On The Translation And Reception Of The Analects In Britain And America

Covering a wide scope of subjects from politics,philosophy,literature and art to education and moral cultivation,The Analects is the earliest and most reliable source on the life and teachings of the Sage,Confucius,and is regarded by the Chinese as the basic "scripture" of Confucianism. Full of wit and wisdom,it is still pertinent even today at home and abroad. As one of the representatives of Chinese traditional culture,The Analects provides us an example that under the current trend of cultural globalization the East should co-exist and dialogue with the West in the equal position. This thesis will mainly discuss its translation and reception in Britain and America. Besides introduction and conclusion,it is divided into five chapters.Chapter One is a brief introduction to The Analects,its major English translations and achievement at home and abroad throughout the long history. Chinese traditional culture is a treasure among the cultures of the world,and The Analects is one of the brightest pearls in its depository.Chapter Two gives an analysis of the linguistic feature of the original text and focused on the comparison of three translated versions. With the publication of the first Latin translation of the book,a list of scholars have been engaged in its English translations,among which the versions of James Legge,Arthur Waley and D. C. Lau are generally taken as most prominent. Through comparison,different features of these versions will be found out.Chapter Three presents how translators reproduce Confucius' philosophical ideas. Compared with the Western philosophers,Confucius has established a quite different set of philosophical ideas. The translations of The Analects,especially some key terms such as ren,li and tian,reveals problems of language which inevitably affect,subtly and not so subtly,the attitudes of non-Chinese toward China and the Chinese.Chapter Four discusses the reception of The Analects in Britain and America. It shows different degrees of impact of The Analects on the six figures in the society. It can be seen that once the scholars want to cast off the traditional fetters of European culture,they will seek strength and reference from other cultures including Chinese culture. This further proves the value of the book.Chapter Five concentrates on the reevaluation of The Analects under the new trend of cultural globalization. China has an ancient civilization that is older than the Greek civilization,the cradle of Western philosophy. However,the reality is Chinese culture has been largely degraded in its position by Western scholars. As one of the representatives of Chinese traditional culture,The Analects provides us an example that under the current trend of cultural globalization the East should co-exist and dialogue with the West in the equal position. In this process translation is an indispensable means.