The Translator As an Activist: the Case of Yan Fu As a Pioneer Activist Translator in the Late Qing

Abstract

This study examines the translator as an activist, focusing on Yan Fu, a pioneer translator in late Qing China. The study analyzes the prefaces to Yan Fu’s translations to reveal his activist agendas, finding that he aimed to save the nation, oppose autocratic monarchy, and strengthen the country. It is further argued that these agendas were closely intertwined, with the goal of saving the nation underpinning the other two. The study then explores the interactive and cyclical relationship between translation and activism, going beyond the one-way conceptualization of translation as a tool of activism. – AI-generated abstract