On January 8, 1854, Yan Fu was born in what is modern-day Fuzhou, Fujian Province to a respectable scholar-gentry family in the trade of Chinese medicine. In his early years, Yan Fu’s father greatly encouraged Yan Fu to obtain a high level of education and prepare for the Imperial examination. However, the death of his father in 1866 caused an abrupt change to these plans. A year later, Yan Fu entered the Foochow Arsenal Academy in Fuzhou, a Western school where he studied a variety of subjects including English, arithmetic, geometry, algebra, trigonometry, physics, chemistry, astrology and navigation. This was a turning point in young Yan Fu’s life as he was able to experience the first-hand contact with Western science, thus inspiring the enthusiasm that carried him through the rest of his career.
After graduating with high honors in 1871, Yan Fu went on to spend the next five years at sea. He first served aboard the training ship Jianwei (建威) and later on the battlecruiser Yangwu (揚武). In 1877–79 he studied at the Royal Naval College, Greenwich, England. During his years there, he became acquainted with China’s first ambassador Guo Songtao, and despite their age difference and status gap developed a strong friendship. Benjamin Schwartz mentions in his biography that "they often spent whole days and nights discussing differences and similarities in Chinese and Western thought and political institutions".[1]
His return to China, however, did not bring him the immediate success he was hoping for. Though he was unable to pass the Imperial Civil Service Examination, he was able to obtain a teaching position at the Foochow Arsenal Academy and then Beiyang Naval Officers' School (北洋水師學堂) at Tianjin. During this time, Yan Fu succumbed to the opium addiction that had sprung up in China.[2]
It was not until after the Chinese defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–95, fought for control of Korea) that Yan Fu became famous. He is celebrated for his translations, including Thomas Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Herbert Spencer's Study of Sociology.[3] Yan critiqued the ideas of Darwin and others, offering his own interpretations. The ideas of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" were introduced to Chinese readers through Huxley's work. The former idea was famously rendered by Yan Fu into Chinese as tiānzé (天擇).
Yan Fu served as an editor of the newspaper Guowen Bao.[4] He became politically active, and in 1895, he was involved in the Gongche Shangshu movement, which opposed the Treaty of Shimonoseki ending the First Sino-Japanese War. In 1909 he was given an honorary Jinshi degree.[5] In 1912 he became the first principal of National Peking University (now Peking University). Today the university holds an annual academic conference in his honor.[6]
He became a royalist and conservative who supported Yuan Shikai and Zhang Xun to proclaim themselves emperor in his later life. He also participated in the foundation of Chouanhui (籌安會), an organization that supported restoring monarchy. He laughed at "New Literature Revolutionaries" such as Hu Shih.
On October 27, 1921, after returning to his home in Fuzhou only a year earlier to recuperate from his recurring asthma, Yan Fu died at the age of 67.
Yan stated in the preface[7] to his translation of Evolution and Ethics (天演論) that "there are three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" (譯事三難：信達雅). He did not set them as general standards for translation and did not say that they were independent of each other. However, since the publication of that work, the phrase "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" has been attributed to Yan Fu as a standard for any good translation and has become a cliché in Chinese academic circles, giving rise to numerous debates and theses. Some scholars argue that this dictum actually derived from Scottish theoretician of translation, Alexander Fraser Tytler.
Though Yan Fu's classical prose did its best to meet the standards of "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance", there were those who criticized his works for not being accessible to the younger generations. In particular, a famous liberal from the May Fourth Movement, Cai Yuanpei, stated in an article written in 1924: "...[Yan Fu's translations]...seem to be old-fashioned and his literary style is difficult to comprehend, but the standard with which he selected books and the way he translated them are very admirable even today".[8] Other critiques of his work arose as Chinese scholars became more aware of Western learning.
Yan Fu was one of the most influential scholars of his generation as he worked to introduce Western social, economic and political ideas to China. Previous translation efforts had been focused mainly on religion and technology. Yan Fu was also one of the first scholars to have personal experiences in Western culture, whereas many prior scholars were students in Japan who then translated Western works from Japanese to Chinese. Yan Fu also played an important role in the standardization of science terminology in China during his time serving as the Head of the State Terminology Bureau.
In 1895 he published Zhibao直報, a Chinese newspaper founded in Tianjin by the German Constantin von Hannecken (1854-1925), which contains several of his most famous essays:
Lun shi bian zhi ji論世變之亟 (On the Speed of World Change)
Yuan qiang原強 (On the Origin of Strength)
Pi Han辟韓 (In Refutation of Han Yu)
Jiuwang jue lun救亡決論 (On our Salvation)
Later, from 1898 to 1909, Yan Fu went on to translate the following major works of Western liberal thought:
Evolution and EthicsThomas Henry Huxley as Tianyan lun天演論 (On Evolution) 1896-1898
The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith as Yuan fu原富 (On Wealth) 1901
The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spencer as Qunxue yiyan群學肄言 (A Study of Sociology) 1903
On Liberty by John Stuart Mill as Qunji quanjie lun群己權界論 (On the Boundary between the Self and the Group) 1903
A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill as Mule mingxue穆勒名學 (Mill’s Logic) 1903
A History of Politics by Edward Jenks as Shehui tongquan社會通詮 (A Full Account of Society) 1903
The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu as Fayi法意 (The Meaning of the Laws) 1904-1909
Primer of Logic by William Stanley Jevons as Mingxue qianshuo名學淺說 (An Outline of Logic) 1909
Benjamin I. Schwartz (1964). In Search of Wealth and Power: Yen Fu and the West. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
(in Chinese) Shen Suru 沈蘇儒 (1998). Lun Xin Da Ya: Yan Fu Fanyi Lilun Yanjiu (論信達雅：嚴復翻譯理論硏究 "On faithfulness, understandability and elegance: a study of Yan Fu's translation theory"). Beijing: Commercial Press.
Wang, Frederic (2009). “The Relationship between Chinese Learning and Western Learning according to Yan Fu (1845-1921).” Knowledge and Society Today (Multiple Modernity Project) Lyon, France.
Notes
^Benjamin I. Schwartz (1964). In Search of Wealth and Power: Yen Fu and the West. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Pg 29
^Benjamin I. Schwartz (1964). In Search of Wealth and Power: Yen Fu and the West. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press. Pg 32
simplified, chinese, 严复, traditional, chinese, 嚴復, pinyin, yán, wade, giles, courtesy, name, 幾道, january, 1854, october, 1921, chinese, military, officer, newspaper, editor, translator, writer, most, famous, introducing, western, ideas, including, darwin, natu. Yan Fu simplified Chinese 严复 traditional Chinese 嚴復 pinyin Yan Fu Wade Giles Yen Fu IPA jɛ n fu courtesy name Ji Dao 幾道 8 January 1854 27 October 1921 was a Chinese military officer newspaper editor translator and writer He was most famous for introducing western ideas including Darwin s natural selection to China in the late 19th century Yan FuPresident of National Peking UniversityIn office 3 May 1912 1 October 1912Preceded byLao Naixuan zh as President of the Imperial University of Peking Succeeded byZhang ShizhaoPresident of Fudan UniversityIn office 1906 1907Preceded byMa XiangboSucceeded byXia Jingguan zh Personal detailsBornYan Chuanchu 嚴傳初 1854 01 08 8 January 1854Yangqi Village Houguan county now Fuzhou Fujian Qing ChinaDied27 October 1921 1921 10 27 aged 67 Langguan Alley Houguan county Fujian Republican ChinaAlma materRoyal Naval College GreenwichOccupationMilitary officer newspaper editor translator writerIn this Chinese name the family name is Yan Contents 1 Life 2 Translation theory 3 Translated works 4 See also 5 References 6 Notes 7 External linksLife EditOn January 8 1854 Yan Fu was born in what is modern day Fuzhou Fujian Province to a respectable scholar gentry family in the trade of Chinese medicine In his early years Yan Fu s father greatly encouraged Yan Fu to obtain a high level of education and prepare for the Imperial examination However the death of his father in 1866 caused an abrupt change to these plans A year later Yan Fu entered the Foochow Arsenal Academy in Fuzhou a Western school where he studied a variety of subjects including English arithmetic geometry algebra trigonometry physics chemistry astrology and navigation This was a turning point in young Yan Fu s life as he was able to experience the first hand contact with Western science thus inspiring the enthusiasm that carried him through the rest of his career After graduating with high honors in 1871 Yan Fu went on to spend the next five years at sea He first served aboard the training ship Jianwei 建威 and later on the battlecruiser Yangwu 揚武 In 1877 79 he studied at the Royal Naval College Greenwich England During his years there he became acquainted with China s first ambassador Guo Songtao and despite their age difference and status gap developed a strong friendship Benjamin Schwartz mentions in his biography that they often spent whole days and nights discussing differences and similarities in Chinese and Western thought and political institutions 1 His return to China however did not bring him the immediate success he was hoping for Though he was unable to pass the Imperial Civil Service Examination he was able to obtain a teaching position at the Foochow Arsenal Academy and then Beiyang Naval Officers School 北洋水師學堂 at Tianjin During this time Yan Fu succumbed to the opium addiction that had sprung up in China 2 It was not until after the Chinese defeat in the First Sino Japanese War 1894 95 fought for control of Korea that Yan Fu became famous He is celebrated for his translations including Thomas Huxley s Evolution and Ethics Adam Smith s The Wealth of Nations John Stuart Mill s On Liberty and Herbert Spencer s Study of Sociology 3 Yan critiqued the ideas of Darwin and others offering his own interpretations The ideas of natural selection and survival of the fittest were introduced to Chinese readers through Huxley s work The former idea was famously rendered by Yan Fu into Chinese as tianze 天擇 Yan Fu served as an editor of the newspaper Guowen Bao 4 He became politically active and in 1895 he was involved in the Gongche Shangshu movement which opposed the Treaty of Shimonoseki ending the First Sino Japanese War In 1909 he was given an honorary Jinshi degree 5 In 1912 he became the first principal of National Peking University now Peking University Today the university holds an annual academic conference in his honor 6 He became a royalist and conservative who supported Yuan Shikai and Zhang Xun to proclaim themselves emperor in his later life He also participated in the foundation of Chouanhui 籌安會 an organization that supported restoring monarchy He laughed at New Literature Revolutionaries such as Hu Shih On October 27 1921 after returning to his home in Fuzhou only a year earlier to recuperate from his recurring asthma Yan Fu died at the age of 67 Translation theory Edit Statue of Yan Fu at Tianjin Further information Chinese translation theory Yan stated in the preface 7 to his translation of Evolution and Ethics 天演論 that there are three difficulties in translation faithfulness expressiveness and elegance 譯事三難 信達雅 He did not set them as general standards for translation and did not say that they were independent of each other However since the publication of that work the phrase faithfulness expressiveness and elegance has been attributed to Yan Fu as a standard for any good translation and has become a cliche in Chinese academic circles giving rise to numerous debates and theses Some scholars argue that this dictum actually derived from Scottish theoretician of translation Alexander Fraser Tytler Though Yan Fu s classical prose did its best to meet the standards of faithfulness expressiveness and elegance there were those who criticized his works for not being accessible to the younger generations In particular a famous liberal from the May Fourth Movement Cai Yuanpei stated in an article written in 1924 Yan Fu s translations seem to be old fashioned and his literary style is difficult to comprehend but the standard with which he selected books and the way he translated them are very admirable even today 8 Other critiques of his work arose as Chinese scholars became more aware of Western learning Translated works Edit Yan Fu s translation of Evolution and Ethics Former Residence of Yan Fu in Fuzhou Yan Fu was one of the most influential scholars of his generation as he worked to introduce Western social economic and political ideas to China Previous translation efforts had been focused mainly on religion and technology Yan Fu was also one of the first scholars to have personal experiences in Western culture whereas many prior scholars were students in Japan who then translated Western works from Japanese to Chinese Yan Fu also played an important role in the standardization of science terminology in China during his time serving as the Head of the State Terminology Bureau In 1895 he published Zhibao 直報 a Chinese newspaper founded in Tianjin by the German Constantin von Hannecken 1854 1925 which contains several of his most famous essays Lun shi bian zhi ji 論世變之亟 On the Speed of World Change Yuan qiang 原強 On the Origin of Strength Pi Han 辟韓 In Refutation of Han Yu Jiuwang jue lun 救亡決論 On our Salvation Later from 1898 to 1909 Yan Fu went on to translate the following major works of Western liberal thought Evolution and Ethics Thomas Henry Huxley as Tianyan lun 天演論 On Evolution 1896 1898 The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith as Yuan fu 原富 On Wealth 1901 The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spencer as Qunxue yiyan 群學肄言 A Study of Sociology 1903 On Liberty by John Stuart Mill as Qunji quanjie lun 群己權界論 On the Boundary between the Self and the Group 1903 A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill as Mule mingxue 穆勒名學 Mill s Logic 1903 A History of Politics by Edward Jenks as Shehui tongquan 社會通詮 A Full Account of Society 1903 The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu as Fayi 法意 The Meaning of the Laws 1904 1909 Primer of Logic by William Stanley Jevons as Mingxue qianshuo 名學淺說 An Outline of Logic 1909See also EditTranslationReferences EditBenjamin I Schwartz 1964 In Search of Wealth and Power Yen Fu and the West Cambridge Belknap Press of Harvard University Press in Chinese Shen Suru 沈蘇儒 1998 Lun Xin Da Ya Yan Fu Fanyi Lilun Yanjiu 論信達雅 嚴復翻譯理論硏究 On faithfulness understandability and elegance a study of Yan Fu s translation theory Beijing Commercial Press Wang Frederic 2009 The Relationship between Chinese Learning and Western Learning according to Yan Fu 1845 1921 Knowledge and Society Today Multiple Modernity Project Lyon France Notes Edit Benjamin I Schwartz 1964 In Search of Wealth and Power Yen Fu and the West Cambridge Belknap Press of Harvard University Press Pg 29 Benjamin I Schwartz 1964 In Search of Wealth and Power Yen Fu and the West Cambridge Belknap Press of Harvard University Press Pg 32 Yan Fu Britannica com Hegel Robert E The Chinese Novel at the Turn of the Century book review Chinese Literature Essays Articles Reviews CLEAR ISSN 0161 9705 07 1983 Volume 5 Issue 1 2 pp 188 191 Cited p 189 Lin Xiaoqing Diana Peking University Chinese Scholarship and Intellectuals 1898 1937 p 41 First Yan FU Academic Forum held at PKU Peking University 嚴復 譯例言 天演論 in Chinese via Wikisource Huang Ko wu 2003 The Reception of Yan Fu in the Twentieth Century China University Press of America 25 44External links Edit For a list of words relating to Yan Fu see the Terms coined by Yan Fu by language category of words in Wiktionary the free dictionary Wikimedia Commons has media related to Yan Fu Chinese Wikisource has original text related to this article Yan Fu s work in Chinese Detailed biography and with related essays in Chinese Some of his works on line including the translation of Evolution and Ethics Academic officesPreceded byMa Xiangbo President of Fudan University1906 1907 Succeeded byXia Jingguan zh Preceded byLao Naixuan zh as President of the Imperial University of Peking President of National Peking University3 May 1912 1 October 1912 Succeeded byZhang Shizhao Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Yan Fu amp oldid 1130626774, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
