“In search of wealth and power : Yen Fu and the West” (Publication, 1964)
Year
1964
Text
Schwartz, Benjamin. In search of wealth and power : Yen Fu and the West. (Cambridge, Mass. : Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 1964). [Yan Fu]. (Schw17)
Type
Publication
Contributors (1)
Schwartz, Benjamin
(Boston 1916-1999 Cambridge, Mass.) : Leroy B. Williams Professor of History and Government, Harvard University
Mentioned People (1)
Yan, Fu
(Yangqixiang, Houguan, Fujian 1853-1921 Yangqixiang, Houguan, Fujian) : Übersetzer
Subjects
References / Sources
/
Sinology and Asian Studies : United States of America
/
Translator
Chronology Entries (18)
| # | Year | Text | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1866-1871 | Yan Fu studiert Englisch, Arithmetik, Geometrie, Algebra, Trigonometrie, Physik, Mechanik, Chemie, Geologie, Astronomie und Navigation an der englisch-sprachigen Abteilung der Fuzhou Arsenal School in Fuzhou (Fujian). |
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| 2 | 1871 | Yan Fu graduiert an der Fuzhou Arsenal School = Naval Management School in Fuzhou (Fujian). |
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| 3 | 1871-1876 | Yan fu ist auf See und bereist das ost- und südchinesische Meer. |
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| 4 | 1877-1879 | Yan Fu studiert Navigation zuerst in Portsmouth dann am Royal Naval College in Greenwich. |
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| 5 | 1879-1881 | Yan Fu ist Lehrer an der Fuzhou Arsenal School in Fuzhou (Fujian). |
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| 6 | 1881-1890 | Yan Fu ist Dozent an der Beiyang Naval Academy (Beiyang shui shi xue tang) in Tianjin. |
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| 7 | 1890-1899 | Yan Fu ist Direktor der Beiyang Naval Academy (Beiyang shui shi xue tang) in Tianjin. |
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| 8 | 1896 | Yan Fu gründet eine russische Sprachschule in Tianjin und wird Lehrer der Tong yi xue tang in Beijing, einer Schule für westliche Studien. |
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| 9 | 1896 |
[Huxley, Thomas Henry]. Tian yan lun. Yan Fu yi. [ID D10307]. Yan Fu writes in the preface about translation : 1. Translation involves three requirements difficult to fulfill : faithfulness (xin), comprehensibility (da) and elegance (ya). Faithfulness is difficult enough to attain but a translation that is faithful but not comprehensible is no translation at all. Comprehensibility is therefore of prime importance… 2. Terms in Western language texts are defined as they occur, somewhat similar to digressions in Chinese… 3. The Book of changes says : "Fidelity is the basis of writing". Confucius said : "Writing should be comprehensible". He also said, "Where language has no refinement, its effects will not extend far"… My translation has been criticized for its abstruse language and involved style. But I must say this is the result of my determined effort at comprehensibility. The treatise in the book is largely based upon logic, mathematics and sciences as well as astronomy… 4. New theories have been advanced in quick succession, giving rise to a profusion of new terms. No such terms could be found in Chinese. Though some Chinese expressions approximate the original, there are yet discrepancies… 5. The book deals mainly with the schools of thought since ancient Greece. Included are the renowned thinkers of various periods whose thoughts have influences the minds of the people of the West for some two thousand years… 6. The pursuit of truth is akin to the practice of government in that both place a premium on the pooling of ideas… He writes in the preface about Huxley : "The purpose of this book of Huxley's is to correct the abuses of Spencer's 'laisser-faire'. Many of its arguments are in accord with what our ancient sages have said. Furthermore, matters such as self-strengthening and the preservation of the race are reiterated in it. Tha is why I spent the long, wary days of the past summer to translate it. If there were people who regarded it as empty talk and useless to practical affairs, they would certainly be beyond my care." In chapter 13, Yan Fu writes : "Huxley's discussion on the preservation of the society is indeed penetrating. But we should know that his statement that sympathy is the origin of human society has reversed the result to be the cause. Man's motive in forming a society is primarily for his self-interest, which is similar to those of lower animals. Therefore, Huxley's discussion on sociology is not as thorough as that of Spencer. Furthermore, the theory that sympathy is the origin of human society was first advocated by Adam Smith, the economist. It is not a new theory contributed by Huxley." In chapter 14, Yan Fu writes : "What Huxley intends to point out in this chapter is that in order to preserve the society as well as the individual, self-assertion should not be completely abolished." Sekundärliteratur Chen Tzu-yun : Yan Fu decides to use in his translation classical Chinese (gu wen). According to Yan himself, his choice is made on the basis that 'where language has no refinement, the effect will not extend far' and that the classical Chinese has richer vocabulary than that of the vernacular. There are more terms applicable to the new Western ideas. Yan divides the text into seventeen chapters with the result that each chapter is about of the same length. He makes the structure of his translated work similar to that of the tzu genre with which the Chinese literati are familiar. The divergence from the original work is necessitated not only by his desire to make his readers at home, but also by the fact in Yan's time the practice of paragraphing was not popularly adopted. Yan Fu does not translate Huxley's notes on the lecture and makes no acknowledgement of their existence. He is inconsisten in some of his transliterations. There are interpolations, questionable substitutions and sometimes inadverted mistranslations. As a whole, Tian yan lun is a successful translation. Its shortcomings are of little consequence. Politically, the work is significant in that it has filled the need of the time. Literarily, it is the first major translation of Western works. Benjamin Schwartz : The reason why Yan Fu chooses classical Chinese : 1. Classical Chinese is an appropriate medium to interest the literati of his time. 2. A dignified style can prove that Westerners are not inferior to Chinese in matter of literature and political science. 3. Yan's flair for elegance may reflect his own aesthetic bent and his pride in his own virtuosity. 4. The whole bai hua (vernacular) movement still lay in the future. |
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| 10 | 1897 | Yan Fu ist Mitbegründer der Zeitungen Guo wen bao und Guo wen hui pian in Tianjin. |
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| 11 | 1901 | Yan Fu ist Leiter der Kaiping-Bergwerke in Tianjin. |
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| 12 | 1902-1904 | Yan Fu ist Direktor des Bureau for the Compilation and Translation of Books (Bian yi shu ju) an der Nationalen Universität in Beijing (Beijing-Universität = Jing shi da xue). |
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| 13 | 1906 | Yan Fu wird Leiter der Anhui Higher Normal School und Leiter für Prüfungsabnahme für chinesische Studenten, die aus dem Westen zurückkommen. |
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| 14 | 1909 | Yan Fu wird zweiter Ratgeber des Committee for Drawing up Regulations for Constitutional Government, Ratgeber des Committee for the Reorganization of the Financial Affairs of the Empire und Ratgeber der Regierung der Provinz Fujian. |
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| 15 | 1910 | Yan Fu wird Mitglied des Legislative Council (Zi zheng yuan). |
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| 16 | 1912 | Yan Fu ist Dekan des College of Letters der Beijing-Universität und wird Leiter des Naval Ministry's Translation Bureau für die Übersetzung von Schiffahrts-Dokumenten. |
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| 17 | 1913-1916 | Yan Fu ist Berater für internationales Recht von Yuan Shikai. | |
| 18 | 1916-1921 | Yan Fu lebt und schreibt in Beijing. |
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Sources (1)
| # | Year | Bibliographical Data | Type / Abbreviation | Linked Data |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1891 |
Mike [Michie, Alexander]. Zhina jiao an lun. Yan Fu yi ; Zheng Kaocheng jiao. ([S.l.] : Nanyang gong xue yi shu yuan, nach 1891). Übersetzung von Michie, Alexander. Missionaries in China. (London : E. Stanford, 1891). 支那敎案論提要 |
Publication / Yan,-Mich1 |