Fryer Of West Book Translation Career

John Fryer, an Englishman, was selected by the Lord Bishop of Victoria who was Chairman of the Committee of St Paul's College in Hong Kong to go as soon as convenient to Hong Kong and take charge of that establishment in 1861. After two years, he arrived at Peking in order to learn the official Chinese language and to be Professor of English in the Tungwen College, which had been established by the Chinese government for the teaching and training of Chinese students to become interpreters for consular or diplomatic service. Before long, he removed to Shanghai where he was promised the head mastership of a large public school to be established for Chinese students and to be known as the Anglo-Chinese School which was sponsored by the Church Missionary Society, and at the same time, he was the editor of the Shanghai Chinese Newspaper published at the North China Herald Office which was making its mark among the thinking party of the Chinese nation. In May, 1868, he entered the Translation Department of the Kiangnan Arsenal which was established not long ago and undertook the translation of foreign technological books into the Chinese language. Here having been at work for twenty-eight years, translated and published about one hundred treatises which almost covers all kinds of western subjects on science and technology. Moreover, he compiled and issued the first Chinese scientific magazine named Chinese Scientific and Industrial Magazine, which served as an introduction to the translations of scientific books already existing in Chinese, contained notes of courses of lessons or lectures on scientific subjects, and was a medium by which the educated classes of natives could ask for and obtain specific information on such subjects connected with the sciences as they may be interested in. Furthermore, he engaged other projects which were beneficial to the progress of China's science and education.In this paper, John Fryer being selected as the object of investigation, his translation activities presented in the Kiangnan Arsenal and the magazine Ke Chih Hui Pien being analyzed emphatically, the historical influence of John fryer's undertaking which relates to translating western knowledge into Chinese in the history of Chinese modern science and technology was discussed. This paper was divided into five parts, and now, the primary content of each chapter was presented as follow:In first chapter, John Fryer's experiences in China before 1868, namely, the activities of teaching Chinese English in schools of Hong Kong, Peking and Shanghai and intercourse between him and Church Mission Society of England, had been reviewed. Thus it can be seen, these kinds of experiences made him qualified and faithful as translator of the Kiangnan Arsenal, viz., on top of Chinese and being interesting in the scientific and technologic progress of China.The second chapter had studied the situation of John Fryer in the Translation Department of the Kiangnan Arsenal. His general working condition in this department, the translating state and accomplishments of all translators and his Chinese collaborations had been described. Especially, John Fyer's achievement of translation works published in the Kiangnan Arsenal was pictured and construed according to the time and subject. At the beginning of his period of the Kiangnan Arsenal, John Fryer ordered the books and scientific apparatus for the Chinese Arsenal several times, these orders reflected the working emphasis and focus of the officials who were in charge of the Chinese Arsenal, so, it was noticed, too.The Chinese scientific magazine which was edited by John Fryer had been analyzed in the third chapter. Not only the relation between Ke Chih Hui Pien and the Peking Magazine was traced, but also publication situation of John Fryer's magazine was introduced. The analysis involved the synopsis of most articles which appeared in this magazine, especially, the column named "answer to the questions enquired by readers"(Hu Xiang Wen Da) being taken as example, the relation between the editor and the readers had been explained in detail. According to the estimation made by the contemporaries and other newspapers, the magazine could be considered as a typical method by which John Fryer devoted himself to advancing Chinese science and technology. John Fryer's concept of technologic translation had been cleaned up in chapter four. The question of to spread the western knowledge through translating the western scientific books or through teaching the Chinese to learn the foreign language was always the bone of contention. Missionary translators, such as John Fryer, insisted on imparting the western knowledge to the Chinese who desiderated to pursue after the western nations in science and technology by translating western scientific books. Why had they shaped this kind of opinion? During the translations of science and technology, how had these translators fixed on the Chinese technological terms and proper names? The translators adopted different system of terms, which lead to the confusion of nomenclature, how had they made the system uniform? The translation concept and means which John Fryer adopted in translating the technological terms were investigated. Moreover, the work of unifying the Chinese nomenclature of the Educational Association of China in which John Fryer was appointed as the general editor was particularized.Lastly, the significance of John fryer's translation had been dissertated from three points of view, that is to say, John Fryer's effect shown in the process of establishing the Chinese Polytechnic Institution and Reading Room, Chinamen's attitude to the Chinese scientific books described by John Fryer when he leaved China for America, and evaluations made by some Chinese famous men, such as Liang Qichao and Sun Baoxuan.Furthermore, there are three appendixes in this paper. Firstly, John Fryer's calendar before 1896 had been made to show generally his activities of benefiting China's scientific progress; secondly, some foreigner who had association with John Fryer had been introduced concisely in order to portray John Fryer's sociality; lastly, content of most books translated by John Fryer had been set out in the way of abstract and extract for the sake of refracting the value of John Fryer's undertaking of translating western technologic treatises into Chinese.