Western missionaries’ perception of the Confucian notion of Li

Published in Journal of Confucian Philosophy and Culture - Vol. 44 No. 0, pp. 77-101

Abstract:
This study aims to examine the perception of Confucian thought through an analysis of the translation terms of li 禮 in the Western missionaries’ translations of the Four Books. Li is a key concept in Confucian philosophy, as the foundation of the philosophical system, and the procedures supporting it. Furthermore, li has significant religious connotations, particularly in ancestral rites and ceremonies. Therefore, the translation of li was important to the Western missionaries, and they struggled to find an appropriate translation for li. In this study, various translations made in Western languages were examined and classified according to the semantic characteristics of li. In The Doctrine of Mean, the initially translated book, Jesuits missionaries focused on li as an external procedure, translating it as ritus or ceremonia. Later, in The Analects and Mencius translations, diverse translations emerged. First, officium, ratio, modus, and honestas represented that li must be based on ren 仁, requires internal morality, and is a component of human nature, the Four Sprouts. Next, urbanitas and civilitas reflected that li is one of the qualities that
people of high status or social reputation have. Last, decorum and “propriety” emphasized that the ultimate goal of li means harmony. Due to difference in the scope of meaning between the translations and original concept of li, and the tendency of Protestants to avoid philosophical and religious term, “ceremony” and “propriety” eventually became the translation terms for li until today. This study demonstrates the process of translating li and its interpretation in the West, which represents Western understandings of the Confucian culture and the East.