4。4。 Divergence between philosophical methods 8

5。 Possible reasons for Legge’s reconstruction 10

5。1。 Missionary strategies 10

5。2。 Biblical interpretation of the Confucian value 11

5。3。 Scottish Common Sense Philosophy 12

5。4。 Compromise between two cultures 13

6。 Conclusion 14

References 15

1。 Introduction

1。1。 Research background

1。1。1 The Classics of Songs From优Y尔E论W文W网wWw.YouERw.com 加QQ75201,8766  

As one of the oldest Chinese classics and the Confucian canons, The Classics of Songs is of great significance。 For some historical reasons, it is hard to find the original meaning of this work。 A great many of the commentarial works by ancient Confucians scholars make the understanding of original meaning even more difficult due to the pergence in their explanations。 

Besides, after it is absorbed as Confucian canon, this work serves as a tool to rule people’s thought。 Naturally, its interpretation varies in different times as scholars and rulers add moral and ethical values of their own dynasties to the songs。 Divergence occurs when people equipped with different theories annotate the same poems。

Among the commentarial works available, the great preface and little preface, as well as Zhu Xi’s Collected Comments on the She are more influential than others。 The former, though proved to carry many mistakes, is accepted by many scholars in their interpretation of the songs。 Zhu Xi’s work is considered more convincing and much closer to the original meaning of the songs。 However, as a rationalistic Confucian, sometimes Zhu Xi concentrates more on the songs’ educational function, failing to give a just explanation。 What he considers as “licentious poems” reflects this inclination。

1。1。2。 James Legge

James Legge, the Scottish sinologist, missionary, and scholar, is best-known for his translation of The Chinese Classics from Chinese text into English。 From 1840 to1873, Legge served as a representative of the London Missionary Society in Malacca and Hong Kong。 And he was the first Professor of Chinese at Oxford University (1876–1897)。 Driven by the desire to comprehensively understand the Chinese, he began to translate the Chinese Classics first in 1841。 Works in this series include Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, The Works of Mencius, The Shoo King, The She king, and The Ch'un ts’ew, with the Tso Chue。 The translated version used here is the second edition published by Clarendon Press, Oxford in 1895。 

1。2。 Research significance论文网

When we look at The Classics of Songs translated by the Scottish missionary and scholar James Legge, we find that his translation strategy is similar to that of Zhu Xi, which is, to find the meaning of the odes in the odes themselves（Legge, 1895）。 Once again, though Legge tried to be objective and impartial in his translation, his words and expressions manifest some features of his cultural background。 Since the interpretations of Zhu Xi and James Legge both adopt a relatively objective translation method and indicate different social-contexts of their times, a comparison between the two versions might be regarded as the encounter of two different cultures。

As globalization intensifies, cross-cultural communication has become increasingly important。 A comparison between the two annotations from Zhu Xi and James Legge may indicate some distinctions between Chinese and western culture。 The awareness of Sino-western cultural difference can help to treat cultures with impartiality, making the cross-culture communication more smoothly。 Besides, Legge’s translation methods also give reflection on interpretation of the Chinese classics。 These works may not be what they are today。 That is to say, the original meaning should be discovered by a careful evaluation of all the annotations of scholars and schools。 In addition, to view the classics under a historical and global perspective may inject new energy into our culture, promoting its compatibility and profundity in the international stage。