Between Literature and Philosophy: On Translating Confucius into English

Abstract

The Confucian Analects or Lunyu has had many translations in the English-speaking world, yet Confucius still largely remains a vague, distant, unattractive, and at times confusing figure for the Western reader. It is both necessary and possible to change this situation. This article reviews the limited progress so far in translating Confucius, examines the remaining problems, and suggests some possible remedies. It concludes that translating the Analects is a sophisticated task that requires the translator to juggle demands from both philosophy and literature. To do this, the translator has to be equipped with literary sensibilities, philosophical insight, a thorough understanding of the Confucian text, a grasp of the syntactical differences between English and Classical Chinese, and a sensitivity to style and nuances of meaning.