A comparative study of Lin Yutang’s and James Legge’s translations of junzi in the Analects

Abstract

This paper compares and contrasts Lin Yutang’s and James Legge’s translations of junzi in The Analects to explore how they have represented this cultural concept. It starts by reviewing the etymology, word formation and ethical assumptions of junzi in the original sense, before analyzing its meaning in The Analects from the intellectual, political, moral, behavioral and mental perspectives. Upon a hermeneutic study of the term, it argues that junzi has evolved from a political label in early literature to a multi-dimensional concept in The Analects which denotes people who are at the same time informed scholars, political wits and virtuous men. In particular, it highlights the importance of virtue in shaping the meaning of junzi. The paper then moves on to investigate Lin’s and Legge’s translation strategies for word choices and information structures. Given that such general terms as “a/the superior man” and “a/the gentleman” are frequently used, especially in Lin’s text, the paper examines the feasibility of these translations by comparing their denotations and connotations with that of junzi. Meanwhile, it also looks into the impacts of information structures on the representations of junzi. With a detailed data analysis, the paper arrives at the conclusion that while both texts have employed general terms to translate junzi, Legge’s information-dense structures have foregrounded the virtuous quality of junzi, thus capturing its defining characteristic as depicted by The Analects. Lin’s text, on the other hand, has modified the concept of junzi and shifted its focus from virtue to manners by adopting gentleman as one of the prevailing translations for the term.