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The Translation Of Western Legal Thoughts In Modern China

Posted on:2018-01-14Degree:DoctorType:Dissertation
Country:ChinaCandidate:D M WangFull Text:PDF
GTID:1365330542470743Subject:Translation science
Abstract/Summary:PDF Full Text Request
De l'esprit des lois,one of the ten most influential French books in China,was first fully translated by Yan Fu into Fa Yi.Using a research method of combining close text analysis with historical facts,this dissertation,from the perspective of the translational cultural history,explores,from both macro and micro level,the event of this translation,its interaction with the historical cultural context and how the western thoughts were known and accepted by modern Chinese intellectuals.The major findings of this dissertation are as follows:First,the causation for the translation of such a book is:it is an answer to the call of the time—the last decade of Qing Dynasty underwent successively political reform,law revision and preparation for constitutionalism;it is also Yan Fu's enlightenment ambition to analyze the difference between western and Chinese civilization in terms of the legal system and the philosophical principles behind it.Second,under the the pressure to enlighten the people,both the text and translational notes in Fa Yi display Yan Fu's usual discourse pattern,which consists of“translation,explanation,evaluation,discussion”.This demonstrates that Yan Fu's concern about the need of the time results in a certain degree of shifts in the translation,because his interpretation,evaluation and discussion cannot fully agree with the meaning of the source text.Third,Yan Fu used the method of illustration,analogy,cultural integration etc.in translating terms.Some of the key terms he rendered differed from the ones translated from the Japanese version.He used terms like“??”“??”“????”rather than“??”,“??”“??”.The deliberate choice of these terms,together with his translational notes helped develop his thoughts on“law and governance”.In the list of the thoughts on liberty he translated and introduced,his high priority was Montesquieu's“????”(political liberty),which is achieved through the proper distribution and balance of the legislative,executive and judiciary powers by means of the constitution.Fourth,Yan Fu also acted as an out-of-office legislator in translating The Spirit of Laws,offering his thinking on political reform,law revision and constitutional government.He invalidated the traditional Confucian rule by Li and the legalist school's rule by law,and proposed law be made for the interest of the people,that the emperor and the people be equal before law,and that powers be distributed between the emperor and the people through the constitution.All such thoughts exerted certain influence on Shen Jiaben,the official directing the law revision in the last decade of Qing Dynasty,and thus produced certain effect on the transformation of China's traditional legal system.To conclude,the production of Fa Yi is also part of Yan Fu's culture-conscious attempt under the threat of foreign aggression and domestic troubles faced by Qing Dynasty.He attempted to build new Chinese learning by translating western learning,so as to search for wealth,power and good governance.His translational purpose to enlighten the people determines the translation strategies and methods he used.Yan Fu's ambition is not just to impart western knowledge,but also to establish the idea of“rule oflaw" and to seek the“truth”of governance for lasting peace and order.
Keywords/Search Tags:Fa Yi, enlightenment translation, term translation methods, thoughts on law and governance, transformation of traditional legal system
PDF Full Text Request
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