Category Archives: Translation

Bell Reviews Bruya and Li, trans., Dialogues of Confucius

A review by Daniel Bell of Brian Bruya and Wenwen Li, trans., Dialogues of Confucius: The Complete Text (Princeton, 2026) has been published in the Times Literary Supplement. An excerpt:

…A magnificent new translation by Brian Bruya and Wenwen Li introduces this treasure of intellectual history to the anglophone world. We now know much more about Confucius the person, and about the context for some of the puzzling quotes in the Analects. Best of all, we learn new arguments that push the boundaries of the rich and complex Confucian tradition in new directions….

New Zhuangzi Translation: The Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi 莊子內篇匯評詮釋

John R. Williams and Christoph Harbsmeier have recently published a new translation of the inner chapters of Zhuangzi: 莊子內篇匯評詮釋 The Inner Chapters of the Zhuangzi: With Copious Annotations from the Chinese Commentaries, through Harrassowitz Verlag. Wiesbaden. Hardcopies and e-copies are available through this link. (Williams notes that the press is not selling the book through Amazon, and so it is being listed there at an exorbitant price. It is more reasonably priced at the publisher’s site.)

Please read the introduction below to know more about the translation. Continue reading →

New Book: Xiong Shili’s Treatise on Reality and Function

Oxford University Press has published Xiong Shili’s Treatise on Reality and Function, one of the major works of the New Confucian philosopher Xiong Shili 熊十力. The translation is by John Makeham.
This is the fourth translation in the Oxford Chinese Thought book series, which is devoted to providing high-quality translations of important philosophical and religious texts, for scholars and for classroom use. A free sample chapter is available here (free until April 1, 2024). A short description follows below the fold.

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New series of bilingual editions of source texts in Chinese philosophy (Chinese & German)

Meiner, a renowned philosophy publisher from Hamburg, has established a new series of bilingual editions of source texts in Chinese philosophy in both Chinese and German. For the series see: https://meiner.de/monographien-reihen/sino-philosophica.html

The first volume of the series is a translation by Iso Kern of a selection of the correspondence between Wang Yangming, Ouyang De and Luo Qinshun on the basis of ethical action. For this new publication see:
https://meiner.de/monographien-reihen/sino-philosophica/kontroversen-uber-die-grundlagen-ethischen-handelns.html

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New Book: The Daodejing Commentary of Cheng Xuanying

Oxford University Press has published The Daodejing Commentary of Cheng Xuanying, a translation of Cheng Xuanying’s 成玄英 famous and philosophically rich commentary, which in turn shaped both Daoist and Buddhist discourse thereafter. The translation is expertly elucidated with ample notes and glosses by the translator, Friederike Assandri, a leading authority on Cheng Xuanying and the Twofold Mystery School.
This is now the third translation in the Oxford Chinese Thought book series, which is devoted to providing high-quality translations of important philosophical and religious texts, for scholars and for classroom use. A short description follows below the fold.

Continue reading →

Translation of Zhen Dexiu’s Xin Jing

Ryan Chiang McCarthy has published a translation of the 13th c. CE text Xinjing 心经. As he explains the text was:

…compiled by the Southern Song Dynasty politician and scholar Zhen Dexiu (1178-1235, art name Xishan). The Xinjing is an anthology of selected texts, from ancient classics such as the Yijing, the Liji, and the Mengzi, accompanied by comments by the Cheng brothers, Zhu Xi, and other eminent scholars, mostly of the Song period. Its theme, as the title suggests, is the matter of cultivating the heart, or mind.

Please see here. Congratulations, Ryan!

APA Newsletter on Translating Chinese Philosophy

The latest APA Newsletter on Asian and Asian-American Philosophers and Philosophies has been published and is available here. The contents:

From the Guest Editor
“The Timeliness of Translating Chinese Philosophy: An Introduction to the APA Newsletter Special Issue on Translating Chinese Philosophy,” Ben Hammer

Articles
“Preparing a New Sourcebook in Classical Confucian Philosophy,” Roger T. Ames

“The Impossibility of Literal Translation of Chinese Philosophical Texts into English,” Tian Chenshan

“Translating Today’s Chinese Masters,” Dimitra Amarantidou, Daniel Sarafinas, and Paul J. D’Ambrosio

“Three Thoughts on Translating Classical Chinese Philosophical Texts,” Edward L. Shaughnessy

“Introducing Premodern Text Translation: A New Field at the Crossroads of Sinology and Translation Studies,” Carl Gene Fordham