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A review by spacestationtrustfund
The I Ching: The Book of Changes by Anonymous
1.0
This review is of the translation by James Legge.
James Legge's translation of the 易經 [yì jīng], first published in 1882, was the second ever English-language translation of the text. Although his work with the Yi Jing has long been considered the "standard" English-language version, and is still taught to students today, Legge's role in the history of translation is a complicated one. As a whole his translations were mostly terribly, yet massively influential; due in no small part to the fact that many of his translations included parallel Chinese and English text, a highly unusual format at the time, his work has continued to be studied even centuries after it should be viewed as outdated. Legge, like the majority of Western translators of the Victorian era, was a Christian missionary, and thus his translation work was filtered through a Western Christian religious context, which posed understandable problems when the text in question regarded ancient Chinese spiritual beliefs. Much scholarship has been written on the Victorian-era "invention" of a fictionalised "Oriental belief system"—everyone from Edward Said to Norman J. Girardot—and Legge is by no means blameless. Although his opinions on Eastern, and particularly Chinese, culture and literature did take a turn for the positive throughout his life, the majority of Legge's translation work is so irrevocably tinged with this 19th century-typical mentality, to say nothing of his religious evangelism, so as to be functionally useless—assuming the intent is to read something which closely resembles the original text. If you want to read what some Victorian guy thought ancient Chinese mysticism was all about, then by all means, read Legge. But otherwise, it can safely be skipped.
James Legge's translation of the 易經 [yì jīng], first published in 1882, was the second ever English-language translation of the text. Although his work with the Yi Jing has long been considered the "standard" English-language version, and is still taught to students today, Legge's role in the history of translation is a complicated one. As a whole his translations were mostly terribly, yet massively influential; due in no small part to the fact that many of his translations included parallel Chinese and English text, a highly unusual format at the time, his work has continued to be studied even centuries after it should be viewed as outdated. Legge, like the majority of Western translators of the Victorian era, was a Christian missionary, and thus his translation work was filtered through a Western Christian religious context, which posed understandable problems when the text in question regarded ancient Chinese spiritual beliefs. Much scholarship has been written on the Victorian-era "invention" of a fictionalised "Oriental belief system"—everyone from Edward Said to Norman J. Girardot—and Legge is by no means blameless. Although his opinions on Eastern, and particularly Chinese, culture and literature did take a turn for the positive throughout his life, the majority of Legge's translation work is so irrevocably tinged with this 19th century-typical mentality, to say nothing of his religious evangelism, so as to be functionally useless—assuming the intent is to read something which closely resembles the original text. If you want to read what some Victorian guy thought ancient Chinese mysticism was all about, then by all means, read Legge. But otherwise, it can safely be skipped.