严复中英文简介

严复（1853——1921）：tripleprincipleoftranslation信（faithfulness）：忠实准确达（expressiveness）：通顺流畅雅（elegance）：文字古雅Yanfuputforwardthis“threecharacterguide”inhisprefacetothetranslationofT.H.Huxley`sbookEvolutionandEthicsandOtherEssays（《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。……Translationhastodothreedifficultthings：tobefaithful，expressive，andelegant。Itisdifficultenoughtobefaithfultotheoriginal，andyetifatranslationisnotexpressive，itistantamounttohavingnotranslation.Henceexpressivenessshouldberequiredtoo……TheBookofChangessaysthatthefirstrequisiteofrhetoricistruthfulness.Confuciussaysthatexpressivenessisallthatmattersinlanguage。Headdsthatifone`slanguagelacksgrace，itwon`tgofar.Thesethreequalities，then，arethecriteriaofgoodwritingand，Ibelieve，ofgoodtranslationtoo.Hencebesidesfaithfulnessandexpressiveness，Ialsoaimatelegance.Istriveforelegancenotjusttomakemytranslationstravelfar，buttoexpresstheoriginalwriter`sideasbetter，forIfindthatsubtlethoughtsarebetterexpressedinthevocabularyandsyntaxofpre-Hanprosethanthoseofthevulgarwritingsoftoday.Usingthelatteroftenleadstodistortionofmeaning，which，howeverslight，resultsinvastmisunderstanding.Weighingtheprosandcons，Ioptedfortheformer，asamatterofnecessity，nottryingtobedifferent.……YanFu(simplifiedChinese:严复;HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Traditional_Chinese_characters"traditionalChinese:嚴復;HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinyin"pinyin:YánFù;HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wade%18CGiles"Wade–Giles:YenFu;HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Courtesy_name"courtesyname:JiDao,幾道;8January1854—27October1921)wasaHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China"ChinesescholarandHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translator"translator,mostfamousforintroducingwesternideas,includingHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Darwin"Darwin's"HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection"naturalselection,"toChinainthelate19thcentury.LifeYanFustudiedattheFujianArsenalAcademy(福州船政學堂)inHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuzhou"Fuzhou,HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fujian_Province"FujianProvince.In1877–79hestudiedattheNavyAcademyinHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greenwich"Greenwich,HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/England"England.UponhisreturntoChina,hewasunabletopasstheHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Imperial_Civil_Service_Examination"ImperialCivilServiceExamination,whileteachingattheFujianArsenalAcademyandthenBeiyangNavalOfficers'School(北洋水師學堂)atHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tianjin"Tianjin.ItwasnotuntilaftertheChinesedefeatintheHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Sino-Japanese_War"FirstSino-JapaneseWar(1894–95,foughtforcontrolofHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Korea"Korea)thatYanFubecamefamous.Heiscelebratedforhistranslations,includingHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thomas_Huxley"ThomasHuxley'sHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_Ethics"EvolutionandEthics,HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adam_Smith"AdamSmith'sHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wealth_of_Nations"WealthofNations,HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Stuart_Mill"JohnStuartMill'sHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/On_Liberty"OnLibertyandHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Herbert_Spencer"HerbertSpencer'sStudyofSociology.YancritiquedtheideasofDarwinandothers,offeringhisowninterpretations.Theideasof"HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Natural_selection"naturalselection"and"HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_of_the_fittest"survivalofthefittest"wereintroducedtoChinesereadersthroughHuxley'swork.TheformerideawasfamouslyrenderedbyYanFuintoChineseastiānzé(天擇).Hebecamearespectedscholarforhistranslations,andbecamepoliticallyactive.In1895hewasinvolvedintheHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gongche_Shangshu_movement"GongcheShangshumovement.In1912hebecamethefirstprincipalofNationalPekingUniversity(nowHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peking_University"PekingUniversity).TranslationtheoryYanstatedintheprefacetohistranslationofEvolutionandEthics(天演論)that"therearethreedifficultiesinHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation"translation:faithfulness,expressiveness,andelegance"(譯事三難：信達雅).Hedidnotsetthemasgeneralstandardsfortranslationanddidnotsaythattheywereindependentofeachother.However,sincethepublicationofthatwork,thephrase"faithfulness,expressiveness,andelegance"hasbeenattributedtoYanFuasastandardforanygoodtranslationandhasbecomeaHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clich%18%16"clichéinChineseacademiccircles,givingrisetonumerousdebatesandtheses.SomescholarsarguethatthisdictumactuallyderivedfromBritishtheoreticianofHYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translation"translation,HYPERLINK"http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alexander_Fraser_Tytler"AlexanderFraserTytler.（素材和部分来自网络，供参考。可复制、编制，期待您的好评与关注）