Abstract
This paper discusses James Legge's (1815-97) translation and interpretation of ”Xiaojing”. Though not being the first European translation of the book, Legge's can been seen as the culmination in the translation history of ”Xiaojing” that reviewed the previous ones and provided a new perspective. Different from his predecessors such as Noel and Cibot, Legge's translation of ”Xiaojing” was done in the context of the new academic discipline of comparative religions during the Victorian era. By focusing on the debate about the ”term problem,” the author starts the journey of exploring Legge's translation from the phrase: ”Jiao she zhi li, suo yi shi Shangdi ye” (In the ceremonies at the altars of Heaven and Earth, they served God), and sees how Legge reinterpreted the doctrine of filial piety in the nineteenth century. At the end of this paper, the author provides an illustration to overview the translation and transmission of ”Xiaojing”, and aims to shed light on the research on the translating and interpretation of the Confucian classics and of the role of Western missionaries as Sinologists in the early modern Sino-West history of encounter.
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