Tytler's translation theory
（I）That the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work. （2）That the style and manner of writing in a translation should be of the same character with that of the original. （3）That the translation should have all the ease of original composition.
2
Tytler's translation theory
Essay on the Principles of Translation, is the most important work of Tytler, in which he puts forward three principles of translation, which is first introduced in China in the period of May the Fourth New Culture Movement by Zheng Zhenduo. In the book of Three Issues on Translating Literary Works (《译文学书的三个问题》）, the second question is about the method of translation, in this paper he introduces Tytler's work Essay on the Principles of Translation and his three principles of translation to Chinese translators systematically.
Contrasts Between Three Principles of Yanfu and Those of Tytler
1
Tytler's translation theory
Tytler (1747-1813)was a Scottish advocate, judge, writer and historian who served as Professor of Universal History, and Greek and Roman Antiquities in the university of Edinburgh. His work Essay on the Principles of Translation, like all of his work, is bland, inoffensive, unoriginal, but extremely accessible, and is often cited as the last expression of the Enlightenment spirit in the theory of translation.
7
Yan Fu's translation works
After China loses its First Sino-Japanese War, Yan Fu becomes famous. He is celebrated for his translation works, including Thomas Huxley's Evolution and Ethics, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, John Stuart Mill's On Liberty and Herbert Spencer's Study of Sociology.
Yan Fu's translation theory
Yan Fu, his courtesy name is Ji Dao, he is a Chinese scholar and translator, most famous for introducing western ideas, including Darwin’s natural selection, to China in the late 19th century. Yan Fu studies at the Fujian Arsenal Academy (福州船政学堂) in Fuzhou, Fujian Province. In 1877–1879 he studies at the Navy Academy in Greenwich, England. During this time, he begins to receive capitalist ideology. Upon his return to China, he teaches at the Fujian Arsenal Academy and then Beiyang Naval Officers' School (北洋水师学堂) at Tianjin.
（1）译作应该完全复写出原作的思想； （2） 译作的风格和手法应和原作属于同一性质； （3）译作应具备原作所具有的通顺。 4
the advantages
1.The most influential concept in the western translation theory is word/meaning dichotomy, which could not be solved in the traditional translation theory. However, Tytler spares his effort to avoid this word/meaning dichotomy, and not to use the term, like literal translation and free translation, which could cause controversy. 2.He clarifies and deepens the metaphor cognition"the translator is a painter". He advocates that the translator should use his own writing style, not just imitate the author's one. 5
the principle of elegance
As the principle of elegance, Yan Fu advocates the uses of words/sentences before the Han Dynasty, to pursue the effect of elegance. He says that the uses of words/sentences before the Han Dynasty is easy to help achieve expressiveness, while the uses of vernacular language is hard to achieve expressiveness. (用汉以前字法句法，则为达易;用近世利俗文字,则求达 难）However, we should bear two points in mind. 1.Targeted translation: Vernacular language is not suitable to express "jingliweiyan"(精理微言）of western social science. 2.Targeted readers: Yan Fu's translated works are mostly read by Chinese scholar-bureaucrats.
fidelity:This word is not only faithful to the original content, but also to the language structure of the original. However, translator should not pursue fidelity unconditionally, and the degree of fidelity depends on the purposes of translation, understandings of the original, and readers. expressiveness:This word refers to not only fluency, but also the content, the spirit and the style of the original text that should be fully expressed in the translated one, which could ensure readers' understandings of the original meaning of the original text. elegance: He advocates the uses of words/sentences before the Han Dynasty to achieve 10
the disadvantages
1.His translation theories are just on the basis of his own translation practices and his observations. Essay on the Principles of Translation contains many translation skills, like adding, deleting, revising and polishing. 2.His three principles of translation is not original. Before Tytler, George Campbell, a British translation theorist has already put forward three principles of translation.The first principle that the translation should give a complete transcript of the ideas of the original work, which is similar with Campbell's first principle "replicate the original thoughts clearly". Moreover, Tytler quotes too 6 many theories from other theorists.