The Formation And Influence Of The Translation Policy Of The Westernizationists In The Late Qing Dynasty

The history of translation practice proves that the translation policy of a certain period has a profound influence on the development of translation activities.The translation policies proposed by the Westernizationists in the late Qing Dynasty made great contributions to the cultivation of translation talents and the introduction of western studies,but most researchers on the translation policies of the Westernizationists in the late Qing Dynasty have focused on the perspective of“cultivation of talents”,while less attention has been paid to the background of the formation of their translation policies and their influence on the main body of translation institutions.This paper takes Jiangnan Arsenal as the object of study,and adopts a synchronic study method,literature research method,and inductive method to propose a series of questions: 1.How did the historical and cultural background of the late Qing Dynasty influence the formation of the translation policy of the Westernizationists? 2.How did the translation policy of the Westernizationists influence the translation activities of Jiangnan Arsenal? 3.What was the historical role of the translation activities of Jiangnan Arsenal under the domination of the Westernizationists’ translation policy?This paper places the study of Westernizationists’ translation policy in historical and cultural contexts,and through the analysis of the above questions tries to explore the influence of historical and cultural factors on the formulation of the translation policy of the Westernizationists and the constraints of its translation policy on the translation activities of Jiangnan Arsenal.The paper finds that the translation policy of the Westernizationists is a product of the special social background of the late Qing Dynasty,which also makes its translation policy present the characteristic of “immediacy”,whether it is the establishment of translation institutions,the training of translation talents or the discourse on the translation of Western books,it can be seen that its starting point is only to meet the current desire of introducing Western learning to save the country.Under the macro-guidance of the translation policy of Westernizationists,the Jiangnan Arsenal was subordinated to the purpose of “enriching the country and increasing its military force” in the selection of translation materials and the cultivation of translation talents.Organizing data on the translation phenomenon in a certain period and looking back at the various policies in that historical period helps to see more clearly how the various policies act on translation activities.Exploring the context of the formation of the translation policy of the Westernizationists and its influence on the translation activities of Jiangnan Arsenal not only helps us to understand the relationship between translation policy and translation subject,but also helps to enrich the study of the translation policy of the Westernizationists,promote the public’s understanding of the history of the late Qing Dynasty as well as the translation policy,and provide help for the future formulation of the translation policy.