The practice of Yan Fu's translation principle of "faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance" in Evolution and Ethics: Enlightenment discourse and theoretical adaptation
严复“信达雅”翻译观在《天演论》中的实践——启蒙话语与理论调适

摘要

在晚清西学东渐与民族救亡的历史语境下，严复通过翻译《天演论》实践并调适了其“信、达、雅”的翻译原则，使其超越了单纯的翻译标准，成为构建启蒙话语的关键。本研究旨在深入探讨严复如何在其翻译实践中动态平衡这三原则，以实现其思想启蒙的核心目的。通过采用文本对比与历史语境分析的方法，系统剖析了《天演论》译本。研究发现，严复的实践呈现出明确的目的导向性：首先，“信”并非绝对忠实，而是服务于“达旨”，通过对赫胥黎原著的战略性取舍、叙事框架的转换（如改用“赫胥黎曰”）及插入大量按语，构建了“译作合一”的启蒙文本。其次，在“达”的层面，其卓越的术语创制（如“天演”、“治化”）深度融合了中国哲学范畴，实现了西方概念的本土化转译。最后，“雅”的桐城派古文运用，不仅关乎审美，更是一种使异质思想能为士大夫阶层所接纳的文化与政治策略，有效保障了思想的传播效能。研究结论认为，严复对“信达雅”的运用是一种服务于“译以救亡”时代使命的功能性调适，其翻译活动因此成为一种创造性的思想启蒙，为翻译理论的本土化与跨文化传播提供了经典范例。

Abstract

In the historical context of the late Qing Dynasty, characterized by the eastward dissemination of Western learning and the national struggle for survival, Yan Fu, through his translation of Evolution and Ethics, practiced and adapted his translation principle of “Xin, Da, Ya”(faithfulness, expressiveness, and elegance). This adaptation elevated the principle beyond a mere translation standard, establishing it as crucial for constructing Enlightenment discourse. This study aims to conduct an in-depth exploration of how Yan Fu dynamically balanced these three principles in his translation practice to achieve his core objective of intellectual enlightenment. Employing methodologies of textual comparison and historical-contextual analysis, this research systematically examines the translated text of Evolution and Ethics. The findings reveal a distinct purpose-oriented approach in Yan Fu’s practice: Firstly, “Xin” (faithfulness) was not absolute fidelity but served the purpose of “conveying the essence” (Da Zhi). Through strategic selection from Huxley’s original work, the transformation of the narrative framework (e.g., adopting “Huxley said: ” ), and the insertion of numerous annotations, Yan Fu constructed an enlightening text characterized by the “integration of translation and original composition”. Secondly, regarding “Da” (expressiveness), his masterful creation of terminology (e.g., “Tian Yan” for evolution, “Zhi Hua” for cosmic process/civilization) deeply integrated traditional Chinese philosophical concepts, achieving the localization of Western ideas. Finally, the application of “Ya” (elegance) through the Tongcheng School’s classical prose style was not merely an aesthetic choice but also a cultural and political strategy to render foreign ideas acceptable to the scholar-official class, thereby effectively ensuring the dissemination of these ideas. The study concludes that Yan Fu’s application of “Xin, Da, Ya” constituted a functional adaptation serving the contemporary mission of “translation for national salvation.” Consequently, his translation activity became a form of creative intellectual enlightenment, providing a classic paradigm for the localization of translation theory and cross-cultural communication.