Yan Fu: Architect of China’s Modern Enlightenment

Today, we’ll celebrate the 170th anniversary of the birth of Yan Fu, a man who overcame great difficulties early in life and forged on to have a profound impact on modern Chinese thought at the turn of the last century, ultimately becoming known as the Architect of China’s Modern Enlightenment. 

Transcript

Yan Fu: Architect of China’s Modern Enlightenment

Today, we’ll celebrate the 170th anniversary of the birth of Yan Fu, a man who overcame great difficulties early in life and forged on to have a profound impact on modern Chinese thought at the turn of the last century, ultimately becoming known as the Architect of China’s Modern Enlightenment. 

The renowned Chinese military officer, newspaper editor, translator, and writer Yan Fu is celebrated for his pivotal role in introducing Western ideas to China during the late 19th century. Across the nation, various commemorative events have been held to honor his enduring legacy, particularly in his hometown of Fuzhou in Fujian Province of Southeast China.

On January 8, 1854, Yan Fu was born in the Cangxiaozhou area of Fuzhou, now part of the city’s Taijiang District. Yan Fu’s ancestors moved from Henan Province to Fujian during the Tang Dynasty, which lasted from 618 to 907. Yan Fu’s father, Yan Zhenxian, was a well-known local physician, but tragically, he passed away in 1866 after contracting cholera while treating patients. Naturally, with the death of his father, Yan Fu and the rest of the family suffered from their worsening financial situation.

Yan Fu later recalled bitterly when reminiscing about the past, “At the age of twelve, my father suddenly passed away. Despite our poverty, we had some assets, but the dowry money was insufficient to cover debts... Our family faced immense difficulties and often encountered ruffians. The widow cried before dawn, and those who heard were deeply moved.”

In that same year, construction began in Mawei district of Fuzhou to build the first modern shipyard in China. By the year’s end, the school affiliated with the shipyard began enrollment. It not only provided room and board but also offered a monthly stipend to students.

Yan Fu was inspired. After his father’s death, he had been raised by a teacher who guided him through studying the “Four Books and Five Classics,” which are authoritative and important books associated with Confucianism written before 300 BC. But Yan Fu had to temporarily discontinue his education, and it would be quite a struggle for his family to support him on the arduous path to imperial examinations.

To apply to the shipyard school, a local prominent figure’s sponsorship was required. Yan Fu’s uncle was a Jinshi, a successful candidate in the imperial examinations at the provincial level; moreover, he had tutored Yan Fu for a time during his childhood. Yan Fu’s mother sought his sponsorship for her son but was initially refused. With the uncertainty surrounding the new shipyard and the risks involved, respectable families at that time were generally reluctant to let their children take such chances, preferring the safer path of traditional civil service examinations.

Facing the realities of life, Yan Fu had no better options. After discussing with his relatives, he managed to apply. And making something fortunate out of misfortune, that year’s essay topic for the entrance exam happened to be “Great Filial Piety Throughout Life”. Yan Fu, still mourning his father’s recent passing, wrote eloquently and was judged by the chief examiner, imperial commissioner Shen Baozhen, to be the top scorer.

The following year, at the age of 13, Yan Fu began his four-year study at the Fujian Naval Academy. It’s likely that even the young Yan Fu did not foresee that China’s modern naval industry would continue to expand over the next several decades. As he delved deeper into his studies, a vast and promising future unfolded before him. In the blink of an eye, five years had passed. Graduating at the top of his class from the Naval Academy, the 18-year-old Yan Fu embarked on an internship aboard the Yangwu, the country’s largest wooden corvette at the time.

British captain Tracey, the commander of Yangwu, greatly admired Yan Fu’s diligence and thirst for knowledge. Before returning to England after his tenure, Tracey expressed encouragement and high expectations for Yan Fu.

According to Yan Fu’s biography, Tracey’s words to Yan Fu roughly conveyed:

“In naval academics, you have now graduated... but knowledge does not end with graduation. From now on, it is up to you to continue learning independently. If you do not rest on your laurels, there will be no limit to what more you can learn. You must strive for this, as this is the true way of the naval profession.”

Tracey’s words left a profound mark on Yan Fu’s heart.

The vast expanse of the sea, as Tracey said, holds boundless possibilities for new knowledge. At a critical moment when Chinese people were opening their eyes to the world, Yan Fu, fortunate to have benefited from one of the country’s few top-notch educational resources available at that time, realized that he should not limit his concerns to just naval technology. Another five years passed, and under the repeated efforts of Shen Baozhen, the Fujian Naval Academy gained the right to send students abroad, and Yan Fu was among the first group of naval students to go.

In 1877, Yan Fu was sent to study at the Royal Naval College in Greenwich, England. He always remembered the declaration of patriotism he and his classmates signed before graduating from Fujian Naval Academy: “We are willing to do our utmost for the country,” they declared. During his studies in England, he delved deeper into and comprehensively studied professional knowledge of navigation, nurturing his idealistic aspirations for serving the country.

While living abroad, Yan Fu not only maintained excellent academic performance but also constantly explored aspects of Western society worth emulating. He attended court hearings in England, inspected sewer projects in France, and accumulated rich scientific knowledge. He also extensively studied classical bourgeois ideological works – evolutionary theorist Thomas Henry Huxley was among the scholars Yan Fu particularly admired.

In 1879, Yan Fu returned to China after graduating from the Royal Naval College. At that time, Li Hongzhang, a Chinese statesman, general and diplomat of the late Qing Dynasty, was organizing the Beiyang Fleet. Yan Fu traveled north to Tianjin and joined the Beiyang Naval Academy to engage in naval education. He personally directed the academy for over 20 years, earning praise as a pioneer in northern naval practices. 

As a modern naval school, the academy cultivated many talents over 20 years, including Republic of China President Li Yuanhong, Nankai University President Zhang Boling, and notable figures such as Wang Shaolian, head of education at North China University, and the famous translator Wu Guangjian. 

In 1894, during the decisive naval Battle of the Yellow Sea between China and Japan, Yan Fu’s comrades fought valiantly, preferring death over surrender. Despite their courage, they couldn’t reverse the course of the war. Upon hearing the news of the sea war failures, Yan Fu, then serving as the principal of the Beiyang Naval Academy, wrote with sorrow and indignation in a letter to Chen Baochen, the late Qing minister and scholar: “How could this disaster have befallen us... I fear that the cultural achievements of over four thousand years are on the verge of being wiped out. Such a heart-wrenching event, I never expected to witness with my own eyes.”

Yan Fu believed that a navy, like a tree with flowers, required strong roots and branches, thriving in harmony with the elements. He felt that solely emphasizing naval strength without considering broader societal and cultural aspects would not bring true benefit.

Moved by this realization, Yan Fu embarked on his translation and enlightenment project. He sought to demonstrate that the wealth and power of the West stemmed not only from technological advances but also from the underlying ideas and systems behind these technologies.

In that same year, Yan Fu completed the initial translation of Thomas Henry Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics. After several years of refinement, Yan Fu’s translated work was titled Tianyan Lun, and it was officially published in the month when the Hundred Days’ Reform movement began in 1898. The book’s famous phrase “the survival of the fittest” struck a resounding chord among the Chinese populace, sounding the alarm for national survival and revival.

The impact of Tianyan Lun was profound, described by diplomat and scholar Hu Shi as “spreading like wildfire, igniting the hearts and blood of many young people.” Lu Xun, famed writer and literary critic, also recalled buying a thick volume of the book printed on white paper stones when he was a student in Nanjing, Jiangsu Province, enjoying it with snacks on Sundays.

In the preface of the book, Yan Fu laid out his translation principles: faithfulness to the original text, clarity in conveying meaning, and elegance in writing style. These principles elevated his own translation experiences to a theoretical height. Subsequently, this standard became a cornerstone in the translation field and continues to be followed to this day.

Throughout his life, Yan Fu maintained a steadfast habit of reading English literature. Upon returning to China from his studies in England, he continued to purchase books from foreign bookstores in Tianjin, Shanghai, and other cities. Immersed in works ranging from Huxley to Adam Smith, from Immanuel Kant to Edmund Burke, Yan Fu cultivated an unparalleled academic perspective within China at that time.

Starting with Tianyan Lun, Yan Fu meticulously selected foreign works that held significant relevance for political and social reforms in contemporary Chinese society. He proceeded to translate a series of Western classics, including Adam Smith’s The Wealth of Nations, French political philosopher Baron de Montesquieu’s The Spirits of Law, and British polymath Herbert Spencer’s Social Statics, among others.

Yan Fu’s translations excelled not only in “introducing the West to China” but also in “interpreting China through the lens of the West.” He skillfully chose expressions from the Chinese lexicon that corresponded effectively with key Western philosophical concepts. For instance, in translating Huxley’s Evolution and Ethics as Tianyan Lun, he omitted the term “Ethics” from the original title because in traditional Chinese philosophy, “Tian” signifies both the universe and the source of all ethical principles.

This approach demonstrated Yan Fu’s profound understanding of both cultures as well as his ability to bridge philosophical ideas across linguistic and cultural boundaries.

During a tumultuous period in China’s history, Yan Fu’s translations served as enlightening blueprints for Chinese society. Almost each of these translated works held practical significance at the time of their publication, earning them the collective title of “Yan’s Eight Great Translations.”

In 1905, Yan Fu played a role in establishing Fudan Public School, the predecessor of Shanghai-based Fudan University and assumed the position of its first president the following year. In 1912, Yan Fu became the Director-General of Peking Imperial University, later renamed Peking University and subsequently served as its president after the university’s renaming.

As an educator, Yan Fu advocated for universities to facilitate dialogue and mutual learning between Chinese and Western cultures. He promoted the coexistence of Western studies, foreign languages, and traditional Chinese scholarship as essential components of higher education.

He advocated for the curriculum of Peking University to encompass a broad spectrum of subjects, writing, “In the humanities, both Eastern and Western philosophy, histories of China and the world, geography, and literature should be embraced widely, accepting diverse streams to enrich the whole. It is necessary for students to have a solid foundation in Western languages and deep respect for Chinese, starting with training in thought. Only through such comprehensive education can true benefits be realized.”

In 1920, at the age of 66, Yan Fu returned to his residence in Fuzhou, and passed away the following year due to illness. In his testament, Yan Fu left these instructions for his children: “Based on my life experience, I impart these words to you: Understand that China will not perish; old methods can be improved but must not be abandoned. Understand that one should cherish life, with physical health as the foremost priority. Be diligent in your pursuits, recognizing that time and opportunities will not come again.”

Yan Fu’s legacy as an educator, translator, and thinker continues to influence Chinese intellectual history, emphasizing the importance of integrating Eastern and Western knowledge for the benefit of society.

Mao Zedong, founder of the People’s Republic of China, once prominently mentioned Yan Fu on his list of “those in China before the birth of the Communist Party of China who sought truth from the West”.

More than a century later, as we look back at this monumental giant in modern Chinese intellectual and cultural history, the enlightenment blueprint he sketched for the Chinese people still guides the construction of a rejuvenated nation.

Well, that’s the end of our podcast. Our theme music is by the famous film score composer Roc Chen. We want to thank our writer Lü Weitao, translator Du Guodong, and copy editor Pu Ren. And thank you for listening. We hope you enjoyed it, and if you did, please tell a friend so they, too, can understand The Context.