The Touch of Kongzi’s Irony and Reflections on Methodology

Abstract

Abstract Scholars have often recognized the “touch of irony” in Kongzi’s “collected conversations” (Lunyu 論語 or Analects of Confucius). Some interpreters have taken the ironic face as one of his faces. Others have celebrated the ironic Kongzi as the “true” depiction of the Master. This paper presents two seemingly contrasting images of Kongzi – the non-ironic sage and the ironic non-sage – and looks at their assumptions. I then explore the methodological implications of taking the Master’s irony seriously. I argue that, touching upon irony, any interpretation is necessarily touched by it – it renders itself ironic. Finally, I discuss the post-comparative approach as an ironic approach. Post-comparative readings recognize that identity is the necessary condition for the transformation of identity. In this way, Kongzi’s irony is transformed by but also transforms more familiar, non-Chinese discourses on irony.