Translation as metaphor: Yan Fu and his translation principles

This thesis was motivated by turn-of-the-century concerns in Chinese translation studies about the validity of the long-held translation principles proposed by Chinese translator Yan Fu and about the relevance of Yan's paradigmatic translation project to future research. It rereads the translation practice and intellectual thought of Yan Fu by adopting an interdisciplinary approach restructuring past studies that have been isolated in the areas of intellectual history and translation theory. The examination of his translation practice through a series of metaphor suggests, contrary to existing consensus, that faithfulness to the source text is irrelevant to his translation project. His translation principles are not pure literary notions; rather they are tied to the Confucian literary and exegetical tradition. These findings unfold new potentialities for a major research topic that has been challenged as having reached a cul-de-sac and point to a new direction for development in Chinese translation studies. New findings from the field of intellectual history help to clarify existing inconsistencies and political biases concerning Yan Fu's persona and historicize him as a persistent seeker of the Confucian dao. This testifies to the need to reassess his translation project in relation to the Confucian-based Chinese tradition. Close examination of his remarks on translation, correspondence and other writings suggests that his words and deeds are steeped in Confucian poetics, which represents a totally different concept from modern pure literary poetics. His commitment to Confucian ontological faith and ultimate concern for spiritual or cosmological transcendence are similar to the ends of some of the most influential translators in Chinese history and marks a higher level operation of translation as a tool for higher learning than as an occupation. Through translation as-intellectual critique, Yan mended indigenous coordinates for gauging alien propositions and constructed a hybridized discourse for reforming indigenous epistemology and methodology. His manipulative translations, as he claimed in his last extended translation, were intended for metaphorical explication of a certain subject with the source text as a point of departure, rather than an end to return to. Ironically the repercussions of the manipulative evolutionary discourse he engendered became further manipulated by the newer generations and fuelled more violent changes in a system on the verge of a crisis. While this subsequently led to the disruption of the conservative Confucian poetics and the gradual reform agenda he had desired, the reexamination of his translations and translation practice sheds light on system regeneration and the inheritance of Chinese culture in a modern world. The presentation of Yan Fu's translations suggests that he followed the Confucian literary tradition, which allowed exegetical and eisegetical interpretation of classics and commentaries for narrating the dao, and attempted mediation of a changing dao through translation as intellectual critique. Hermeneutical rereading of his xin-da-ya translation principles in relation to the Confucian exegetical tradition frees the study of his principles from recurrent perspectives and offers a systematic approach to the study of xin, da and ya as core values in Confucian poetics meaning faith, decorum and virtue respectively. His exercise of Confucian cosmological faith through translation releases the source text for a dialogue with a broader cosmic text, whereby the interaction of time and tradition-bound discourses obliges the translator to repeatedly highlight and transcend his own interpretive horizons and move the physical text beyond its original psychological and historical contexts, evincing dynamic interaction with the reader. This perspective offers a philosophical dimension to translation and valourizes translation as a virtuous act of conduct in the Chinese tradition and as cosmological transference of concepts and images in human's pursuit of truth and being. The promotion of the complex notion of translation beyond the word itself to the realm of metaphor facilitates exchange between languages and systems at the level of tertium comparationis and enables reasoning at the level of the universal logos. In the present study of Yan Fu, this helps to avoid recurrent arguments and leads to more balanced and constructive perspectives for the future development of a major research topic in Chinese translation studies. It also opens the possibility of exchange between a traditional theory and modern theories and between the Chinese translation tradition and other traditions

Authorship and Text-making in Early China

Der vorliegende Band berichtet über die bisherigen Aktivitäten des Instituts, seine Historie und Perspektiven und erlaubt darüber hinaus auch einen Blick hinter die Kulissen des Aufbaus eines Instituts in Afrika und auf die Lebensumstände und Eindrücke der Mitarbeiter

Authorship and Text-making in Early China

Der vorliegende Band berichtet über die bisherigen Aktivitäten des Instituts, seine Historie und Perspektiven und erlaubt darüber hinaus auch einen Blick hinter die Kulissen des Aufbaus eines Instituts in Afrika und auf die Lebensumstände und Eindrücke der Mitarbeiter

Translation as metaphor : Yan Fu and his translation principles

This thesis was motivated by turn-of-the-century concerns in Chinese translation studies about the validity of the long-held translation principles proposed by Chinese translator Yan Fu and about the relevance of Yan's paradigmatic translation project to future research. It rereads the translation practice and intellectual thought of Yan Fu by adopting an interdisciplinary approach restructuring past studies that have been isolated in the areas of intellectual history and translation theory. The examination of his translation practice through a series of metaphor suggests, contrary to existing consensus, that faithfulness to the source text is irrelevant to his translation project. His translation principles are not pure literary notions; rather they are tied to the Confucian literary and exegetical tradition. These findings unfold new potentialities for a major research topic that has been challenged as having reached a cul-de-sac and point to a new direction for development in Chinese translation studies. New findings from the field of intellectual history help to clarify existing inconsistencies and political biases concerning Yan Fu's persona and historicize him as a persistent seeker of the Confucian dao. This testifies to the need to reassess his translation project in relation to the Confucian-based Chinese tradition. Close examination of his remarks on translation, correspondence and other writings suggests that his words and deeds are steeped in Confucian poetics, which represents a totally different concept from modern pure literary poetics. His commitment to Confucian ontological faith and ultimate concern for spiritual or cosmological transcendence are similar to the ends of some of the most influential translators in Chinese history and marks a higher level operation of translation as a tool for higher learning than as an occupation. Through translation as-intellectual critique, Yan mended indigenous coordinates for gauging alien propositions and constructed a hybridized discourse for reforming indigenous epistemology and methodology. His manipulative translations, as he claimed in his last extended translation, were intended for metaphorical explication of a certain subject with the source text as a point of departure, rather than an end to return to. Ironically the repercussions of the manipulative evolutionary discourse he engendered became further manipulated by the newer generations and fuelled more violent changes in a system on the verge of a crisis. While this subsequently led to the disruption of the conservative Confucian poetics and the gradual reform agenda he had desired, the reexamination of his translations and translation practice sheds light on system regeneration and the inheritance of Chinese culture in a modern world. The presentation of Yan Fu's translations suggests that he followed the Confucian literary tradition, which allowed exegetical and eisegetical interpretation of classics and commentaries for narrating the dao, and attempted mediation of a changing dao through translation as intellectual critique. Hermeneutical rereading of his xin-da-ya translation principles in relation to the Confucian exegetical tradition frees the study of his principles from recurrent perspectives and offers a systematic approach to the study of xin, da and ya as core values in Confucian poetics meaning faith, decorum and virtue respectively. His exercise of Confucian cosmological faith through translation releases the source text for a dialogue with a broader cosmic text, whereby the interaction of time and tradition-bound discourses obliges the translator to repeatedly highlight and transcend his own interpretive horizons and move the physical text beyond its original psychological and historical contexts, evincing dynamic interaction with the reader. This perspective offers a philosophical dimension to translation and valourizes translation as a virtuous act of conduct in the Chinese tradition and as cosmological transference of concepts and images in human's pursuit of truth and being. The promotion of the complex notion of translation beyond the word itself to the realm of metaphor facilitates exchange between languages and systems at the level of tertium comparationis and enables reasoning at the level of the universal logos. In the present study of Yan Fu, this helps to avoid recurrent arguments and leads to more balanced and constructive perspectives for the future development of a major research topic in Chinese translation studies. It also opens the possibility of exchange between a traditional theory and modern theories and between the Chinese translation tradition and other traditions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceCity University of Hong Kong (CUHK)GBUnited Kingdo

Translation as metaphor : Yan Fu and his translation principles

This thesis was motivated by turn-of-the-century concerns in Chinese translation studies about the validity of the long-held translation principles proposed by Chinese translator Yan Fu and about the relevance of Yan's paradigmatic translation project to future research. It rereads the translation practice and intellectual thought of Yan Fu by adopting an interdisciplinary approach restructuring past studies that have been isolated in the areas of intellectual history and translation theory. The examination of his translation practice through a series of metaphor suggests, contrary to existing consensus, that faithfulness to the source text is irrelevant to his translation project. His translation principles are not pure literary notions; rather they are tied to the Confucian literary and exegetical tradition. These findings unfold new potentialities for a major research topic that has been challenged as having reached a cul-de-sac and point to a new direction for development in Chinese translation studies. New findings from the field of intellectual history help to clarify existing inconsistencies and political biases concerning Yan Fu's persona and historicize him as a persistent seeker of the Confucian dao. This testifies to the need to reassess his translation project in relation to the Confucian-based Chinese tradition. Close examination of his remarks on translation, correspondence and other writings suggests that his words and deeds are steeped in Confucian poetics, which represents a totally different concept from modern pure literary poetics. His commitment to Confucian ontological faith and ultimate concern for spiritual or cosmological transcendence are similar to the ends of some of the most influential translators in Chinese history and marks a higher level operation of translation as a tool for higher learning than as an occupation. Through translation as-intellectual critique, Yan mended indigenous coordinates for gauging alien propositions and constructed a hybridized discourse for reforming indigenous epistemology and methodology. His manipulative translations, as he claimed in his last extended translation, were intended for metaphorical explication of a certain subject with the source text as a point of departure, rather than an end to return to. Ironically the repercussions of the manipulative evolutionary discourse he engendered became further manipulated by the newer generations and fuelled more violent changes in a system on the verge of a crisis. While this subsequently led to the disruption of the conservative Confucian poetics and the gradual reform agenda he had desired, the reexamination of his translations and translation practice sheds light on system regeneration and the inheritance of Chinese culture in a modern world. The presentation of Yan Fu's translations suggests that he followed the Confucian literary tradition, which allowed exegetical and eisegetical interpretation of classics and commentaries for narrating the dao, and attempted mediation of a changing dao through translation as intellectual critique. Hermeneutical rereading of his xin-da-ya translation principles in relation to the Confucian exegetical tradition frees the study of his principles from recurrent perspectives and offers a systematic approach to the study of xin, da and ya as core values in Confucian poetics meaning faith, decorum and virtue respectively. His exercise of Confucian cosmological faith through translation releases the source text for a dialogue with a broader cosmic text, whereby the interaction of time and tradition-bound discourses obliges the translator to repeatedly highlight and transcend his own interpretive horizons and move the physical text beyond its original psychological and historical contexts, evincing dynamic interaction with the reader. This perspective offers a philosophical dimension to translation and valourizes translation as a virtuous act of conduct in the Chinese tradition and as cosmological transference of concepts and images in human's pursuit of truth and being. The promotion of the complex notion of translation beyond the word itself to the realm of metaphor facilitates exchange between languages and systems at the level of tertium comparationis and enables reasoning at the level of the universal logos. In the present study of Yan Fu, this helps to avoid recurrent arguments and leads to more balanced and constructive perspectives for the future development of a major research topic in Chinese translation studies. It also opens the possibility of exchange between a traditional theory and modern theories and between the Chinese translation tradition and other traditions.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceCity University of Hong Kong (CUHK)GBUnited Kingdo

Liu Zhiji's Shitong and its Revival in Ming Dynasty—Pacing Historiography Anew

The aim of the present research project was to prove the thesis of a significant break in the tradition of Chinese historiography in late Ming dynasty (1396-1644). This break found its specification in the revival of works which had been neglected and forbidden for several hundred years, especially the so-called shiping 史評-literature (literature about discussing and criticizing history and history works). In consequence, the emergence of ever more critical history works or works criticizing history can be observed. For the investigation of this thesis of a significant change in the field of historiography firstly the main features and progressions of Ming dynasty were sketched-the first part of the dissertation. To test the thesis of this change in tradition, Liu Zhiji's 劉知幾 (661-721) Shitong 史通 (Generalities on Historiography) from Tang dynasty was chosen as a characteristic example of the shiping-literature which was rediscovered eight hundred years after its emergence. Therefore, the Shitong and the "renaissance" of the Shitong-as a peculiarity of on-going processes in this time-was the subject of the second main part and the so-called case study. The aim was to introduce Liu Zhiji's important work and examine the importance and the cause of this "rediscovery" of Liu Zhiji's work. As part of this, it further was an object of the work to translate untranslated parts of the Ming time commentaries into a Western language, as well as statements and comments of Ming time historians concerning the reception of this work. Hence, this part of this research project consists of the translation of important parts of the commentaries-especially the insightful prefaces-and the occupation with the setting and background of the commentaries. The idea behind this concentration on the commentaries of the Shitong was always to regard them as specifications of the break in historiographical tradition. To understand the correlations and influences which contributed to the happenings in the realm of Ming historiography, it was important to understand ongoing processes in Ming China-particularly in the academic and philosophical realm-before concentrating on historiography. In the next step the research focused on the important point of the ongoing gonglun 公論 debate which tried to find a measure for what is right and wrong. This characteristic of the academic world was then put into the context of historiography. This part on the historiography of Ming China represents the main part of the whole research project. On the basis of many different Ming time history works (like e.g. Zhu Minggao's Shijiu 史纠, Shao Bao's Xueshi 學史or Lu Shen's Chuanyi Lu 傳疑録) the changes concerning the development of historiography in Ming China were put into light and exemplified. It was a matter of especially showing symptoms of the discontinuity in the development of Chinese historiography. Hereby, the revival of the Shitong as one important example of the shiping-category of literature appeared as an expression of this break, new order and public debate in Ming dynasty. The public discourse and the attempt to find a standard measure for what is right and wrong in history writing are the innovative peculiarities of Ming historiography and they were displayed in the main part of the present study. In sum, it was discovered that many critical works about history writing from Ming dynasty give testimony of these characteristics, the significant developments and the break with tradition in Ming dynasty.Ziel des vorliegenden Forschungsprojektes war es, die These von einem bedeutenden Bruch in der Tradition der chinesischen Geschichtsschreibung in der späten Ming-Dynastie (1396-1644) zu beweisen. Dieser Bruch fand seine Spezifikation in der Wiederbelebung von Werken, die seit mehreren hundert Jahren vernachlässigt und verboten worden waren, vor allem die so genannte shiping 史評 -Literatur (Literatur über die Diskussion und Kritik von Geschichte und Geschichtsschreibung). Infolgedessen kann die Entstehung immer kritischerer Geschichtswerke oder Werke, die Geschichte kritisieren, beobachtet werden. Für die Untersuchung dieser These von einer bedeutenden Veränderung auf dem Gebiet der Geschichtsschreibung wurden zunächst die Hauptmerkmale und Entwicklungen der Ming-Dynastie skizziert - der erste Teil der Dissertation. Um die These von diesem Bruch in der Tradition zu testen, wurde Liu Zhijis 劉知幾 (661-721) Shitong 史通 (Leitfaden der Historiographie) aus der Tang-Dynastie als charakteristisches Beispiel für die shiping-literatur gewählt, die achthundert Jahre nach ihrer Entdeckung wiederentdeckt wurde Entstehung. Deshalb war das Shitong und die "Renaissance" des Shitongs - als eine Besonderheit der aktuellen Prozesse in dieser Zeit - Gegenstand des zweiten Teils und die sogenannte Fallstudie. Ziel war es, das wichtige Werk von Liu Zhiji vorzustellen und die Bedeutung und die Ursache seiner "Wiederentdeckung"zu untersuchen. Als Teil davon war es weiterhin Gegenstand der Arbeit, unübersetzte Teile der Ming zeitlichen Kommentare in eine westliche Sprache zu übersetzen, sowie Aussagen und Kommentare von Ming-Historikern über die Rezeption dieses Werkes. Daher besteht dieser Teil dieses Forschungsprojekts aus der Übersetzung wichtiger Teile der Kommentare - vor allem der aufschlussreichen Vorworte - und der Beschäftigung mit dem Hintergrund der Kommentare. Die Idee hinter dieser Konzentration auf die Kommentare des Shitong war immer, die Wiederentdeckung als Spezifikationen des Bruchs in der historiographischen Tradition zu betrachten. Um die Zusammenhänge und Einflüsse zu verstehen, die zu den Ereignissen im Bereich der Ming-Geschichtsschreibung beigetragen haben, war es wichtig, Prozesse in Ming China - vor allem im akademischen und philosophischen Bereich - zu verstehen, bevor man sich der Geschichtsschreibung zu wendet. Im nächsten Schritt konzentrierte sich die Forschung auf den wichtigen Schwerpunkt der gonglun 公論 Debatte, die versucht, ein Maß für richtig und falsch zu finden. Dieses Merkmal der akademischen Welt wurde dann in den Kontext der Geschichtsschreibung gestellt. Dieser Teil über die Geschichtsschreibung von Ming China stellt den Hauptteil des Forschungsprojekts dar. Auf der Basis vieler verschiedener Ming-zeitlicher Geschichtswerke (wie z. B. Zhu Minggaos Shijiu 史糾, Shao Baos Xueshi 學史 oder Lu Shens Chuanyi Lu 傳疑録) wurden die Veränderungen in der Entwicklung der Geschichtsschreibung in Ming China beleuchtet und veranschaulicht. Es ging darum, besonders die Symptome der Diskontinuität in der Entwicklung der chinesischen Geschichtsschreibung zu zeigen. Dabei erschien die Wiederbelebung des Shitong als ein wichtiges Beispiel für die shiping-Kategorie der Literatur als Ausdruck dieses Bruchs, der neuen Ordnung und der öffentlichen Debatte in der Ming-Dynastie. Der öffentliche Diskurs und der Versuch, ein Standardmaß für richtig und falsch in der Geschichtsschreibung zu finden, sind die innovativen Besonderheiten der Ming-Geschichtsschreibung; diese wurden im Hauptteil der vorliegenden Studie gezeigt. Zusammenfassend wurde gezeigt, dass viele kritische Werke über Geschichte und Geschichtsschreibung Zeugnis über diese Eigenschaften, die bedeutenden Entwicklungen und den Bruch mit der Tradition in der Ming-Dynastie geben

Human nature and governance: soulcraft and statecraft in eleventh century China

This dissertation contributes to the reinvention of Chinese political history with a comprehensive account of Wang Anshi’s 王安石 (1021-1086) political theory, touching also upon its practice, arguing that it was centered on transforming human nature with statist values against the mid-eleventh century humanist mainstream. Intellectual historical studies of Wang Anshi over the past three decades have been focused on how he envisioned the relationship between government and society. Aiming to go beyond this, this study focuses on the “what” in Wang’s learning, i.e., his writings on daode 道德 and xingming 性命 (literally, the way and its power, nature and destiny), most concentratedly found in volumes 63-70 of Collected Writings of Mr. Linchuan 臨川先生文集. Regarding this body of work in Wang’s oeuvre, scholars like Yu Yingshi take them as being about moral self-cultivation in the Confucian tradition. Through close analysis of key concepts in context and differentiating rhetorical strategies from what was meant, I argue in chapter 2 that Wang’s discussions of human nature were integral to his political thought on governance and that what he advanced as the gist of his learning was an anti-humanist soulcraft centered on using statist values to transform self-regarding humans into subjects who would unreflectively think in the interest of the state. It was cultivationist rather than self-cultivationist, as Wang designed a full procedure to firmly establish these values – otherwise foreign to humans in his view – into people’s hearts through externally imposed behavioral regulations. Asian Studie

Three Impeachments

A probe into corruption in late Imperial China At the beginning of China's long eighteenth century or ""High Qing"" era, a time of peace and prosperity when the foundations of Manchu rule under the Qing dynasty were established, a courageous official named Guo Xiu reported on corruption at court. Guo Xiu's findings resulted in the impeachment of five of the most powerful figures of his day: the director of river conservancy, the chief grand secretary, and three scholars who advised the Manchu emperor on matters of Chinese culture. Weighing the officials' accomplishments against their corruption and violations of Confucian norms, the emperor dismissed all five from office—only to reappoint all five within ten years. Bringing together a rich trove of sources, including writings by the accused officials, Guo Xiu's impeachment comments, and court diaries, historian R. Kent Guy's Three Impeachments traces the process of impeachment, condemnation, and restoration to provide unique insights into the Kangxi golden age. Part 1 reveals that the highly lauded accomplishments of the Kangxi emperor were not his alone but the result of collaboration between Manchu elite, the newly formed Chinese Martial Banner Army, and Chinese scholars. Part 2, which focuses on Guo Xi's impeachments, sheds new light on dynastic history and political agency. Three Impeachments is a rich and enticing portal into a key moment in late imperial Chinese history