Abstract:

Based on the dialectical relationship between dynamic linguistic view and translatability, Johan Fryer’s article Yishu Shilue, which describes translation methods in Kiangnan Arsenal and prescribes translation principles for scientific terms, is the summary of translation practice and abstract of translation theory in respect to the translation wave of western scientific and technological works during late Qing dynasty. Xu Guangqi’s dealing with mathematical terms related to plane figure in the source text and his choice of traditional Chinese mathematical terms in the process of translating Στοιχεα(Euclidis Elementorum libri XV), which occurred almost 280 years earlier than Yishu Shilue, are surprisingly in conformity with Fryer’s translation principles for scientific terms, making it a cross-space footnote to the latter’s translation thought. Translators’ own subjectivity and historical background lead to a slightly little difference between their treatments in terms of specific problems. But if their situations were inverted, they would probably take the same approach to each other.

Key words: Xu Guangqi, Στοιχεα, Johan Fryer, translation thought, cross-space footnote