第4章

In the more than 150 years since the first edition of Legge＇s The Chinese Classics was published, some Chinese classics including The Four Books and The FiveClassics have been rendered into English, but Legge＇s version remains to be a standard, serving as the most authentic canon for westerners to understand the Oriental civilization and Chinese culture, as well as the Chinese national ethics. And without any shadow of a doubt, its meaning as a milestone has been clearer as time goes by.Since returning to England, Legge had been a professor of Sinology at Oxford for more than twenty years.His translation of Chinese classics and his teaching career have played a vital role in the establishment of Sinology as a discipline and had a positive effect on the development of Western Sinology. Legge＇s contribution is a milepost in transmitting the Eastern learning to the West and in the cultural exchanges between the East and the West.

Today, with the inevitable trend of globalization and the increasing international communication, the exchanges between the East and the West are much more expanded. However, there are still some barriers impossible to surmount in the communication, and,in a sense, we are confronted with the same problems Legge once had more than a hundred years ago. For example, how should one deal with the differences and conflicts in different civilizations, what attitude should one adopt in face of heterogeneous civilizations, and the like. In addition, for a nation with a long traditional culture like ours, such problems as how to handle the differences and conflicts between modern civilization and ancient traditions and how we modern people should communicate with traditions still exist. Therefore, in rereading Legge＇s translation of The Chinese Classics and reviewing his academic achievements, I＇d like to cast my eyes on the starting point of Legge＇s epoch-making work to learn about his attitude and position in dealing with China, Chinese culture and the traditional Chinese classics represented by The Four Books and The FiveClassics. 

In the age when Legge decided to translate Chinese classics, China did not have an equal position in its communication with the West. Western countries started their communication with China by resorting to force in the war, so they were more active and commanding,while China was passive and weak. In this case, Legge deserves our particular respect and praise because he had always adopted an objective, modest, prudent and unbiased attitude in his translation and research of Chinese classics. His sense of equality and tolerance set a good example in world cultural exchanges.

Undoubtedly, Legge＇s equal and objective attitude towards Chinese classics has a lot to do with his identity of being a faithful Christian missionary, which had shaped his character and integrity. He started to study and translate Chinese classics in order to spread Christianity better in China. In the second volume of the first edition of The Chinese Classics, Legge pointed out the necessity to translate Chinese Confucius classics,stating that this was an important way for other countries in the world to learn about China and that missionaries could acquire more wisdom and improve their future work by learning these classics.[1]Of course, apart from his religious purpose, the real motive lies in Legge＇s keen desire to understand China and Chinese culture. In his diary, Legge once expressed his attitude to Chinese culture: instead of being a philosopher, he treated China from the perspective of philosophy; he longed to understand Chinese language, history, literature, ethics and social reality because China was a great story for him.[2]Clearly, the best way for Legge to know Chinese language, history, literature, ethics and social reality is to read and study Confucius classics. Dr. Joseph Edkins(1823-1905) had similar expression that Confucius classics were to the Chinese people what the Bible was to Christians，Shakespeare to English majors and the Koran to Moslems.[3]

Legge is also remarkable in that he could update his knowledge with the furthering of his research and translation in more than thirty years, his comment on Confucius being a typical example. In the Preface to the first edition of The Chinese Classics, Legge was critical of Confucius, but in the revised edition of 1893,he corrected his attitude. This time, he expressed his heart-felt respect for Confucius with more careful words for fear of his superficial understanding and inaccurate expression: "I hope I have not done him injustice; the more I have studied his character and opinions, the more highly have I come to regard him. He was a very great man, and his influence has been on the whole a great benefit to the Chinese, while his teachings suggest important lessons to ourselves who profess to belong to the school of Christ."[4]

Needless to say, there have been extensive, profound investigations and research in the academic circles of both the West and China concerning Legge＇s significance and great influence in the establishment and development of Western Sinology, the introduction of Chinese learning to the West, and the history of cultural exchanges between the East and the West. However, when Legge＇s version of The Four Books and The Five Classics is being revised and published, when Legge＇s study and translation of Chinese classics are being reviewed and summarized, apart from paying tribute to Legge and inheriting traditional culture, it＇s also necessary to highlight his attitude and position in reading, studying and translating The Chinese Classics. In other words,his equal and unbiased attitude, his modest and prudent gesture as well as his objective and tolerant position still offer enlightenment and reference in reading and studying The Four Books and The Five Classics,whether they be the westerners from different cultural backgrounds or the contemporary Chinese readers who have been more or less distanced from their traditional culture.

Scholar on Classic Chinese LiteratureProfessor and Ph.D SupervisorCollege of Literature, Liaoning UniversityXIONG MING2016(Translated by Ruoshui)

[1]See James Legge: The Chinese Classics, Vol.2, 1st edition. Hong Kong: London Mission Society Press, 1861.p.95.

[2]See Lauren F. Pfister, "Some New Dimensions in the Study of the Works of James Legge (1815-1897): Part I", SinoWestern Cultural Relations Journal, xii 1990, PP.30-31, Note 10.

[3]See Joseph Edkins. Dr. James Legge. North ChinaHerald, 1898-04-12.

[4]James Legge, "Prolegomena", The Chinese Classics: witha Translation, Critical and Exegetical Notes, Prolegomena,and Copious Indexes. Vol. I, 2nd edition, Oxford: The Clarendon Press, 1893. p.111.