Yi yi qiu tong: Maidousi (W. H. Medhurst) dui Zhuzi li xue zhong "li" de fan yi = Seeking reconciliation through translation : a study on W. H. Medhurst’s translation of “li (理)” in Cheng-Zhu confucianism

M.Phil.As the core concept in Lixue 理學 (or Cheng-Zhu Confucianism), Li 理 has all along been endowed with complicated meanings, signifying moral principles as well as the transcendent origin and governing power of the universe. Li first attracted scholarly attention of the Westerners, most of them the Jesuits, in the 17th century, when Lixue was established as the Chinese orthodoxy. Protestant missionaries in the early 19th century carried on the Jesuits’ work, but almost uniformly interpreted Li as a material force, hence criticizing Lixue as atheism and enemy of Christianity. This argument stood unchallenged until 1844, when Walter Henry Medhurst (1796-1857), a British missionary, published a partial translation of Yuzuan Zhuzi Quanshu (The Imperial Edition of the Complete Works of Zhu Xi). In his translation, Medhurst tried to reconcile Lixue and Christianity by reinterpret the meaning of Li, making the translation a landmark in the history of English scholarship on Lixue. The translation’s importance also lies in the fact that it was the very first English translation of Zhu Xi’s (1130-1200) philosophical works and it imposed a great influence on the auspicious sinologist, James Legge (1815-1897). The present study, therefore, focuses on Medhurst’s rewriting of Li in his translation. It combines textual and contextual analysis to reveal how and why the missionary-translator rewrites the concept. By investigating the case in connection with Medhurst’s missionary strategies and involvement in the Term Controversy, the research shows a close link between his studies on Li and efforts in solving the Term Question in Bible translation. In fact, his translating Li is his response to his opponents in the Controversy. In order to prove Lixue and Christianity share a common ground, he reshapes the meaning of Li by various means, such as pre-selecting original texts, adding Christian terms as well as altering the logical and grammatical structures of the original. By studying Medhurst’s case, the thesis attempts to present the interactions between religions, thoughts and historical factors behind the 19-century missionary’s translation of Confucian Classics. It is also hoped that this study may shed some lights on the shifts in English scholarship on Lixue in this period.「理」是程朱理學的核心概念，兼具世界本原、主宰力蠱、道德倫理和自然規律等單豐富肉涵。由于理學長期被清代官方奉為正統，「理」 自然成為當時來華傳教士研究中國恩怨的重點。十九世紀初，新教傳教士延續了前代耶穌會士的觀點，將理學作為基督教的對立面， 把「理」解釋為「物質能量」。 直到1844 年，英間傳教士麥都恩(1 796-1857) 節譯《御纂朱子全書》 ，于《中國叢報》 (The Chinese Repository ) 發表。該譯本不但是朱子( 1130-1200 )哲學著作英譯的開端，而且對「理」做出了不向前人的詮釋，進而，啟發理雅各(James Legge， 181 5-1897 ) 對朱子和中國宗教進行會通式研究. 可以說是朱子理學英譯史承前做後的重要節點。本研究從麥都恩《御纂朱子全書》節譯本對「理」這一關鍵詞的的翻譯切入，將釋本放置於「譯名之爭」的歷史語境中考察，並聯繫麥都恩個人文化立場的轉變和研究理學的軌跡，分析他如何通過翻譯改寫「理」 ， 并探究背後原因。研究認為，麥都恩對「理」的關注自始至終與God的中文譯名問題糾續在一起，其譯本更是對當時如火如荼的「譯名之爭」的回應。 為了證明理學與基督教存在共通之處，麥都恩在譯本中通過增譯基督教神學術語 、變更原文邏輯關係、改動原文語法結構等方式改寫了「理」 的內涵，嘗試將其融入基督教的思想體系之中. 通過該個案，研究試圖呈現十九世紀傳教士漢籍譯中宗教、思想和歷史等因素的互動. 以及該時間英語世界理學研究中的變調。帥司阳."2017年12月".Parallel title from Chinese abstract.Thesis M.Phil. Chinese University of Hong Kong 2018.Includes bibliographical references (leaves 87-97).Abstracts in Chinese and English.Title from PDF title page (viewed on February 7, 2022).Shuai Siyang