“自由”如何舶来?——论1903年密尔On Liberty的两个中译本及其影响

How Was“Liberty”Imported On Two Chinese Translations of John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty in 1903 and Their Influences

密尔的《论自由》的两个中译本——马君武译《自由原理》和严复译《群己权界论》都出版于1903年,并且产生了不同的历史影响。但学界长期以来只关注严译本,而对马译本不够重视。本文考辨了密尔自由主义进入中国的"译前史",并讨论了这两个译本与密尔的原著的差别,进而结合清末的历史语境对"误译"进行了阐释;此外,本文以五四新文化运动的几种刊物为例,讨论了密尔自由主义在译介之后的传播问题。这些讨论不仅梳理了《论自由》在中国的旅行轨迹,同时也在方法论上廓清了仅把"西学东渐"局限于理论演绎层面的误区,认为西方理论的译介与传播和中国的现实问题紧密相连,"误读"正是历史对话的"症候"所在。

John Stuart Mill’s On Liberty was translated by Ma Junwu and Yan Fu,under the titles of Ziyou Yuanli(Principles of Liberty)and Qun Ji Quanjie Lun(On the Division of Public Rights and Personal Rights)respectively.Both published in 1903,these two translations projects different influences in Chinese history,with Ma’s version largely overshadowed by strong scholarly favor towards Yan’s version.This article scrutinizes the"pre-translation"history of Millian liberalism, discusses the major textual differences between translations and original work,and interprets the"mistranslations"within their historical context.In addition,citing several seminal journals in the May 4th Period,this paper also discusses the promotion of Millian liberalism after its introduction. These attempts not only aim at a sketch of On Liberty’s travel trace in China,but also methodologically rectify the theoretical fascination of"Western Learnings’ Travel to the East".The introduction and communication of Western Theories is inseparably related to Chinese reality, while"misreading"is exactly where the symptom of historical conversation consists.