English Translation Of Zhu Xi’s Thoughts Of Li Since 1819

Zhu Xi’s thoughts have been translated and interpreted in the English-speaking world for more than two hundred years.Taking his thoughts of Li as the mainline,this dissertation conducts a comprehensive study of this historical process in depth.It defines Marxist materialist conception towards the history and clarifies a corresponding research path from this perspective.Specifically,based on historical materialism,it critically examines different English renditions of Li by different translators in different cultural and historical contexts over the past two hundred years.Dependent on the diachronic description,it also prescribes the translation and interpretation path of Zhu’s thoughts of Li in the English-speaking world,and probes into the possible characteristics and principles underlying this process.Finally,in accordance with the unveiled westward proceedings,this dissertation offers some enlightenment on more effective translation of Zhu’s thoughts as well as the development of translation studies in the future.From the standpoint of historical materialism,the dissertation divides the two hundred years into four historical stages,namely,Missionary Translation(the 19 th century),Interpretation in/for Western Philosophical Frames(the first half of 20 th century),Interpretation in terms of Zhu’s Own Discourse(the second half of 20 th century),and Modern Interpretation(the 21 st century).During Missionary Translation(the 19 th century),missionaries in China played the dominant role.In the historical context of “Term Question”,the controversy over the Chinese equivalent of God has triggered their competitive translations of Zhu’s theory of Li and Qi,or rather whether the theological factors exist in Li.These various renditions actually stemmed from their different term position and preaching vision.To illustrate,for the sake of accommodative missionary policy,Morrison translated Li as principle and compared it to the emanation from the Deity.To argue for the term Shangdi,Medhurst translated Li as immaterial principle and interpreted it as the proportion of Qi and soul of the universe through materialistic diction and theological analogy.To defend the use of Shen,Bridgman purposely selected materials and rewrote Li in his translation as the primary matter.To promote the term Zhishen,Mc Clatchie translated Li as Fate based on comparative mythology and theologized it via abundant annotations as the Confucian counterpart of western God.To correct Mc Clatchie’s misinterpretations,Chalmers followed literal hermeneutics to render Li as Law of the natural process.To conclude,the translation mechanism underlying this phase was “the competitive theological interpretations of whether the theological factors exist in Li”.These translations jointly shaped Li as the core category of the Chinese Cosmogony in this period,which implicated the cultural manipulations of Zhu’s thoughts by the western missionaries.This image also predetermined its limited circulation among the overseas missionary society then.During Interpretation in/for Western Philosophical Frames(the first half of 20 th century),sinologists in the English-speaking world began to be the primary translators.Against the backdrop of western cultural crisis,they tried to interpret Li in and for western philosophical frames.For instance,in terms of English translations,to reinterpret western moral values,Bruce(translating Li as Law,principle,Moral Order,etc.)rendered Li as the moral source based on Love through hierarchical interpretations within various western ethical convictions;to reflect upon the western rationality,Bodde(translating Li as Law,principle,etc.)intensified the logic connotation of Li in Feng’s original work by adding logical qualifiers and commentaries.In terms of research,to reconstruct the empirical scientific view,Hocking(transliterating Li)defined Li as the biological life-charter of all things through analogical reasoning by Plato’s transcendental realm;to develop the organic view of nature,Needham(also transliterating Li)prescribed Li as cosmic principle of organization within the setting of organic naturalism.To summarize,the translation mechanism underlying this phase was “Li’s Geyi in and for western philosophical discourse”.These translations jointly shaped Li as the reference of the Western philosophy in this period,which implicated the cultural utilization of Zhu’s thoughts by western scholars for the purpose of renewing their own values.This image also excluded the possibility of its in-depth discussion in the western sinological scholarship then.During Interpretation in terms of Zhu’s Own Discourse(the second half of 20 th century),Chinese scholars and sinologists in the United States took over the baton.In the context of Neo-Confucianism academic movement in North America,they tried to interpret Li with Zhu’s Own Discourse,aiming at unfolding Zhu’s real thoughts for the English-speaking world.In terms of English translation,Chan Wing-tsit(translating Li as principle)started from Zhu’s deep thoughts and systematically presented Li’s philosophical connotations in English for the first time;on basis of Chan,Wittenborn(mainly translating Li as principle)further disclosed Li’s broad content;Gardner(mainly translating Li as principle)focused on interpreting Li from Zhu’s classic hermeneutics;Ebrey(mainly translating Li as principle)intent to interpret Li with Zhu’s explanation of rituals.In terms of research,from the late 1960 s to the early 1980 s,scholars like Chan Wing-tsit,Stanislaus,Siu-chi Huang deeply probed into Li’s philosophical discourse through the internal paradigm;since the mid-1980 s,with the injection of other disciplinary angles,Chan Wing-tsit,Tillman and others began to study Li by unearthing its external factors such as its political environment,thoughts inheritance and linguistic building.The researches combining internal and external paradigm have substantially expanded Li’s English value space.To sum up,the translation mechanism underlying this phase was “multi-dimensional Name-Rectification of Zhu’s thoughts with Li at the Core”.These scholarly translations were characterized with thick contextualization.Although conducted by diverse approaches and from divergent viewpoints,they were all steered towards the common goal,namely revealing Zhu’s real thoughts.These translations jointly shaped Li as the focus of Neo-Confucianism academic movement in North America then,which implicated the Chinese subjective pursuit of its own culture in the west.Consequently,certain academic effects have been exerted,which resulted in considerable dissemination of Zhu’s thoughts in this period,although mainly confined to the “self-isolated and self-sufficient” academic circle.Ushering into the new century,although most translations still followed the academic mode,a few begin to integrate themselves with modern horizon of development,symbolizing the advent of Modern Interpretation(the 21 st century).Apart from foreign sinologists,native Chinese experts also begin to involve in this process.In the course of China leading new type of globalization,they attempt to investigate Li’s modern application on the premise of respecting its cultural core.On the one hand,some foreign scholars(such as Yung and Angle)incorporate problem awareness into their Li translations,endeavoring to look for Li ways of approaching contemporary issues;on the other hand,some Chinese scholars(such as Pan Wenguo)blend cultural confidence into their Li translations,aspiring to share this fine culture with the world.In brief,the translation mechanism underlying this phase is “Li’s integration and innovation through the modern interpretation”.These translations jointly shape Li as the facilitator of development in the new era,which highlight the new trend of two-way integration of Chinese and Western culture for the concerted upgrading of human civilization in the 21 st century.Based on the above diachronic review,this dissertation seeks to prescribe the overall English translation and interpretation path of Zhu’s concept of Li from the following four-dimensional analysis: in terms of value of translation,it has gone from competitive theological interpretation to the interpretation in/for western philosophical frames,interpretation through Zhu’s own discourse and finally the integrative interpretation for innovation.In terms of content selection,it has undergone a “external-internal-external” spiral framing.In terms of interpretation mode,it has evolved from the theological comparing to western philosophical elucidation,detailed historical elaboration and finally the applied interpretation.These elements jointly contribute to the image of Li changing from the core category of Chinese cosmogony,to the reference of Western philosophy,focus of Neo-Confucianism academic movement and finally the facilitator of development in the new era.In view of this,this dissertation also discloses the overall westward proceedings of Zhu’s thoughts from eleven translational factors and examines the possible features and principles underlying this process.Finally,based on these findings,this dissertation offers some inspirations for the current translation of Zhu’s thoughts in terms of how to position,how to plan and implement,and how to promote,and provide some reference to the development of translation studies on fronts of enhancing understanding towards the social practice nature of translation,importing a new materialism paradigm into translation history research and illuminating the construction of Chinese discourse in Chinese cultural translation studies.From the perspective of historical materialism,this dissertation systematically examines the two-hundred-year history of the translation and interpretation of Zhu’s thoughts in the English-speaking world through the lens of Li.It can not only enhance our understanding of its overall westward path,deliver interdisciplinary reflection for the future Zhu’s thoughts studies,but also offer significant historical insights to the current efforts to spread Zhu’s culture overseas.Thus,this is a study embodied with multiple values.