Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes)
James Legge (1815–1897), arguably the most prominent missionary sinologist in the nineteenth century and the founding Professor of Chinese in Oxford in 1876, produced an English translation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes), the prominent Chinese classic, in 1882. This translation w...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-07-01
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| Series: | Religions |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/8/958 |
| _version_ | 1797583360079429632 |
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| author | John T. P. Lai |
| author_facet | John T. P. Lai |
| author_sort | John T. P. Lai |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | James Legge (1815–1897), arguably the most prominent missionary sinologist in the nineteenth century and the founding Professor of Chinese in Oxford in 1876, produced an English translation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes), the prominent Chinese classic, in 1882. This translation was included in Max Müller’s monumental <i>Sacred Books of the East</i> series. While existing scholarship has outlined some background and features of Legge’s <i>Yijing</i> translation, this version deserves more in-depth textual analysis to unearth Legge’s primary sources of reference and theological positions behind his interpretive approach. Perceiving the <i>Yijing</i> as a Confucian classic with profound moralistic connotations, Legge even revered it as a “sacred book” containing certain elements of divine revelation. He asserted that the Chinese term <i>Shangdi</i> (Supreme Ruler) referred to the Christian God, insisting that “God” was the “correct” translation of <i>Shangdi</i>, and that the operations of nature in the different seasons are the work of <i>Shangdi</i>. This paper examines Legge’s pioneering attempt of translating the <i>Yijing</i> to the West, with special reference to his religious interpretation of the seminal Chinese classic. This endeavor engendered profound inter-religious encounters and dialogues between Confucianism and Christianity. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:37:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-9984f3bfd4bb4903b4af87c02e05ff35 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2077-1444 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T23:37:48Z |
| publishDate | 2023-07-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Religions |
| spelling | doaj.art-9984f3bfd4bb4903b4af87c02e05ff352023-11-19T02:50:11ZengMDPI AGReligions2077-14442023-07-0114895810.3390/rel14080958Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes)John T. P. Lai0Department of Cultural and Religious Studies, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, ChinaJames Legge (1815–1897), arguably the most prominent missionary sinologist in the nineteenth century and the founding Professor of Chinese in Oxford in 1876, produced an English translation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes), the prominent Chinese classic, in 1882. This translation was included in Max Müller’s monumental <i>Sacred Books of the East</i> series. While existing scholarship has outlined some background and features of Legge’s <i>Yijing</i> translation, this version deserves more in-depth textual analysis to unearth Legge’s primary sources of reference and theological positions behind his interpretive approach. Perceiving the <i>Yijing</i> as a Confucian classic with profound moralistic connotations, Legge even revered it as a “sacred book” containing certain elements of divine revelation. He asserted that the Chinese term <i>Shangdi</i> (Supreme Ruler) referred to the Christian God, insisting that “God” was the “correct” translation of <i>Shangdi</i>, and that the operations of nature in the different seasons are the work of <i>Shangdi</i>. This paper examines Legge’s pioneering attempt of translating the <i>Yijing</i> to the West, with special reference to his religious interpretation of the seminal Chinese classic. This endeavor engendered profound inter-religious encounters and dialogues between Confucianism and Christianity.https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/8/958James Legge<i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes)cross-cultural translationreligious interpretation |
| spellingShingle | John T. P. Lai Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) Religions James Legge <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) cross-cultural translation religious interpretation |
| title | Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) |
| title_full | Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) |
| title_fullStr | Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) |
| title_full_unstemmed | Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) |
| title_short | Moral Cultivation and Divine Revelation: James Legge’s Religious Interpretation of the <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) |
| title_sort | moral cultivation and divine revelation james legge s religious interpretation of the i yijing i book of changes |
| topic | James Legge <i>Yijing</i> (Book of Changes) cross-cultural translation religious interpretation |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2077-1444/14/8/958 |
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