五四时期翻译活动对当时社会的影响

五四时期翻译活动对当时社会的影响
摘要：五四时期是中国近代史上极其重要、不可忽视的一段时期，尤其需要指出的是，五四时期的中国社会正处于新旧制度衔接、新旧知识衔接、新旧道德衔接的重要转折时期。

在这一风云变幻的时期，为拯救中华民族于水火之中，中国的先进知识分子翻译大量西方著作，引进西学，对当时社会的文学、教育、政治等方面产生了重要影响。

特定的历史环境因素也对翻译活动造成了不可忽视的影响，催生了不同的翻译理论，使翻译作品各具特色，进而促进翻译界的大繁荣。

关键词：五四时期；翻译理论；翻译作品特色；繁荣
The Influence of Translation Activities on Society during the May 4th Movement Abstract: The May Fourth Period is a very important and significant period in the modern history of China. What‟s more, Chinese society of the May 4th Period is in the important turning period when system, knowledge and morals are in the transition from the old to the new. During such a changeable era, numerous Chinese advanced intellectuals translated a large number of works from the west and introduced western knowledge to Chinese people in order to save Chinese nation from deep sufferings, which made a great impact on literature, education, politics, etc. Specific cultural factors also made a great impact on translation activities, bringing different translation theories into being, endowing translation works full of unique features, which led to prosperity of translation circles.
Key words: The May 4th Period; translation theories; the features of translation work; prosperity
Nowadays, we human beings are living in the global village where translation activities are of great importance in our daily life. Actually, back to ninety years ago, translation activities are equally important during the May 4th Movement. However, the situation is different because the translation activities of that time were more complex as they were closely related to social life at that time such as literature, education, politics, etc. The May 4th Period in this paper refers to the ten years from 1917 to 1927, a period in which western learning flocked into China, influencing a great number of intellectuals from all walks of life. During the ten years, translation
activities presented an unprecedented prosperity and different translation theories arose freely, thus such period was regarded as a milestone in our Chinese translation history. Though nine decades passed, more and more researches are put forward to study the translation activities of that time.
1.2 Objectives and Meaning of the Research
It‟s widely acknowledged that western learning occupies an i mportant position in the development of China, and the influence of western learning is often realized by the means of translation. In the past ninety years, western learning and Chinese learning have changed a lot relatively. By comparing the development of these two kinds of learning, however, we can easily find it seems that the relationship between western learning and Chinese learning doesn‟t change so much. Thus, studying the translation activities during the May 4th Movement and their influence on society of that time is of great importance. Firstly, the analysis on type, quantity and origin country of translation works helps us learn more about the relationship between translation activities and enlightenment of that day. Secondly, the study of translation activities during the May 4th Movement makes sense to some historical debates, then further emphasizes the historical significance and practical meaning of translation activities of the May 4th Movement. Last but not least, the study of the influence of translation activities on society during the May 4th Movement can also draw people‟s attention to the current translation activities on present society.
1.3 Contents of the Research
The May 4th Movement is very important for China. And comparing the translation activities of this period with that in late Qing Dynasty, we can find significant difference between them because translation activities during the May 4th Movement have their own features. Generally speaking, foreign works introduced to China in this period often plays the role to awaken Chinese people. Looking back in 21st century, it‟s necessary and available to study the influence of translation activities on society during the May 4th Movement such as literature, education and politics. And before that, this paper will analyze various translation theories and great translators emerged in that Period.。