譯出「現代中國」: 探討近代翻譯與中國「現代性」之塑造

中國在二十世紀初的翻譯大潮，與政治及社會環境變動息息相關，除了引入大量新知識，促進中國在物質層面的現代化，更塑造了現代中國人的精神面貌。回顧中國近代史，雖對清末民國時期文人譯介西學的貢獻予以肯定，但普遍把翻譯囿於文藝範圍討論。本文旨在探討「譯介西學」此一主題內部的複雜性，指出中國的「現代性」，在一些重要的方面，是如何因為近代翻譯活動的参與，以及「翻譯乃新意識形態的創造過程」此一本質而被塑造出來。故此，今天依然影響我們、成為我們認知一部分的「現代中國」，與其説是被建立起來，莫如說是被「翻譯」出來，可能更貼切。本文將選取此段時期的重要翻譯事件，分為政治、文藝、社會三個方面，詳細分析，具體説明。

The translation movement taken place in China during the late 19^th to the early 20^th century (i.e. from the late Qing Dynasty to the Republican Period) was closely associated with the country's modernization. The role of translation in Chinese modernization, however, has still been principally confined to the function of "transferring Western learning" in the historical studies of China. In this essay, I will explore the complexity in the issue of translating Western learning in that historical period. I would argue that the translation movement at that time was in fact more than a linguistic and knowledge transfer, but simultaneously an ideological-building process in which the unique subjectivity of Chinese modernity was being actively established. I would further explain this modernity as China's new subjectivity that served as a response to the arduous socio-political challenges of that era, as well as an outcome of the manipulative potentials of translation in generating new ideologies in a cross-cultural setting. The traits of all these arguments can be observed and reasoned in the source-text selection, purpose, function and impact of translation activities. On this basis, the study is conducted by investigating the more profound implications of a number of key translation events during the period in shaping the characteristics of Chinese modernity. The discussion of the translation events is organized into three categories: political impact, literary reform, and social effects for a well-defined and comprehensive account of the relationship between translation and Chinese modernity.