Yan Fu (1853–1921)

Yan Fu (Traditional Chinese:嚴復; courtesy name:幾道, Jidao) (December 10, 1853–October 27, 1921) was a Chinese scholar, most famous for introducing Western thoughts, including Darwin's ideas of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest", into China during the late 19th century. He was also involved in the Gong Zhe Shangshu movement. Image File history File links Yan_fu. ... Image File history File links Yan_fu. ... Traditional Chinese characters are one of two standard character sets of printed contemporary Chinese written language. ... Cha can also refer to a Latin American dance, also called the Cha-cha-cha. ... December 10 is the 344th day (345th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 1853 was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... October 27 is the 300th day of the year (301st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 65 days remaining. ... 1921 (MCMXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar). ... A scholar is either a student or someone who has achieved a mastery of some academic discipline, perhaps receiving financial support through a scholarship. ... Charles Robert Darwin (12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English naturalist who achieved lasting fame by producing considerable evidence that species originated through evolutionary change, at the same time proposing the scientific theory that natural selection is the mechanism by which such change occurs. ... Natural selection is the process by which individual organisms with favorable traits are more likely to survive and reproduce. ... Herbert Spencer coined the phrase survival of the fittest Survival of the fittest is a phrase which is a shorthand for a concept relating to competition for survival or predominance. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Gongche Shangshu movement (Traditional Chinese: 公車上書, Simplified Chinese: 公车上书) was a politcal movement in late Qing dynasty China, seeking reforms and expressing opposition to the Treaty of Shimonoseki in 1895. ...

He studied in the Naval Management School in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. From 1877-1879, he studied in the Navy Academy in Greenwich, England. Upon his return to China, he was unable to pass the Imperial Civil Service Examination. It was not until after the Chinese defeat in the First Sino-Japanese War that Yan Fu became famous for his works of the time period. He is well-known for his translation of works such as Thomas Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and John Stuart Mill's On Liberty. Fuzhou (Chinese: 福州; Hanyu Pinyin: ; Wade-Giles: Fu-chou; EFEO: Fou-Tcheou; SLC: Hùk-cieu; also seen as Foochow or Fuchow) is the provincial seat and the largest prefecture-level city of Fujian province, Peoples Republic of China. ... Fujian (Chinese: 福建; pinyin: Fújiàn; Wade-Giles: Fu-chien; Postal System Pinyin: Fukien, Foukien; local transliteration Hokkien from Min Nan Hok-kiàn) is one of the provinces on the southeast coast of China. ... Greenwich (pronounced grenn-itch , or by the locals) is a town, now part of the south eastern urban sprawl of London, on the south bank of the River Thames in the London Borough of Greenwich. ... Motto: (French for God and my right) Anthem: Multiple unofficial anthems Capital London Largest city London Official language(s) English Government Constitutional monarchy  - Queen Queen Elizabeth II  - Prime Minister Tony Blair MP Unification    - by Athelstan AD927  Area    - Total 130,395 km² (1st in UK)   50,346 sq mi   - Water (%) Population... The imperial examinations (Chinese: 科舉; Pinyin: kÄ“jÇ”) in dynastic China determined positions in the civil service based on merit and education, which promoted upward mobility among the population for centuries. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ... Look up translate in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Thomas Huxley Thomas Henry Huxley F.R.S. (May 4, 1825 – June 29, 1895) was a British biologist, known as Darwins Bulldog for his defence of Charles Darwins theory of evolution. ... Evolution and Ethics is a book by Thomas Henry Huxley. ... Adam Smith, FRSE, (baptised June 5, 1723 O.S. (June 16 N.S.) – July 17, 1790) was a Scottish political economist and moral philosopher. ... An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations is the magnum opus of Adam Smith, published in 1776. ... John Stuart Mill (May 20, 1806 – May 8, 1873), an English philosopher and political economist, was an influential liberal and socialist thinker of the 19th century. ... On Liberty is a philosophical work in the English language by 19th century philosopher John Stuart Mill, first published in 1859. ...

The ideas of "natural selection" and "survival of the fittest" were introduced to Chinese readers through Huxley's work; and were famously rendered as "物競天擇" and "適者生存". The phrases have become proverbial in the Chinese language, but are often misunderstood as the synonyms of "merciless competition". Look up Synonym in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

He stated in his preface to Evolution and Ethics (天演論) that "there are three difficulties in translation: faithfulness, understandability and elegance" (譯事三難：信達雅). He never set that three difficulties as a general standard for translation, and didn't mean that those three were independent of each other. However, since the publication of that work, "faithfulness, understandability and elegance" has been attributed to Yan Fu as a standard for any good translation, become a cliche in the Chinese academic circle, and raised numorous debates and theses. Some scholars argue that the dictum came from Tytler. Clich (from French, imitative) refers to: an overused phrase or expression, or the idea expressed by it; a situation, theme or characterization which has become common; a thing (as a style of clothing) that has become overly familiar or commonplace. ... Debate is a formalized system of (usually) logical argument. ... This article is about the thesis in dialectics and academia. ... Alexander Fraser Tytler, lord Woodhouselee (October 15, 1747 - January 5, 1813) Scottish-born British lawyer and writer. ...