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Secondary sourceBook1902

Yuan Fu

Adam Smith · 1902

A 1902 Chinese translation of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations by Yan Fu, used in late-Qing reform debates.

This Chinese translation shows Smith's economic ideas being debated far beyond Europe, in late-Qing reform circles.

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About this source

What it is

Yuan Fu is a Chinese translation of Adam Smith's The Wealth of Nations, produced by the scholar Yan Fu and published in the early 1900s, including a preface by Wu Rulun.

Why it matters

This translation shows how Smith's ideas about wealth, trade and economic policy were brought into Chinese political debate during the late Qing dynasty, a period of reform and crisis. It demonstrates that Smith's influence reached far beyond Europe, shaping discussions among Chinese reformers grappling with how to strengthen their country.

Look closer

  • Why might reformers in a very different society find Adam Smith's economic ideas useful?
  • What challenges might a translator face bringing 18th-century European economics into a different language and culture?
  • What does the preface suggest about how this book was received in China?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Adam Smith on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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