Modern Selfhood in Translation: A Study of Progressive Translation Practices in China (1890s–1920s) (New Frontiers in Translation Studies)

This book examines the development of Chinese translation practice in relation to the rise of ideas of modern selfhood in China from the 1890s to the 1920s. The key translations produced by late Qing and early Republican Chinese intellectuals over the three decades in question reflect a preoccupation with new personality ideals informed by foreign models and the healthy development of modern individuality, in the face of crises compounded by feelings of cultural inadequacy. The book clarifies how these translated works supplied the meanings for new terms and concepts that signify modern human experience, and sheds light on the ways in which they taught readers to internalize the idea of the modern as personal experience. Through their selection of source texts and their adoption of different translation strategies, the translators chosen as case studies championed a progressive view of the world: one that was open-minded and humanistic. The late Qing construction of modern Chinese identity, instigated under the imperative of national salvation in the aftermath of the First Sino-Japanese War, wielded a far-reaching influence on the New Culture discourse. This book argues that the New Culture translations, being largely explorations of modern self-consciousness, helped to produce an egalitarian cosmopolitan view of modern being. This was a view favoured by the majority of mainland intellectuals in the post-Maoist 1980s and which has since become an important topic in mainland scholarship.-- Provided by publisher Dedication 6 Acknowledgments 7 Introduction 9 From Self-Strengthening to New Culture 11 Identity, Chinese Modernity and Translation 15 The Role of Translation and Translators in Translation Studies 18 Approaches to Researching Chinese Translation History and Overview of Chapters 21 References 26 Contents 32 Chapter 1: Modernization Through Translation: Shifts and Trends (1890s–1900s) 35 1.1 Statistical Analysis of Translated Works 38 1.2 Modern Development of the Print Culture and the Rise of Translation 39 1.2.1 The Patronage of Publishers and Literary Journals 41 1.2.2 Liang Qichao: A Leading Patron of Translation 46 1.3 Translation from Japanese 52 1.4 Translation of Textbooks as a Response to the Promotion of Modern Education 55 1.5 Acquiring Modern Values Through Science Translation 59 1.5.1 From Gezhi to Kexue: “Science” and Modern Chinese Identity 59 1.5.2 Promotion of Scientific Understanding as a Marker of Modern Fitness 60 1.6 Translation of Fiction 63 1.6.1 Translation of Political Fiction 64 1.6.2 Translation of Science Fiction 65 1.6.3 Translation of Detective Stories 67 1.7 Conclusion 69 References 70 Chapter 2: Translation as an Education in Modern Values: Yan Fu and Liang Qichao 75 2.1 Yan Fu on Western Social Thought 77 2.1.1 Yan Fu’s Selection of Works for Translation 81 2.1.1.1 Evolution and Ethics (Tianyan lun) 81 2.1.1.2 Study of Sociology (Qunxue yiyan) 83 2.1.1.3 An Inquiry into the Nature and Cause of the Wealth of Nations (Yuan fu) 84 2.1.1.4 On Liberty (Qun ji quanjie lun) 85 2.1.1.5 A Short History of Politics (Shehui tongquan) 86 2.1.1.6 L’Esprit des lois (The Spirit of the Laws; Fa yi) 87 2.1.1.7 A System of Logic (Mule mingxue) and Primer of Logic (Mingxue qianshuo) 88 2.1.2 Yan Fu’s Translation and Writing Style 89 2.1.3 Yan Fu’s Translation Strategy as Dictated by His Ideology of Modernity 90 2.1.3.1 Annotations 92 2.1.3.2 Additions 93 2.1.3.3 Adaptations 94 2.2 Liang Qichao on Modern Citizenship Through Translation 97 2.2.1 Liang Qichao’s Promotion of Modern Attributes 98 2.2.2 Liang Qichao’s Fiction Translation 100 2.3 Conclusion 105 References 107 Chapter 3: Making a “New Culture” Through Translation 110 3.1 Acquisition of Western Knowledge 112 3.1.1 The Impact of Late Qing Translations on the New Generation of Chinese Intellectuals 113 3.1.1.1 The Influence of Yan Fu’s Translations on New Culture Leaders 113 3.1.1.2 Liang Qichao’s Influence on Hu Shi and Lu Xun 115 3.1.1.3 The Influence of Lin Shu’s Translations on the Zhou Brothers 117 3.1.2 Overseas Study 119 3.2 Translation as a Precursor to New Culture 122 3.3 Conclusion 136 References 137 Chapter 4: Translating New Culture into a Collective Identity 141 4.1 New Culture Collectives 144 4.1.1 The New Youth Group 146 4.1.2 The Association for Literary Studies and Short Story Monthly 148 4.2 The Growing Authority of Translated Works 151 4.3 Otherness and Identity Politics: New Youth Debates with Lin Shu 154 4.4 Conclusion 157 References 158 Chapter 5: Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (I): Hu Shi 161 5.1 Hu Shi’s Rewriting of Ibsen and Promotion of Liberal-­Individualist Ideals 166 5.2 Nora as a Literary Trope for Self-Empowerment 171 5.3 Hu Shi’s Short Story and Poetry Translation and His Development of Cosmopolitan Humanism 175 5.4 The Influence of Foreign Thinkers and Hu Shi’s Academic Approach to China’s Modern Transformation 178 5.5 Promotion of Modern Vernacular 181 5.6 Conclusion 185 References 186 Chapter 6: Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (II): Zhou Zuoren 188 6.1 Discovering Humanity in “Dishrags” and “Sad, Beautiful Souls” 194 6.2 Faith in Humanity 196 6.3 Zhou Zuoren and the May Fourth Cult of Children 200 6.4 Promoting Gender Equality and Modern Womanhood 202 6.5 The Naturalness of Humanity and the “Invisible Utility” (Wuxing de gongli) 205 6.6 Conclusion 212 References 214 Chapter 7: Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (III): Lu Xun 217 7.1 The Nietzschean Spirit 220 7.2 An Instructive Realism 224 7.3 The Social Exteriorization of Mental Anguish 228 7.4 Investing Hope in the Young 232 7.5 Conclusion 237 References 238 Conclusion 241 References 246 Appendix 248 Key Translated Works Discussed (1898–1925) 248 Front Matter ....Pages i-xxxv Modernization Through Translation: Shifts and Trends (1890s–1900s) (Limin Chi)....Pages 1-40 Translation as an Education in Modern Values: Yan Fu and Liang Qichao (Limin Chi)....Pages 41-75 Making a “New Culture” Through Translation (Limin Chi)....Pages 77-107 Translating New Culture into a Collective Identity (Limin Chi)....Pages 109-128 Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (I): Hu Shi (Limin Chi)....Pages 129-155 Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (II): Zhou Zuoren (Limin Chi)....Pages 157-185 Constructing the Modern Self in Translation (III): Lu Xun (Limin Chi)....Pages 187-210 Back Matter ....Pages 211-220