HomeChronology EntriesDocumentsPeopleLogin

“Yen Fu's translation of Huxley's evolution and ethics” (Publication, 1982)

Year

1982

Text

Chen, Tzu-yun. Yen Fu's translation of Huxley's evolution and ethics. In : Tamkang review, vol. 13, no 2 (1982). [Yan Fu ; Thomas Henry Huxley]. (Hux19)

Type

Publication

Contributors (1)

Chen, Tzu-yun  (um 1982)

Mentioned People (2)

Huxley, Thomas Henry  (Ealing 1825-1895 Eastbourne) : Biologe, Bildungsorganisator

Yan, Fu  (Yangqixiang, Houguan, Fujian 1853-1921 Yangqixiang, Houguan, Fujian) : Übersetzer

Subjects

Literature : Occident : Great Britain / References / Sources / Translator

Chronology Entries (1)

# Year Text Linked Data
1 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.
  • Document: 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, Publication)
  • Document: Chan, Leo Tak-hung. Twentieth-century Chinese translation theory : modes, issues and debates. (Amsterdam : John Benjamins, 2004). (Benjamins translation library ; vol. 51).
    Table of contents :
    PART I
    1. The traditional approach: Impressionistic theories 3
    2. "Modern" theories of the 1920s and 30s 15
    3. Theories from a postcolonial perspective 29
    4. End of the century: The impact of "new theories" 43
    References for Chapters 1-4 6o
    PART II
    A. Responses to Yan Fu 67
    1. Yan Fu: "Preface to Tianyanlun (Evolution and ethics)" (1901)
    Tr. C. Y. Hsu 69
    2. Zheng Zhenduo: "How to translate literary texts" (1921)
    Tr. Leo Chan 72
    3. Bian Zhilin: "Literary translation and sensitivity to language" (1983)
    Tr. Gilbert Fong 74
    4. Ye Weilian: "Debunking claims of Xin, Da and Ya" (1994)
    Tr. Ye Weilian 77
    Notes to Articles 1-4 89
    B. Spiritual resonance 91
    5. Chen Xiying: "On translation" (1929)
    Tr. Chapman Chen 93
    6. Zeng Xubai: "Spirit and fluency in translation" (1929)
    Tr. Chapman Chen 98
    7. Fu Lei: "Preface to the retranslation of Pere Goriot" (1951)
    Tr. May Wong 102
    8. Qian Zhongshu: "The translations of Lin Shu" (1963)
    Tr. George Kao 104
    Notes to Articles 5-8 115
    C. Art vs. science 121
    9. Zhu Guangqian: "On translation" (1944)
    Tr. Leo Chan 123
    10. Fu Lei: "Fragments of my translation experience" (1957)
    Tr. Leo Chan 126
    11. Huang Xuanfan: "Review of Si Guo's Studies of Translation" (1974)
    Tr. Matthew Leung 129
    12. Huang Xuanfan: "Translation and linguistic knowledge" (1974)
    Tr. Matthew Leung 134
    13. Jin Di: "The debate of art vs. science" (1987)
    Tr. Priscilla Yip 141
    Notes to Articles 9-13 147
    D. The language of translation 151
    14. Qu Qiubai: "On translation - A letter to Lu Xun" (1931)
    Tr. Yau Wai Ping 153
    15. Lu Xun: "A reply to Qu Qiubai" (1931)
    Tr. Leo Chan 158
    16. Qu Qiubai: "Again on translation - A reply to Lu Xun" (1932)
    Tr. Yau Wai Ping 162
    17. Fu Lei: "Letter to Lin Yiliang on translation" (1951)
    Tr. Sara Ho 168
    18. Yu Guangzhong: "Translation and creative writing" (1969)
    Tr. Leo Chan 173
    Notes to Articles 14-18 175
    E. Literal translation vs. sense-translation 179
    19. Liang Shiqiu: "On Mr. Lu Xun's 'Stiff translation"' (1929)
    Tr. Evangeline Almberg 181
    20. Lu Xun: "'Stiff translation' and the class nature of literature" (1930)
    Tr. Leo Chan 184
    21. Ye Gongchao, "On translation and language reform" (1931)
    Tr. Rachel Lung 188
    22. Mao Dun: "Literal translation, smooth translation, and distorted
    translation" (1934)
    Tr. Leo Chan 192
    23. Ai Siqi: "On translation" (1937)
    Tr. John Lai 195
    Notes to Articles 19-23 198
    F. The untranslatability of poetry 201
    24. Mao Dun: "Some thoughts on translating poetry" (1922)
    Tr. Brian Holton 203
    25. Cheng Fangwu: "On translating poetry" (1923)
    Tr. May Wong 208
    26. Bian Zhilin: "Translation and its positive/negative impact on
    modern Chinese poetry" (1987)
    Tr. Kellj Chan 211
    27. Gu Zhengkun: "On multiple complementary norms and the
    translation of poetry" (1990)
    Tr. Julie Chiu 214
    Notes to Articles 24-27 220
    G. Translation theory for China 223
    28. Dong Qiusi: "On building our translation theories" (1951)
    Tr. Tan Zaixi 225
    29. Luo Xinzhang: "Chinese translation theory, a system of its
    own" (1984)
    Tr. Tan Zaixi 230
    30. Liu Miqing: "The basic paradigm of Chinese translation
    theory" (1990)
    Tr. Han Yang 236
    31. Sun Zhili: "Some thoughts on building our nation's translation
    theory" (1998)
    Tr. Han Yang 240
    32. Lin Zhang: "On theories in translation studies" (1998)
    Tr. Leo Chan 244
    Notes to Articles 28-32 246
    H. Creativity and translation 249
    33. Zheng Zhenduo: "Virgins and matchmakers" (1921)
    Tr. Rachel Lung 251
    34. Guo Moruo: "Letter to Zheng Zhenduo" (1921)
    Tr. Rachel Lung 252
    35. Mao Dun: "The 'matchmaker' and the 'virgin"' (1934)
    Tr. Laurence Wong 254
    36. Fang Ping: "Miscellaneous thoughts on translation" (1995)
    Tr. Orlando Ho 257
    37. Xu Yuanchong: "Verbal translation and literary translation" (1995)
    Tr. Orlando Ho 261
    38. Xu Jun and Yuan Xiaoyi: "For the sake of our common cause" (1995)
    Tr. Orlando Ho 264
    Notes to Articles 33-38 268
    Index 271 S. 69-71. (ChanL1, Publication)
  • Person: Huxley, Thomas Henry
  • Person: Yan, Fu

Cited by (1)

# Year Bibliographical Data Type / Abbreviation Linked Data
1 2000- Asien-Orient-Institut Universität Zürich Organisation / AOI
  • Cited by: Huppertz, Josefine ; Köster, Hermann. Kleine China-Beiträge. (St. Augustin : Selbstverlag, 1979). [Hermann Köster zum 75. Geburtstag].

    [Enthält : Ostasieneise von Wilhelm Schmidt 1935 von Josefine Huppertz ; Konfuzianismus von Xunzi von Hermann Köster]. (Huppe1, Published)