On James Legge's Sinological Study And His Translation Of The Analects

Starting with his life's story, his education, belief, and philosophy, this paper explores from the perspectives of historical materialism and dialectic materialism Legge's viewpoint and position on the intricate dispute of the Term Question that has far-reaching significance. On the basis of the critique, it lays a foundation for the ensuing discussion on his comparative religious study and Confucius study, from which it focuses on what induced his gradual elimination of biased opinion against Confucius, his broadened and incorporated vision in understanding a different tradition in the process of his sinological study. Through conscientious analysis, the author points out that it is the reactive agency of more than 50 years' devoted study and his literal translation of the Chinese classics that resulted in the dynamic process of this change. This is the actual academic framework of this study as well as the author's philosophic understanding from this study.Besides the Introduction, the paper is mainly arranged in five parts. In the first chapter the influence of James Legge's family, of his education and of the society on the formation and the development of Legge's religious belief is traced, which may be regarded as the origin of his sinological study and his achievement in the translation of the Chinese Classics. This part may serve as an academic preparation for the development of the whole paper.Legge's active participation in the historical event of " Term Question" stimulated him to make a further and profound study of Confucianism. The second chapter mainly discusses Legge's point of view and its significance in the historical debate. His accommadationist strategy is showed in his papers during this period and is also a point on which we make a deeper research into his sinological orientalism.Following the last chapter in which the significance of Legge's insistence in the Term Question, the paper goes on with the discussion of Legge's establishment of the nature of Shang-di in ancient Chinese and its importance. The evidences are mainly drawn from his writings Confucianism in Relation to Christianity and The Religions of China.Chapter 4 explores Legge's findings from his comparative religious study and sinological study and their revelations. In his comparative study of religions, Legge exhibits his inextirpable exclusivism in his belief in Christianity; however, in his evaluation of Confucianism, he took a change from derision to respect. So, this chapter attempts at exploring the causes for his cognitive change. The author holds that it is the immense classic works of Confucianism and the immeasurable Chinese cultural mentality that cause the unconscious influence on his ideological cognizance.Chapter 5 makes a macro-level contrastive study of Legge's faithful approach adopted in translating Chinese classic works in the context of the history of Sino-Western translation, and a comparative study of his approach with that of Gu Hongming. In addition, the chapter also makes a micro-level study of Legge's subjectivity and its relationships with cultural communication revealed in his translation approaches toward the few key words of the Analects in the context of the relationships between language and national spirit, and the relationships between literal translation and faithfulness and in combination of Legge's position and viewpoint he held in the dispute of Term Question so as to bring light to this relationship between faithfulness strategy in the translation of literature materials and cultural communication, as well as its deep relationship of the potential influence on the translator. The argument, from which the conclusion of this chapter is drawn, is that through his long-term study of Confucianism, especially the faithfulness principle by which he consciously held in translating Chinese classic works, Legge became more open and tolerant in his ideology.This paper, guided by the historical materialism of Marxism, seeks to explain Legge's Sinological Orientalism and his related translations by focusing on the related original works and extensive reading of these works. Also, from an interdisciplinary perspective, it analyzes Legge's open-minded, dynamic Sinological Orientalism in light of the theories of comparative cultural study and provides well-grounded explanations in hermeneutics of Legge's achievements in light of comparative religious study and the theory of imageology. Then, the modern theories of translation study are used to discuss the translator's motive, aim, approach, strategy and the effect. In addition, the theories of modem linguistics, especially, those of philosophical linguistics are applied to explore the possibility of a further study of the project.