05第三讲 明末清初的西学翻译 第二部分严复

Lecture 3 (continued)

严复（1854—1921）A pioneer in seeking truth from the West and the first Chinese who systematically introduced Western learning to China in modern Chinese history.

中国近代史上向西方国家寻找真理的“先进的中国人”之一。我国近代史上第一个把西方资本主义经典著作系统地介绍到中国来的人。

Eight famous translations by Y an Fu: 言译八大名著：

1) Evolution and Ethics by Thomas Henry Huxley （《天演论》赫胥黎原著）, translated in 1895 and published in 1898, which brought him instant success and made his name known all over China. It promulgated the ideology of social evolutio n that “the fittest survives in the natural selection” and that “the superior is selected while the inferior is eliminated.揭示“物竞天择、适者生存，优胜劣汰”的社会进化思想

Being first theoretical work on philosophy introduced into China, Tianyan Lun exerted a far and wide influence among Chinese people and became the theoretical foundation for the reformers in search of truth of saving the nation from extinction. 近代引进的第一部哲学理论著作,成为当时维新派救国图存的重要理论基础。

2 ) An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith (or shortened Wealth of Nations 《原富》亚当·斯密原著），the first translated work on economics in modern-time China;

3 ) The Study of Sociology by Herbert Spenser ( 《群学肄言》斯宾塞) , a masterwork on sociology；

4) A History of Politics by E. Jenks ( 《社会通诠》甄克斯), a masterwork on sociology;

5) System of Logic by John Stuart Mill (《穆勒名学》) , a famous work on logics;

6. Logic by William Stanley Jevons (《名学浅说》（后改名《名学》，耶芳斯) ，a masterwork on logics;

7) . The Spirit of the Law by Montesquieu (《法意》孟德斯鸠)，a classical work on the science of law;

8) On Liberty by John Stuart Mill (《群己权界论》约翰·穆勒)，an important work on bourgeoisie political science;

The subject of these translations include politics, economy, philosophy, law, ethics, sociology, etc. involving various fields of social sciences. 内容囊括政治、经济、哲学、法律、伦理、社会学等诸多社科领域。

They were called “Eight famous translated works by Yan Fu” in Chinese translation history. 严译“八大名著”或严译“八经”。

With a clear purpose, Yan Fu was very selective as to what to translate. What he translated and introduced into China was the quintessence of the Western learning, and his translated works put together, constituted a relatively integral ideological system of administering a country. 严复所选择的这些书都是西学的精髓，这些著作合在一起，可以构成一个相对完整的治国的思想体系。

He selected Evolution and Ethics for translation with the purpose of making the Chinese aware of the fact that the biological law of survival of the fittest was applicable to social development as well and warning them of the danger of possible elimination.

If China did not fight for its own existence, it would succumb to ineluctable domination or genocide. As can be imagined, the translation of Evolution and Ethics set off a heated debate throughout the country.