Li Shanlan’s Achievements in Scientific Translation and His Contributions to the Modernization of Chinese Sciences

Jia WANG, Changbao Li

Abstract


Li Shanlan is a well-known translator, scientist and educator in the late Qing Dynasty of China. He published 8 great translation works in his lifetime, totaling 104 volumes. Li’s translation works encompass many important fields of modern western sciences -- mathematics, astronomy, mechanics and botany. His erudite knowledge, profound research, and far-sighted vista mark the translator somebody in the Chinese history. This paper firstly discusses Li Shanlan’s specific scientific translations, and then analyzes and points out that his great contributions to the modernization of Chinese sciences. The pioneer Li has not only disseminated western scientific knowledge and laid the foundation for the disciplinary knowledge system in China, but has also cultivated a large number of talents to meet the development and construction in modern Chinese sciences. Moreover, many scientific terms he translated and created are still in use today, consistently yielding a positive effect on the contemporary Chinese sciences and education.


Keywords


Li Shanlan; scientific translation; modernization of Chinese sciences

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3968/11549

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