Ms. Yan Hong, the Fifth-Generation Descendant of Mr. Yan Fu, Visits the School of Foreign Studies

On November 4, Ms. Yan Hong, the fifth-generation descendant of the renowned modern Enlightenment thinker and translator Mr. Yan Fu, visited the School of Foreign Languages, Tianjin University. She engaged in an in-depth exchange with Professor Wang Lisong, Dean of the School, and Yin Shiyu, Assistant Dean and Director of the Graduate English Teaching Department. Their discussion centered on topics such as inheriting Yan Fu's educational ideas and promoting mutual learning between Chinese and Western cultures.

During his tenure as an instructor at the Tianjin Naval Academy founded by Li Hongzhang, Yan Fu educated the first generation of China's modern naval professionals. He translated Evolution and Ethics, founded the newspaper Guowen Bao, and promoted China's fine traditional culture. He systematically introduced Western concepts of democracy and science, advocated reformist ideas, and brought Western sociology, politics, political economy, philosophy, and natural sciences to China. The translation principles of "Faithfulness, Expressiveness, Elegance" he proposed have exerted a profound impact on translation practices ever since.

In 1896, Yan Fu spearheaded the establishment of China's earliest government-run Russian school, the Tientsin Russian Language School. He oversaw the curriculum design including mineralogy, chemistry, geography, and history, thereby pioneering a "language + specialization" model for cultivating interdisciplinary talent. To meet diplomatic needs, the Russian Language School was incorporated into Peiyang University in 1903, where a Russian program dedicated to training translators was established. This initiative represents the historical source of the foreign language disciplines at Tianjin University.

During the exchange, Professor Wang Lisong showcased the School’s integrated development strategy. He highlighted its distinctive edge in offering a diverse linguistic repertoire—including English, Japanese, French, German, Russian, Spanish, and Arabic—which serves as a foundation for pioneering interdisciplinary programs in Area Studies. He also outlined the School’s proactive approach to transforming foreign language education for the age of artificial intelligence. The dialogue then deepened around several key themes: promoting the educational and translation philosophy of Yan Fu, enhancing cultural cooperation, and facilitating joint project applications. Both sides expressed a shared commitment to leveraging language as a bridge for greater Sino-Western cultural understanding, effectively narrating China's stories, and amplifying its voice on the global stage.