A Comparative Study Of Gadamer 's Hermeneutic Theory

As a representative of Confucian in Han Dynasty, Dong Zhongshu proposed ‘Poetry’ no Definite Explanation based on the study of the Book of Songs. Since this principle involves the essential rules of interpretation of literary activity, so the later scholars gradually improved it into the real ‘Poetry’ no Definite Explanation, which rose as one of the most important theories of interpretation in China. On the other side, Gadamer, as a master of interpretation theory in western world, had left profound impact on interpretation theory in western world as well as the whole world with his rich theories and wide range of research.While sharing something in common in theoretical connotations,‘Poetry’ no Definite Explanation and Gadamer’s interpretation theory also had some difference because of the different cultures where they have been rooted in and the different cultural psychology that they have bear.This article, based on a comprehensive analysis of the contents of the two theories,will try to discuss their similarity about readers and the text interpretation, and then deeply explore their dissimilarities in theoretical connotations, generation of text meaning and pursue goals. Finally, this article will try to find out the causes of these dissimilarities in philosophy, thinking and culture based on the above difference.Comparison of China’s ‘Poetry’ no Definite Explanation and Gadamer’s interpretation theory, on one side, will help us to reconstruct China’s Poetics of Interpretation on the basis of Gadamer’s interpretation theory, and on the other side,it will help to highlight the national characteristic of ancient Chinese literature, thus making up for Gadamer’s interpretation theory and those of the western world.