Huang Jialu was born in Putian County, Fujian Province on 15 November 1679. He lost his father at the age of seven, and was adopted by the French evangelist Li Feili.  Li Feili hired a famous local Confucian scholar to teach him traditional Chinese culture. At the same time, Li Feili taught him Latin and Catholic theology.
Three years later, Bishop Liang Hongren took the place of Li Feili and continued to teach Huang Jialuo. In 1695, Huang Jialu began to travel throughout China's provinces to understand the folk customs and balance his education. At that time, French Roman Catholic missionaries believed that there was an incompatibility between Chinese Catholics who respected Confucius and venerated their ancestors using traditional rituals and rites and the teachings and formalities of the Catholic religion. In 1702, Bishop Hongren was ordered to report to Rome regarding the Chinese Rites controversy, which was an ongoing debate back and forth.
On February 17, travelling as Liang Hongren’s private secretary, Huang Jialu boarded a British merchant ship from Xiamen to Rome, a journey which lasted for about nine months. In 1706, Liang and Huang returned to Paris from Rome and prepared to leave for China. Unexpectedly, due to Liang Hongren’s poor health, the trip to China could not be completed and Huang Jialu was left stranded in France.
Fortunately for Huang Jialu his troubles came to the notice of the royal academic director, the Bianon priest who recommended Huang to the royal general manager Peng Xiatelan to teach Chinese. The royal manager was very happy and worked out an annuity for him. In 1711, the royal manager recommended Huang to King Louis XIV. 
King Louis XIV appointed Huang Jialu as his Chinese translation officer, specializing in translating Chinese letters, classifying Chinese books in the Royal Library and translating them into French, such as works on astronomy and the Chinese classic texts. At the same time, King Louis XIV also ordered Huang Jialu to write a Chinese grammar book and a Chinese-French dictionary.
To help Huang achieve the job, the Bianon Priest provided him with two apprentices, then later added a third. Huang Jialuo became something of a celebrity with the French elite. He wore a hat and a belt with a sword. He made friends with French aristocrats and intellectuals and became a window for the French upper classes to understand Chinese culture. In France he was known as Arcadio Huang or Mr Hoange using a westernised version of his name.
 In the spring of 1713, Huang Jialu married a young lady called Marie-Claude Regnier in Paris. In August of the same year, Bishop Liang Hongren died of his illness and Huang Jialuo was grief stricken for a while. The palace work and his marriage were not as remarkable and romantic as they may seem to the outsider. Although he was a translator at the king's side, his salary was low, so his newly married wife was often angry at their seeming poverty. Influenced by traditional Confucianism and Christian theology, Huang showed the tenderness of the oriental man. He was considerate to his wife and took the initiative to undertake all the housework, cleaning the rooms, cooking, making jam and washing clothes, He even tailored dresses for his wife and did some needlework.
From then on, his reputation as the "Chinese model husband" spread rapidly in the sinology circle in Paris. One of Huang Jialu’s assistants said: "Huang is making us Europeans desperate. He is always gentle, humble, and his mood is calmer than the ascetic, which makes me deeply moved.... I realize that the description in the travel notes, about the character of the Chinese is true and credible."
Two years later in 1715, his wife died a few days after giving birth to a daughter, leaving Huang to raise the infant on his own. Huang Jialu concentrated on his work and spent all his time on Sinology research and Sino-French translation before passing away himself soon after. Unfortunately his daughter did not live much longer after her father died.

Translated by Jean Chen
Edited by Helen

http://www.visiontimes.com/2019/06/15/huang-jialu-chinese-translator-for-louis-xiv-part-1.html


 名不见经传 路易十四的中文翻译官黄嘉略  (一)：二十三岁赴法贡献一生心血传递汉学    
 
黄嘉略出生于1679年福建莆田县。他七岁丧父，法国外方传道会教士李斐理收他为义子，李斐理为他聘请当地著名的儒师教授他中国传统文化，同时，李斐理教黄嘉略学习拉丁文和天主教神学。
三年后，主教梁宏仁接替李斐理继续教授黄嘉略。1695年，黄嘉略开始遍游中国各省，领略各地民俗民风。因中国的天主教教徒有尊孔子、敬祖先一事，法国传教士对此持有不同观点。1702年，梁宏仁奉命到罗马汇报“中国礼仪之争”的情况，时年2月17日，黄嘉略以梁宏仁的私人秘书身分，他们从厦门登上一艘英国商船，历时八九个月转赴罗马。1706年，梁、黄二人自罗马返回巴黎，准备启程回中国。不料，因梁宏仁的健康原因，中国之旅久久不能成行，黄嘉略也因此滞留法国。
黄嘉略滞留巴黎一事，被法国王家学术总监比尼昂教士知道，他将黄嘉略推荐给王室总管蓬夏特兰，建议他聘请黄嘉略教汉语，王室总管非常高兴，并为他争取到一份年金。1711年，王室总管还将他推荐给太阳王路易十四，他任命黄嘉略为自己的中文翻译官，专门负责翻译中文信函、整理皇家图书馆里的中文书籍并翻译成法语，例如：一些天文学和中国经典著作章节的原文。同时，路易十四还下令要黄嘉略编写一部汉语语法及汉法词典。
为配合国王的命令，比尼昂教士特为黄嘉略配备了两名工作助手。黄嘉略由此跻身法国上流社会，他头戴礼帽，腰带配剑，与法国的名流和知识阶层结交，成为法国上层社会了解中国文化的一扇窗口。
1713年春天，黄嘉略与巴黎姑娘玛丽结婚。同年8月，义父梁宏仁教士病逝，黄嘉略一度身陷悲戚。皇宫职场和异域婚姻，没有想像的那样尊显与浪漫。虽贵为国王身边的翻译官，但薪水并不丰厚，因此常常使新婚的金发妻子生气。受传统儒学影响与基督神学薰陶的他，展现出东方男人的柔情，他对妻子体贴入微，主动承担了一切家务，打扫房间、下厨烹饪、秘制果酱、洗涤衣物，他样样都会，他甚至还为妻子量体裁衣，做琐碎的针线活。
从此，能吃苦的“中国模范丈夫”的名声迅速在巴黎汉学界传开。黄嘉略的一位助手描述：“这位中国青年的处境足以让我们欧洲人绝望，但他始终温和、谦逊，心境比苦行僧更显平静，使我深为感动⋯⋯我由此体会到，游记中关于中国人的性格记载是真实可信的。”
两年后，体弱多病的妻子离世，留下了一个女儿。自此黄加略决意不再娶，专心工作，把所有时间用在了汉学研究与传播上。