From Confucian Heresy To World Cannon

This dissertation expounds an elaborate analysis of the canonization of the Mozi,a Chinese philosophical canon in the English-speaking world,against the context of the overall development of the Western Sinology.By employing approaches in translation studies and related theories in communication studies,hermeneutics,and Overseas Sinology,this dissertation seeks to outline the canonization road map of the Mozi in the English-speaking world to reveal how the Mozi evolves from a heresy of Confucianism to a world canon.On one hand,it carries out a relatively detailed investigation of the specific factors facilitating or hindering the Mozi's canonization.On the other hand,this dissertation summarizes the canonization mechanism of the Mozi,and discusses its enlightenment on the international dissemination of Chinese culture in the new era.The canonization of the Mozi in the English-speaking world is defined here as the process of the Mozi becoming a translation canon and academic canon in the English world via cross-lingual translation,cross-cultural interpretation and multi-modal dissemination.Based on this definition and the three stages of the Western Sinology's development(Missionary Sinology,Professional Sinology and American Sinology),the canonization of the Mozi is divided into three periods,namely pre-canonical period,canon formation period and canonical period.The pre-canonization period(the second half of the 19 th century)is the beginning of the translation of the Mozi in the English world.This period witnessed a rapid development of British Sinology in the 19 th century,and the Mozi,started to draw the attention of Joseph Edkins,a western missionary,with the identity of “a heresy of Confucianism” in 1858.Later,other western missionaries,represented by James Legge,put a lot of theological interpretations on the Mozi.They imagined the Mozi as a religious canon recording Christian doctrine,desperate to seek the common grounds between Mohism and Christianity.Moreover,they also used Mozi's identity as a heresy of Confucianism to attack Confucianism,the old adversary of Christianity.Through the religious imagination of the western missionaries,the Mozi started its long journey of canonization in the English-speaking world.The canon formation period(the first half of the 20 th century)is the transitional period of the Mozi's acceptance in the English-speaking world.Around the World War I,some European intellectuals were pessimistic about the European culture,so they turned their eyes to China,which brought about the profound development of the Western Sinology as well as much attention to the Mozi.Mozi was first described as a philosopher in western books,such as the history of Chinese philosophy,encyclopedia and monograph on Mohism.Meanwhile,the interpretation paradigm of the Mozi shifted from theological interpretation to philosophical dialogue when western scholars diminished their motives to compare Mozi's core idea of universal love to Christian fraternity,while regarded it as a kind of utilitarian philosophy.In addition,during this period,several Chinese overseas students played an essential role in the transitional period of the Mozi's acceptance.Hu Shi made a systematic study on the logic thought of the Mojing for the first time;Fung Youlan put forward the research paradigm of comparative philosophy and devoted himself to the equal dialogue between Mozi's philosophy and the western philosophy;Mei Yibao published his English rendition of the Mozi with good translation quality,which became a translation canon later.With the joint efforts of Chinese and foreign scholars,the philosophical landscape and cultural value of the Mozi were gradually highlighted,which accelerated the canonization of the Mozi.The canonical period(from the second half of the 20 th century to the present)refers to the establishment period of the Mozi's canonical status.After World War II,Western Sinology studies ushered in the era of American Sinology with the promulgation of the“National Defense Education Act” of the United States and the continuous increase of investment in Chinese research by major American foundations.The translation and research activities of the Mozi were also expanded with conspicuous achievements.During this period,the translation of the Mozi spanned two periods: complete translation period and retranslation period,giving birth to several translation canons.Renditions of Mei Yibao and Burton Watson were selected in the UNESCO Collection of Representative Works,Chinese Series,which indicated that the Mozi began to be disseminated worldwide through the United Nations' official promotion.Besides,four translations have been published since the beginning of the 21 st century,including the first complete English translation of the Mozi and the retranslation of the Mozi published by the Penguin Classics.The Penguin Classics version of the Mozi is the most important presentation of the canonization of the translation of the Mozi,as since then the Mozi has no longer been confined to the academic hall but gradually accepted by the public.At the same time,western researchers showed deep academic self-cultivation in this period.Under the nourishment of traditional and modern Sinology,their knowledge structure,research vision and research paradigm changed significantly.Other disciplines such as religious studies,military science,education,sociology,anthropology and political science were adopted in Mohism research,making the research interdisciplinarily.Having shaken off all kinds of chains,the Mohism study achieved significant improvements both in quantity and quality.For example,the ethics of the Mozi was interpreted in the west no longer with the western discourse,but under the principle of “harmony in diversity”,which contributed to the canonical genealogy of the Mozi in ethics.The interpretation of the Mozi gradually changed from diachronic interpretation to historical interpretation,and from single philosophical interpretation to multiple interpretations.Researchers,therefore,not only paid attention to the time when the the Mozi was completed and its authorship,but also concerned about its language style and version evolution,which indicated that the study of the Mozi went beyond the philosophical domain,while embracing science,technology,military and other fields,hence enriched the canon forms of the Mozi.With the Mozi gradually selected into textbooks,philosophy history and authoritative anthologies,and becoming an important topic for master and doctoral dissertations,the discourse of the Mozi in the west has begun to break the boundary of the Sinology field,accessible to the school education,making it become an academic canon finally.On the basis of a diachronic review and reflection on the Mozi's canonization in the English-speaking world,this dissertation further analyzes the specific factors influencing its canonization,and then concludes that the construction mechanism of the canonization of Chinese culture in foreign countries results from the joint efforts of “self-discipline”and “external-discipline”.Self-discipline means that the tension of the text itself is regarded as the basic premise of a canon,while external-discipline emphasizes the roles of external factors of the text in canonical construction,such as translators,readers,critics,patrons,ideology,publishing institutions,education departments and so on.For the Mozi,self-discipline is embodied in its universality,originality,controversy,and interpretable space,while external-discipline comes from the translation and dissemination of discoverers and patrons,cross-lingual translation,cross-cultural interpretation,and multimodal dissemination.Taking the Chinese philosophy canon the Mozi as a case study,this dissertation puts the course of its canonization in the English-speaking world against the context of the overall development of Western Sinology to reveal the process of its canonization,explore its specific presentations,and investigate factors facilitating or hindering its canonization,which is significant and valuable.First,this dissertation extends the canonization research horizon from the literary text to the philosophical text,enlarging the research territory and the interpretation tension.Second,the translation of Chinese canons is the earliest academic form and an important part of Western Sinology.Attempting to put the Mozi's canonization in the overall context of the development of Western Sinology,this dissertation outlines the translation and introduction history of the Mozi in the English-speaking world for the first time.This dissertation also puts it in the three major stages in the development of Western Sinology,revealing the relationships between the interpretation tradition and the interpretation logic in Western Sinology and those in the translation of Chinese canons.Moreover,this dissertation examines how the Chinese traditional culture has been gradually accepted in the west amid the dialogues and collisions with western culture by cross-language translation,cross-cultural interpretation,and multi-modal communication in different historical periods.It can help us further understand the universal values and spiritual structures of Chinese traditional culture.Finally,based on the historical mission of the international dissemination of Chinese culture in the new era,this dissertation refines and summarizes the specific factors affecting the canonization of the Mozi in the English-speaking world,and then responds to the important practical and theoretical issues concerned by the academic circles of the international dissemination of Chinese culture in the new era.Meanwhile,this dissertation puts forward five countermeasures to provide reasonable suggestions for the international dissemination of Chinese culture in the present and future.