严复中英文简介

严复( 1853——1921)：triple principle of translation

信(faithfulness)：忠实准确

达(expressive nesS :通顺流畅

雅( eleganc^ ：文字古雅

Yan fu put forward this “ threceharacter guide ” inhis preface to the

tran slati on of T.H.Huxley's book Evoluti on and Ethics and Other Essays

(《天演论》译例言1898)

译事三难信达雅。求其信已大难矣。顾信矣不达。虽译尤不译也。则达尚

焉。……易曰修辞立诚。子曰辞达而已。又曰言之无文。行之不远。三者

乃文章正轨。亦即为译事楷模。故信达而外。求其尔雅。此不仅期以行远

已耳。实则精理微言。用汉以前字法句法。则为达易。用近世利俗文字。

则求达雅。往往抑义就词。毫厘千里。审择于斯二者之间。夫固有所不得

已。岂钓奇哉。……

Translation has to do three difficult things：to be faithful，expressive，

and elegant。It is difficult enough to be faithful to the original ，and yet if

a translation is not expressive，it is tantamount to having no

translation.Hence expressiveness should be required too

The Book Changes says that the first requisite of rhetoric is truthfulness. Confucius

says that expressiveness is all that matters in language。He adds that if

one's Ianguage lacks grace it won't go far.These three qualities then, are the criteria of good writing and, I believe, of good translation too.He nee besides faithfu In ess and expressive ness, I also aim at eleganee」strive for eleganee not just to make my translations travel far but to express the original writer's ideas better, for I find that subtle thoughts are better expressedin the vocabulary and syntax of pre-Han prose than those of the vulgar writings of today. Using the latter often leads to distortion of meaning, which, however slight, results in vast misunderstanding. Weighing the pros and cons I opted for the former, as a matter of necessity not trying to be different. ...................................................

Yan Fu

(simplified Chin ese:严复;

traditi onal Chinese 嚴復;

pinyin: Ydn F Q

Wade-Giles: Yen Fu;

courtesy n ame Ji Dao, 幾道;

8 Jan uary 1854—27 October 1921)

was a Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas, in cludi ng Darwin's "n atural selection" to Chi na in the late 19th cen tury.

Life

Yan Fu studied at the Fujian Arsenal Academy （福州船政學堂）in Fuzhou, Fujian Provinee. In 1877 —9 he studied at the Navy Academy in Gree nwich, En gla nd. Upon his return to Chi na, he was un able to pass the

Imperial Civil Service Exam in ati on , while teach ing at the Fujia n Arse nal

Academy and then Beiyang Naval Officers' School （北洋水師學堂）at

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 Wealth of Natio ns, Joh n Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Herbert Spencers Study of Sociology. Yan critiqued the ideas of Darwin and others, offeri ng his own in terpretati ons.

The ideas of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" were in troduced to Chi nese readers through Huxley's work. The former idea was