耶穌會士，索隱派意不在譯介西方文化思想，授西學天學予中土，而是皓首窮經欲證中國古籍留有《聖經》奧義，而其西文作品著力點也在於此。在闡釋索隱思想時大量徵引經中文句，隨後加上翻譯作為申說基礎，因此這些翻譯無疑反映了索隱派對中國古經的解讀，也潛藏特殊情境下文化溝通的運作機制。馬若瑟堪稱索隱派筆力之翹楚。他是傳教士、漢學家、同時也是一介儒生，然而作為中西文化的居間者，馬若瑟同樣耐人尋味，因此本文欲以其譯者身分展開思考。雖說馬氏筆下充滿索隱色彩，他在不同語言文字遊走媒合，顯現另一種有別於今的翻譯風景。索隱派的翻譯多為片段零星之作，為能見得一全息圖，本文將舉隅馬氏幾部主要作品，包括 Notitia Linguae Sinicae (漢語劄記 )、Vestiges des principaux dogmes chrétiens, tirés des anciens livres chinois (中國古書中基督宗教教義遺跡 )、《詩經》(Odes Choisies du Chi King) 與《趙氏孤兒》 (Tchao-Chi-Cou-Ell, ou Le Petit Orphelin de la Maison de Tchao) 譯文，加上馬氏譯寫的中文作品《聖母淨配聖若瑟傳》，以此展示馬氏雖不脫成見之限，然其翻譯觀卻別具一番洞見。

Figurism´ is the term that refers to the work of a group of French Jesuits working in China in the early 18th century during the Qing Dynasty. Amid the heat of the Rites Controversy, these Jesuits sought to negotiate cultural and religious differences through ³re-accommodating´ Matteo Ricci’s proselytizing strategy by bringing together the biblical world with the Chinese classics. Their claim that traces of biblical teachings were found in these ancient works serves as a justification for their bizarre, unfathomable interpretation of the Chinese Kings (Five classics) and thus has drawn little academic attention over the subsequent centuries. However, in recent years the academic atmosphere has changed and some major works have been published on the French figurists. Most of these works focus on these French Jesuits’ thoughts and shed light on the intricacy of their works, but their ³allegorical reading´, which is in fact a translation mechanism, is often ignored. This paper will center on de Prèmare’s role not so much as a sinologist but as a translator. Many of his works written in both Latin and French reflect his effort to bridge the gap between the biblical world and Chinese classics. Such an effort is driven both by his religious zeal and his genuine appreciation of Chinese literature, and it would be a misunderstanding to see him as an Orientalist. To provide an overview of Prèmare’s translation, examples will be drawn from various works, including Notitia Linguae Sinicae; Vestiges des principaux dogmes chrétiens, tirés des anciens livres chinois; Odes Choisies du Chi King; Tchao-Chi-Cou-Ell, ou Le Petit Orphelin de la Maison de Tchao; and Shengmu jingpei Sheng Ruose zhuan (Life of St. Joseph, the chaste husband of the Holy Virgin).