Chinese Text Project Data wiki |
嚴復[View] [Edit] [History]ctext:545504
Relation | Target | Textual basis |
---|---|---|
type | person | |
name | 嚴復 | |
born | 1853 | |
died | 1921 | |
authority-cbdb | 54611 | |
authority-sinica | 16050 | |
authority-wikidata | Q559957 | |
link-wikipedia_zh | 嚴復 | |
link-wikipedia_en | Yan_Fu |
Read more...: Life Translation theory Translated works
Life
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 Fujian 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 and later on the battlecruiser Yangwu. 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".
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 Fujian Arsenal Academy and then Beiyang Naval Officers' School at Tianjin. During this time, Yan Fu succumbed to the opium addiction that had sprung up in China.
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. 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.
Yan Fu served as an editor of the newspaper Guowen Bao. 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. 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.
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, 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
Yan stated in the preface to his translation of Evolution and Ethics that "there are three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance". 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: "...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". Other critiques of his work arose as Chinese scholars became more aware of Western learning.
Translated works
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 , 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 (On the Speed of World Change)
• Yuan qiang (On the Origin of Strength)
• Pi Han (In Refutation of Han Yu)
• Jiuwang jue lun (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 (On Evolution) 1896-1898
• The Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith as Yuan fu (On Wealth) 1901
• The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spencer as Qunxue yiyan (A Study of Sociology) 1903
• On Liberty by John Stuart Mill as Qunji quanjie lun (On the Boundary between the Self and the Group) 1903
• A System of Logic by John Stuart Mill as Mule mingxue (Mill』s Logic) 1903
• A History of Politics by Edward Jenks as Shehui tongquan (A Full Account of Society) 1903
• The Spirit of the Laws by Montesquieu as Fayi (The Meaning of the Laws) 1904-1909
• Primer of Logic by William Stanley Jevons as Mingxue qianshuo (An Outline of Logic) 1909
嚴復系統地將西方的社會學、政治學、政治經濟學、哲學和自然科學介紹到中國,他翻譯了《天演論》、《原富》、《群學肄言》、《群己權界論》、《社會通詮》、《法意》、《名學淺說》、《穆勒名學》等著作。他的譯著在當時影響巨大,是中國20世紀最重要啟蒙譯著。嚴復的翻譯考究、嚴謹,每個譯稱都經深思熟慮,他提出的「信、達、雅」的翻譯標準對後世的翻譯工作產生深遠影響。
Read more...: 生平 著作 翻譯 大清國歌編寫 呼籲廢八股 故居與墓地 軼事 家族 參考文獻及注釋 研究書目 外部鏈接
生平
1854年1月8日(咸豐三年十二月初十日)嚴復出生于福建侯官(今福建省福州市倉山區蓋山鎮陽岐村)一中醫世家。
1866年(同治五年)嚴復父親病逝,學館中輟,嚴復放棄走科舉「正途」。
1867年(同治六年)入福州船政學堂學習駕駛,改名宗光,字又陵。
1871年(同治十年)福州船政學堂畢業,為該學堂第一屆畢業生,先後在「建威艦」、「揚武艦」實習5年。
1872年(同治十一年)取得「選用道員」資格,改名復,字幾道。
1877年3月(光緒三年二月)赴英國學習海軍,與出使英國大臣郭嵩燾結為忘年交。
1879年6月(光緒五年五月)畢業于倫敦格林威治皇家海軍學院,回國後被聘為福州船政學堂後學堂教習。
1880年(光緒六年)到天津任北洋水師學堂所屬駕駛學堂「洋文正教習」,學生中有後來因辛亥革命而出名的黎元洪。
1889年(光緒十五年)報捐同知銜,以知府選用,派為北洋水師學堂會辦。
1890年(光緒十六年)升為北洋水師學堂總辦。
1891年10月8日(光緒十六年)嚴複獲得「候選道員」官銜,事出有因:李鴻章在「辦理海軍請獎折」所附清單中提到:「直隸試用道呂耀斗擬請歸候補班前補用」,「候補知府馬複恆、鮑蘭徵、嚴複均擬請免選本班,以道員不論雙單月遇缺前先選用」。
1895年(光緒二十一年)中日甲午戰爭後在天津《直報》發表《論世變之亟》、《原強》、《闢韓》、《救亡決論》等文,主張變法維新、武裝抗擊外來侵略。
1896年(光緒二十二年)創辦俄文館,並任總辦,俄文館為中國最早的俄語學校;幫助張元濟在北京創辦通藝學堂;9月24日捐款100元資助梁啓超與汪康年在上海創辦的《時務報》。
1897年(光緒二十三年)和王修植、夏曾佑等在天津創辦《國聞報》和《國聞匯編》,宣傳變法維新;將《天演論》在《國聞報》報上連續發表。
1898年(光緒二十四年)光緒帝命嚴復來京覲見,闡述變法主張;改捐同知;撰《上光緒皇帝萬言書》。9月《國聞報》因報道戊戌政變的詳情,被清政府勒令停辦。
1900年(光緒二十六年)義和團運動爆發,嚴復離開天津,避居上海;參加汪康年、唐才常發起的「中國議會」,被選為副會長;創辦名學會,講演名學。
1901年(光緒二十七年)應開平礦務局總辦張冀邀請赴天津主開平礦務局事,後任該局總辦。
1902年(光緒二十八年)赴北京任京師大學堂附設譯書局總辦。
1904年(光緒三十年)辭去京師大學堂附設譯書局總辦一職,回到上海。1904年冬發生開平礦務局訴訟事件,被邀前往英國倫敦進行交涉。
1905年(光緒三十一年)孫中山由美洲到達英國,特意去拜訪嚴復,二人進行了長時間的會談。回到上海,協助馬相伯創辦復旦公學。
1906年(光緒三十二年),任復旦公學校長,為該校第二任校長。被安徽巡撫恩銘聘去任安慶任安徽師範學堂監督。
1907年(光緒三十三年)恩銘被刺,嚴復離開安徽師範學堂。
1908年(光緒三十四年)在北京任學部審定名詞館總纂。
1909年5月(宣統元年四月)被派充為憲政編查館二等諮議官、福建省顧問官
1910年1月17日(宣統元年十二月七日)清廷賜予文科進士出身。
1910年(宣統二年)海軍部授為協都統,後任資政院議員。
1912年京師大學堂更名為北京大學校,任首任校長;11月辭去校長職務。
1913年總統府外交法律顧問。發起組織孔教會,並以任為首領。
1914年1月26日被舉為約法會議議員;後被任為參政院參政。憲法起草委員。
1915年5月嚴復被袁世凱聘為憲法起草員。8月23日籌安會宣布成立,嚴復列名為籌安會的發起人,支持袁世凱復闢帝制。
1916年袁世凱死後,國會要求懲辦禍首及籌安會六君子,嚴復避禍于天津。
1917年對張勳復闢表示同情。
1919年五四運動認為支持學生運動的蔡元培不識時務。
1920年因哮喘病久治無效,回到福州養病。
1921年10月27日在福州郎官巷住宅與世長辭。
著作
;專欄
• 《論世變之亟》,《直報》,1895年
• 《原強》,《直報》,1895年
• 《闢韓》,《直報》,1895年
• 《救亡決論》,《直報》,1895年
;翻譯
• 《天演論》,赫胥黎,光緒丙申(1896)譯序,湖北沔陽盧氏慎始基齋木刻出版,清光緒24年(1898年),富文書局石印本,光緒27年(1901)(1897年12月至1898年2月以《天演論懸疏》為題在《國聞彙編》刊載。原著書名為Evolution and Ethics,1893初版,依1894年再版譯。)
• 《原富》(即《國富論》),亞當·斯密,南洋公學譯書院出版,清光緖二十七年(1901)10月(原著書名為An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations,1776年版)
• 《穆勒名學》,約翰·穆勒,清光緖二十八年(1902)譯,南京金粟齋出版,光緖三十一年(1905);上海商務印書館,1913年12再版(原著書名:A System of Logic,Ratiocinative and lnductive,1843)
• 《群己權界論》,約翰·穆勒,上海商務印書館,清光緖二十九年(1903)(原著書名:On Liberty,1859)
• 《群學肄言》(即《社會學研究》),斯賓塞,上海文明編譯書局,清光緖二十九年(1903),改訂版,上海商務印書館,民國四年(1915)(原著書名:The Study of Sociology,1874)
• 《社會通詮》,甄克斯,上海商務印書館,清光緖二十九年(1903)(原著書名:A history of politics,1900)
• 《灋意》(即《論法的精神》),孟德斯鳩,上海商務印書館,清光緖三十年(1904)至清宣統元年(1909)(法語:De l'esprit des lois,1748,譯依Thomas Nugent英譯本The Spirit of Laws,1750)
• 《名學淺說》,耶方斯,上海商務印書館,清宣統元年(1909)(原著書名:Primer of logic.1876)
;叢書
• 《嚴幾道詩文鈔》
• 《癒壄堂詩集》
• 《嚴幾道文集》
• 《嚴譯名著叢刊》
• 《侯官嚴氏叢刊》
• 《侯官嚴氏叢刻》
• 《嚴侯官先生全集》
;他人彙編
• 《嚴復集》,中華書局,王栻主編,北京,1986年。
翻譯
;譯著
嚴復總共譯有8部西方作品,合稱「嚴譯名著八種」。嚴復對自己的譯著頗有自信,曾在信中說:「且彼中有數部要書,非僕為之,可決30年中無人可為者。」。嚴復譯書的稿費大都用於償還債務。
;誤譯
俞政曾在《嚴複譯著研究》一書中指嚴復有多處「誤譯」,亦表示「嚴複一生著、譯甚多。他在翻譯西方論著的時候,常常摻雜己意,還要附加大量按語;有些譯作甚至帶有不同程度的改編(如《天演論》、《名學淺說》):因此,人們把他的翻譯作品稱為「譯著」。意思是說他的譯作中的不少內容相當于他的著作,反映的是他自己的思想。」然汪榮祖在《重讀嚴復的翻譯》一文中則否定俞政的說法,表示俞政指出嚴復的誤譯,有的只是「意譯」與「直譯」上的區別。
大清國歌編寫
1911年(宣統三年),皇帝下詔旨令典禮院和禮部各衙門創作「國樂」。同年10月4日(農曆八月十三)正式「諭旨頒行」,名為《鞏金甌》。嚴復正是這首國歌的作詞人。
呼籲廢八股
嚴複在1895年所撰的《救亡決論》中提出了「廢八股」的要求,認為「今日中國不變法則必亡是已。然則變將何先?曰:莫亟于廢八股」。嚴複認為,科舉制度有「錮智慧」、「壞心術」、「滋游手」三大弊害,「使天下消磨歲月于無用之地,墮壞志節于冥昧之中。長人虛驕,昏人神智,上不足以輔國家,下不足以資事畜。破壞人才,國隨貧弱」。因此嚴複主張,如若不改科舉、廢八股,所謂練兵、所謂通商都只能是一句空話。「何則?無人才,則之數事者,雖舉亦廢故也。」
故居與墓地
嚴復故居位于福建省福州市鼓樓區郎官巷,建築融合了中國晚清及民國時期的風格,2003年故居修繕完畢對遊客開放。
嚴復墓位于福建省福州市蓋山鎮陽岐村北鰲頭山東麓,嚴復夫婦合葬于此,為福建省級文物保護單位。1970年代文化大革命時期嚴復墓曾遭破壞;1984年~1988年,得到福建省行政部門的撥款和嚴復長孫女嚴倚雲的捐款,嚴復墓得以修復。
軼事
• 嚴復一生不得志,或許跟他狂傲的個性有關。接替郭嵩燾任英法公使的曾紀澤斥嚴複「狂傲矜張」,郭嵩燾提醒嚴復:「今負氣太盛者,其終必無成,即古人亦皆然也」。
• 嚴複一生嗜吸鴉片,一直持續到晚年,1919年他在給兒子的信中寫道:「以年老之人,鴉片不複吸食,筋肉酸楚,殆不可任,夜間非服藥不能睡。嗟夫,可謂苦已!」
• 晚年的嚴復已經是一名保守派人物。他發起籌安會,支援袁世凱復闢帝制,又同情張勳復闢。他嘲笑胡適等新文學革命派是「如春鳥秋蟲,聽其自鳴自止可耳。」
• 中國民間流傳,當年嚴復與日本首相伊藤博文在英國留學時是同班同學,嚴復是全班(?校)第一名畢業,伊藤博文得第二名。
• 這個故事最早可從劉復(劉半農)的詩集《揚鞭集》中找到,後來錢基博《現代中國文學史》、楊蔭深《中國文學家列傳》、蔡冠洛《清代七百名人傳》、《河殤》均引此說。
• 《清代七百名人傳》寫道:「(嚴複)光緒二年,派赴英國海軍學校,肄戰術及炮台建築諸學。是時日本亦始遣人留學西洋,伊藤博文、大隈重信之倫皆其選也。複得最上第……」。1989年10月7日北京《團結報》刊登《才子的不同命運》文章,仍沿續此誤。以上說法牽強附會,以訛傳訛。
• 事實上,兩人在入學年份、就讀學校、專業選擇上並無交集。嚴複1877年3月(光緒三年二月)赴英國皇家海軍學院學習海軍,1879年提前回國後,被聘為福州船政學堂教習;而伊藤博文于1863年入讀倫敦大學學院,師從亞歷山大·威廉·威廉姆遜,一年後(1864年)歸國,回國後發現長州藩也被炮轟了(下關戰爭),即加入長州藩軍隊,反對幕府統治,主張「開國進取」,明治維新成功後,在木戶孝允、大久保利通和細田道一的領導下負責處理外交事務。
家族
嚴複生有九個兒女(五子四女)。
• 三子嚴琥(1897-1962)字叔夏,生於天津,中華人民共和國成立後歷任協和大學校務委員會主任、福州大學校務委員會副主任兼教務長、福州市副市長,省、市人大代表和政協委員。1962年病逝。1919嚴琥在老家陽岐玉屏山莊與台灣板橋林家小姐林慕蘭結婚。
• 三女嚴瓏結識黃金生,與其結婚,移民台灣。
• 長孫是三子嚴琥的長子嚴僑,中國共產黨黨員,移民台灣,任教於台中一中,後被拘捕,關押在火燒島。是李敖的高中一年級數學老師,也是李敖「最難忘的老師」。妻子林倩為舅舅板橋林家林熊祥之女、臺灣著名歷史學者林衡道之妹。
• 三孫女嚴倬雲(嚴琥之女),台灣政商聞人辜振甫之妻。
• 四孫女華嚴(本名嚴停雲)(嚴琥之女),作家,葉明勳之妻。
參考文獻及注釋
研究書目
• Benjamin Schwartz著,葉鳳美譯:《尋求富強:嚴復與西方》(南京:江蘇人民出版社,1990)。
• 黃克武:《自由的所以然:嚴復對約翰彌爾自由思想的認識與批判》(上海:上海書店出版社,2000)。
• 黃克武:《惟適之安:嚴復與近代中國的文化轉型》(台北:聯經出版事業股份有限公司,2010)。
外部鏈接
• 吳展良:〈嚴復早期的求道之旅─兼論傳統學術性格與思維方式的繼承與轉化 〉。
• 吳展良:〈嚴復的「物競天擇」說析論 〉。
• 吳展良:〈中西最高學理的綰合與衝突:嚴復「道通為一」說析論 〉。
• 麥勁生:〈嚴復對西方經典之詮釋:價值取向與歷史意義 〉。
• 黃克武:〈走向翻譯之路:北洋水師學堂時期的嚴復 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復的異性情緣:性別關係與思想境界 〉。
• 黃克武:〈何謂天演?嚴復「天演之學」的內涵與意義 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復對約翰彌爾自由思想的認識與批判 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復對約翰彌爾自由思想的認識:以嚴譯《群己權界論》(On Liberty)為中心之分析 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復晚年思想的一個側面:道家思想與自由主義之會通 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復的終極追尋:自由主義與文化交融 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴復與梁啟超 〉。
• 黃克武:〈思議與不可思議:嚴復的知識觀 〉。
• 黃克武:〈發明與想像的延伸:嚴復與西方的再思索 〉。
• 黃克武:〈新名詞之戰:清末嚴復譯語與和製漢語的競賽 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴複的翻譯:近百年來中西學者的評論 〉。
• 黃克武:〈嚴複與近代中國的文化轉型 〉。
• 周昌龍:〈嚴復自由觀的三層意義 〉。
• 沈國威:〈嚴複與「科學」〉。
• 陳瑋芬:〈西學啟蒙:由中村敬宇和嚴復的翻譯事業觀其會通東西的實踐 〉。
• 高柳信夫:〈西周與嚴複:以學問觀、道德觀為中心 〉。
Source | Relation |
---|---|
嚴復集 | creator |
Text | Count |
---|---|
清史稿 | 2 |
Enjoy this site? Please help. | Site design and content copyright 2006-2024. When quoting or citing information from this site, please link to the corresponding page or to https://ctext.org. Please note that the use of automatic download software on this site is strictly prohibited, and that users of such software are automatically banned without warning to save bandwidth. 沪ICP备09015720号-3 | Comments? Suggestions? Please raise them here. |