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Frontiers of Philosophy in China

ISSN 1673-3436

ISSN 1673-355X(Online)

CN 11-5743/B

Postal Subscription Code 80-983

Front. Philos. China    2017, Vol. 12 Issue (2) : 249-264    https://doi.org/10.3868/s030-006-017-0018-4
Orginal Article
James Legge’s Hermeneutical Methodology as Revealed in His Translation of the Daxue
ZHENG Shuhong()
Department of Philosophy, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou 510275, China
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Abstract

With a focus on The Great Learning (Daxue 大學), this paper explores the specific exegetical or hermeneutical methodology adopted by James Legge in his translation of this Confucian canonical text. It begins with an analysis of the translation theory endorsed by Legge, comparing his translation with those of Ku Hung-ming and Wing-tsit Chan. The second part aims to explicate the hermeneutic dilemma faced by Legge in his dealing with this text. It looks at the intellectual context in which Legge’s scholarship on the Chinese classics had developed, as well as the academic standard he was required to maintain throughout his translation. Overall, Legge’s familiarity with Qing scholarship makes it interesting to determine where and why he follows or rejects Zhu Xi. Given Legge’s Christian missionary background and the sense of mission pervading Zhu Xi’s commentary, we conclude that Legge’s affinity with Zhu Xi is much more subtle and complex than previously speculated: the difference in their approach to Confucian texts cannot be reduced to a contrast between construction and deconstruction or between canonization and decanonization.

Keywords James Legge      Zhu Xi      Daxue      translation      hermeneutics      deconstruction     
Issue Date: 24 July 2017
 Cite this article:   
ZHENG Shuhong. James Legge’s Hermeneutical Methodology as Revealed in His Translation of the Daxue[J]. Front. Philos. China, 2017, 12(2): 249-264.
 URL:  
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/10.3868/s030-006-017-0018-4
https://academic.hep.com.cn/fpc/EN/Y2017/V12/I2/249
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