严复在《天演论》的《译例言》、《自序》及其他相关文献中并未明确阐述其翻译《天演论》的目的。以往学者单从译作产生的社会效应将其推断为“救国救民、开启民智”的做法难免武断。为夯实今后相关研究的信度,本文以目的论为基础重新探讨严复翻译《天演论》的目的并得出以下结论:严复作为一个具有强烈爱国情怀的译者,身处危机重重的中国,希望通过一种能为士大夫乐于接受和理解的翻译,引进西方新学,拓展其人视野,引起其人警醒,保国保种,救亡图存。在此目的的驱动下,严复对原文进行了创造性叛逆式的改写。 Yan Fu did not expressly explain the purpose of his translation of “Evolution and Ethics” in his translation examples and prefaces in the “Evolution and Ethics” and other related literatures. In the past, scholars simply deduced from the social effects of translation as “saving the nation and opening people’s wisdom,” which is inevitable. In order to consolidate the reliability of related research in the future, this article re-explores the purpose of Yan Fu’s translation of “Evolution and Ethics” based on Skopos theory and draws the following conclusions: As a translator with a strong patriotic feeling, Yan Fu lives in a crisis-prone China, It is hoped that by introducing a translator who is willing to accept and understand literati, it will introduce new western schools and broaden their horizons so as to arouse people’s vigilance, keep the country safe and save the nation. Driven by this purpose, Yen Fu has creatively rewritten the original text.