The invisibility and visibility of women translators: the translational practices of female intellectuals from the late Qing dynasty to the May Fourth Period
女性译者的隐身与显形：从晚清到五四时期女性知识分子的翻译实践

摘要

晚清（尤其是1895年甲午战争之后）至五四运动期间，是中国近现代文化转型的关键阶段，该时期翻译成为思想解放和社会变革的重要推动力量。然而，长期以来，有关翻译叙述多聚焦于男性译者，女性译者则常被忽视或边缘化，而事实上女性译者的译事译作充分体现了翻译活动的社会性和复杂性，且多位女翻译家还有待学界的系统研究[7]。本文旨在挖掘这一时期被历史“隐身”的女性译者，探讨她们如何通过翻译参与社会思想变革，同时分析其翻译策略与社会性别观念之间的互动，揭示女性知识分子如何在语言与文化之间寻找自身表达的空间。该时期的女性译者可能并非进步的女性主义译者，但其女性译者身份赋予了他们理解原文的独特视角，译作中女性主体性的彰显也体现出清末民初女性通过翻译开拓生存空间，建构自身主体性的努力。

Abstract

From the Late Qing dynasty (especially after the First Sino-Japanese War in 1895) to the May Fourth Movement, China experienced a critical period of cultural transformation in modern history. During this time, translation played a crucial role in ideological liberation and social transformation. However, historical narratives on translation have long focused predominantly on male translators, often neglecting or marginalizing their female counterparts. In fact, the translation practices and works of women translators during this period vividly reflect the social and complex nature of translation, but many prominent female translators remain under-researched in academic circles[7]. This paper aims to uncover the “invisible” female translators of this period and explore how they engaged with social and ideological transformation through translation. It also analyzes the interaction between their translation strategies and contemporary gender ideologies, revealing how women sought a space for self-expression between language and culture. In sum, the female translators of this era may not necessarily be considered progressive feminist translators. Nevertheless, their identities as female translators offered them a unique perspective in interpreting source texts. The assertion of female subjectivity in their translations reflects their efforts to carve out a space for survival and to construct their own identities through the act of translation during a transformative time in Chinese history.