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Keywords = Arthur Waley

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Article
Qian Xuexi and William Empson’s Discussion of Arthur Waley’s English Translation of the Daodejing
by Dadui Yao
Religions 2022, 13(8), 751; https://doi.org/10.3390/rel13080751 - 17 Aug 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 2850
Abstract
Between June and August 1947, Qian Xuexi and William Empson exchanged 12 letters on the issue of Arthur Waley’s misinterpretation of the Daodejing. Through a thorough analysis of these new-found letters and Qian’s English translation of the Daodejing, I intended to [...] Read more.
Between June and August 1947, Qian Xuexi and William Empson exchanged 12 letters on the issue of Arthur Waley’s misinterpretation of the Daodejing. Through a thorough analysis of these new-found letters and Qian’s English translation of the Daodejing, I intended to show that the central arguments between Qian and Empson are around two major problems concerning Waley’s translation: Waley’s ideas of the Daodejing being part of the “Yoga-Quietism” tradition that Waley himself tried to invent, and Waley’s idea of opposing Daoism to Legalism. Qian firmly rejected that the ideas in the Daodejing were the same as some Western ideas. Neither did he accept that the ideas of the Daodejing were under the influence of either Western culture or Indian religious philosophy. Instead, Qian explained that the so-called “Yoga-Quietism” did not derive from China. Therefore, in his view, Waley’s approach was fundamentally problematic. Qian’s view eventually convinced Empson, who initially opposed Qian’s stance. Qian and Empson’s letters and Qian’s English translation of the Daodejing, though never published, indicate the value of Qian’s ideas and the meaning of their intellectual interaction. Full article
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