Translation as Facilitator of Social Movements in Late Qing China: A Skopos Theory Perspective

Abstract

Unlike the previous two translation waves in the history of China, the third translation wave beginning from Late
Qing period can be seen as a cross-cultural communication under confrontation and conflict between China and
western powers. Missionaries and government officials from western powers, institutions affiliated to government,
and social activists were actively engaged in various translation activities for their respective purposes by means of
cooperation, which had not only promoted western learning in China and facilitated Chinese social movements and
reform, but finally brought the Qing Dynasty to an end in the Chinese Revolution of 1911. This paper aims to
explore the facilitating role of translation in social movements and reforms in China during the time of the Late Qing
Dynasty from Skopos Theory Perspective, in order to show that translators as social activists can not only promote
intercultural communication, but also push forward social changes and help nation building. This translation wave is
characterized by urgency, purposefulness and practicality, and played the role of enlightening people, spreading
western learning and facilitating revolution.