There have been three translation climaxes in China's translation history: the translation of Buddhist scriptures from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty, the translation of western learning from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty, and the translation of western learning from the Opium War to the May 4th Movement.

1. The translation of Buddhist scriptures from the Eastern Han Dynasty to the Song Dynasty is represented by Xuanzang, Daoan in the Jin Dynasty and Kumarajiva in the Qin Dynasty.

From the Han Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties, Buddhism was introduced to China and merged with China's traditional Confucianism and Taoism. With the introduction of Buddhist scriptures, Indian philosophy, literature and art, medicine, astronomy, arithmetic and even language all had a certain influence in China, but the translation activities in this period were mainly aimed at spreading religion.

2. Western translation in the late Ming and early Qing Dynasties, represented by Xu Guangqi and Li Zhizao.

At that time, due to the need of external traffic, Siyi Pavilion was established to train translators. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, western learning spread to the east, and translation became more active. But at this time, the direction of translation has completely changed. It is no longer an Indian Buddhist scripture, but a classic of European astronomy, geometry and medicine. China's translation history has reached a new stage.

3. Western translation, from the Opium War to the May 4th Movement, is represented by Lu Xun and Yan Fu.

After the Opium War, people of insight in China felt it necessary to learn from the West, and translation activities gradually rose, forming another new stage in China's translation history. After the May 4th Movement, the history of China has entered a modern era, and the importance of translation is far greater than before. The rise of China's new literature is inseparable from translation.

Extended data:

Due to different times, Yan Fu's interpretation of the translation standard of "faithfulness, expressiveness and elegance" has some limitations, but these three words have never been abandoned by the translation circles in China for many years. The reasons are as follows: as a translation standard, these three words are concise, hierarchical and prominent; Among them, "faithfulness" and "expressiveness" are more important, and "faithfulness" is particularly important.

Therefore, some translators still regard these three words as today's translation standards, but some people have given them new contents and requirements. For example, they think that "elegance" is no longer the "erya" and "syntax with pre-Han characters" that Yan Fu refers to, but a question of "preserving the original style". In a word, Yan Fu has made great contributions to China's translation career.

References:

Baidu Encyclopedia-Translation