- ISBN13: 9780345434074
- Condition: NEW
- Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
“To quietly persevere in storing up what is learned, to continue studying without respite, to instruct others without growing weary–is this not me?”
–Confucius
Confucius is recognized as China’s first and greatest teacher, and his ideas have been the fertile soil in which the Chinese cultural tradition has flourished. Now, here is a translation of the recorded thoughts and deeds that best remember Confucius–informed for the first time by the manuscript … More >>
The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation
The authors acknowledge “the vagaries of translation,” then fall victim to them. Overwordy, inconsistent and sometimes just plain sloppy. Translates _ren_ as “authoritative,” which is about the most misleading choice I’ve ever seen. The notes and discussion, however, are quite good, and the original Chinese text is included. Pinyin romanization.
Rating: 2 / 5
This is a nicely presented book, containing over 325 pages. The
graphics are well done (cover, and layout of the text within, including
the chinese original phrases, for those reading Mandarin). There’s a lot
of footnotes in the back, stimulating further research, and backing up
the interpretations contained within, as well as an appendix with more
material, that is intended to add context to Confucius’ outlook on
societal relationships and behavioral beliefs.
Next, I had to admit that each page has different scenarios of interaction
among people, or philosophical reflections, such that, for some, this
book is a cure for insomnia, no doubt. The fact that Europeans and North
Americans have not been taught to read the Chinese alphabet or the language, further beckons understanding.
Also, the 65 page introduction to the Analects is surely relevant
as the author justifies himself, of some choices in terminology as
compared to other translations and the works of previous tranlators.
A read here on Amazon didn’t understand how an archeological find could
bring higher understanding of these classics from Ancient China. Well,
the answer resides in the manuscripts. Much like the Holy Bible was
discovered in several languages (Greek, and also near-Hebraic languages,
for example) the meaning of the texts and the final translation will
depend a lot on on the ability of the underlying language to express
human thought, and the scholar’s ability to read it, understand it,
interpret it, and translate it for English speakers, no doubt.
For $10 and change, this is a not a bad work to own.
Rating: 5 / 5
I got to know this book thanks to my English teacher who studied, while he was at Hawaii, under Mr.Ames. The introduction part of this book is very compact; it is full of insights about the development and formation of Eastern philosophy, and also about how Eastern and Western philosophies tend to focus on different values. What the authors had continuously stressed throughout the introduction – that they translated this book by considering the uniqueness, or difference that Chinese language and culture have – is indeed permeated through the whole book, making it more faithful to the original than ever. The book was, notwithstanding that the ‘analects’ is such a classic, engaging and interesting. As an Asian myself, I could explore further into my personal interest in Eastern-Western comparitive philosophy, together with refreshing yet faithful translation of ‘Lun yu’
Rating: 5 / 5
Roger Ames and Henry Rosemont offer a new translation of this Chinese classic of Confucius. While I am not qualified to comment on the accuracy or integrity of the translation, Ames and Rosemont have explained and offered justifications for their translations quite thoroughly. The result is an informative version of this classic text attributed to Confucius. Heavily discussing the ethics of ritual propriety and the need to be a “junzi” or “exemplary person”, Confucius believed in wisdom and the law of reciprocity (the “silver rule”). Clearly he was concerned with preserving a moral tradition extracted from the collective understanding of the past. While parts of Ames and Rosemont’s introduction are tedious and could be better written, overall they have made a valuable contribution to the understanding of Confucian thought.
Rating: 4 / 5
This is by far one of the most well thought out and justified translations I have come across. Though true that it can be “wordy”, I find that it clearly conveys ideas that have been missed by others who avoid the time to clearly articulate the depth of certain concepts. Sometimes brevity is not the most important factor in a good translation. The use of ‘authoritative’, especially after reading the explanation given by the translator, I find to be one of the better translations I have come across. It asks the reader to put aside a certain negatice “baggage” that goes with this vocabularty, but conveys a sentiment that I find very accurate to the word itself and the religion. This is a fablulous traslation with wonderful commentary from the translator. I would consider it a first choice for anyone serious in studying the analects.
Rating: 5 / 5