从“求达”到“信达雅”——严复“信达雅”成因钩沉

Evolving from “Da” to “Xin,Da,Ya”:On Formation of Yan Fu's “Xin,Da,Ya”

一般认为,"信达雅"乃严复一人在《天演论》"译例言"中提出。本文通过史料的挖掘和梳理,对"信达雅"的形成过程进行了全新解读。研究发现,"信达雅"的形成主要经历了三个阶段:严复首先在《天演论》手稿的"译例"中提出"求达"观,接着在吴汝纶的"赞助"和吕增祥的"署检"下进一步提出"信""雅"观,最后在总结"述"的翻译经验的基础上凝练成了"信达雅"观。因此,"信达雅"的提出非严复一己之功,亦非严复一蹴而就,而是以严复为中心,严、吴、吕等多方互动不断演进的结果,是多人智慧的结晶。

It is generally believed that 'Xin,Da,Ya' was proposed by Yan Fu alone in his Preface(Yili Yan)to Tianyan Lun,whereas a new conclusion is drawn in this paper based on an analysis of some new ly discovered historical materials.The view point was not proposed by Yan Fu alone in one step,but evolved from Yan Fu's proposal of 'Da' in his Preface to Tianyan Lun's manuscript,to his addition of Xin and Ya with the enlightenment of Wu Rulun's patronage and Lyu Zengxiang's revision(shujian署检),and finally to 'Xin,Da,Ya' in his Preface to Tianyan Lun as a summary of his experience of Shu(述) in his translation practice.Therefore,'Xin,Da,Ya',as a result of interaction between Yan,Wu and Lyu,reflects their collective wisdom,in which Yan's contribution,however,is definitely the most decisive.