A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation | Date: 28 April 2011, 05:26
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A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought: A Philosophical Interpretation
By Chad Hansen
* Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
* Number Of Pages: 464
* Publication Date: 2000-08-17
* ISBN-10 / ASIN: 0195134192
* ISBN-13 / EAN: 9780195134193
Product Description:
This ambitious book presents a new interpretation of Chinese thought guided both by a philosopher's sense of mystery and by a sound philosophical theory of meaning. That dual goal, Hansen argues, requires a unified translation theory. It must provide a single coherent account of the issues that motivated both the recently untangled Chinese linguistic analysis and the familiar moral-political disputes. Hansen's unified approach uncovers a philosophical sophistication in Daoism that traditional accounts have overlooked.
Reviews
"Hansen contributes a much-needed re-assessment of Chinese philosophy....Hansen is refreshingly revisionist as his hermeneutic lays waste to such misconceptions as "THE Tao," transcendence, and unsayableness associated with dao-ism, as well as fundamental misconceptions about Chinese language and thought....His twin fortes are an almost surgical, positivist linguistic precision, cutting away at fat and exposing the bare bones, plus a holistic approach....Overall, the author's polysemous grasp of Chinese history makes his magnum opus an interdisciplinary resource, sure to be of interest to all students and scholars of comparative literature, philosophy/religion, and intellectual history."--China News Digest
"The time is ripe for this sort of wide-ranging reappraisal. I believe the book will be a major factor in setting the tone and parameters of the debate for the next decade."--Victor Mair, University of Pennsylvania
"Hansen's book is challenging and engages the reader in a direct and personal way. In addition to language and skepticism there are many topics woven into the fabric of the book which will also engage the reader."--Canadian Philosophical Reviews
"A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought is a bold book by an intellectually ambitious and always original author."--Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
Table of Contents
1. An Introduction with Work to Do
2. The Context of Chinese Philosophy: Language and Theory of Language
Part I The Positive Dao Period
3. Confucius: The Baseline
4. Mozi: Setting the Philosophical Agenda
Part II The Antilanguage Period
5. Mencius: The Establishment Strikes Back
6. Laozi: Language and Society
Part III The Analytic Period
7. The School of Names: Linguistic Analysis in China
8. Zhuangzi: Discriminating about Discriminating
Part IV The Authoritarian Response
9. Xunzi: Pragmatic Confucianism
10. Han Feizi: The Ruler's Interpretation
Notes
Glossary of Chinese Characters
Bibliography
Index
Summary: One of the best
Rating: 5
Dr Hansen's book is a difficult read, but certainly very rewarding. Hansen is one of the finest scholars in the world on Chinese philosophy and knows his Classical Chinese inside-out. This is an important book for all serious Chinese scholars. It would probably help to have a background in formal philosophy or linguistics however. Please disregard the comment below concerning Hansen's translations. The person in question is obviously clueless.
Summary: Word Magic
Rating: 5
Dr Hansen takes us on a whirlwind tour of Chinese language, history, and culture. His deep knowledge of ancient Chinese history and thought is breath-taking. Most refreshing is his positivist approach to Chinese philosophy. He posits that there will be different possible understandings of our common human situation and, like a good literary critic(!), he allows the primary texts to suggest *in their own terms* what relevant differences exist in thinking the human.
This book will be serious brain candy to anyone who has an interest in the history of ideas, comparative religion, or intercultural philosophy.
Summary: A guide without a compass.
Rating: 1
I am truly dumbfounded at the number of positive reviews this book has received. In my humble opinion Chad Hansen is barely a second rate thinker, and not qualified in the least to be writing about Chinese Philosophy. Being that space prohibits covering every detail of Mr. Hansen's book, I will concentrate on his complete inability to translate and thus interpret Chinese writing. As an example, I will use his translation (if one can truly call it a translation) of the first chapter of the Daodejing to expose his ignorance of Literary Chinese. What follows is Mr. Hansen's version of Ch.1 DDJ:
To Guide with Names
1. To guide what can be guided is not constant guiding.
2. To name what can be named is not constant naming.
3. 'Not-exist' names the beginning (boundary) of the cosmos (Heaven and earth)
4. 'Exists' names the mother of the ten-thousand natural kinds .
5. Thus, to treat 'not-exist' as constant is desiring to use it to view its mysteries.
6. To treat 'exists' as constant is desiring to use it to view its manifestations.
7. These two emerge together yet have different names.
8. 'Together'--call that 'obscure.' 'Obscure' it and it is more obscure.
9. . . . the gateway of a crowd of mysteries.
Oh my, what a mess. Well, let's begin and try and sort this monstrosity out.
1. For the Chinese character (Cc) "dao", Mr. Hansen, has chosen the word "guide". There is a Chinese character which means "to guide" and is pronounced "dao", but it is not the same "dao" used in the Daodejing. Also, he treats the first and third "dao" as verbs, only the second one is a verb because it is preceded by "ke" = "can be".
2. He treats the first and third "ming" = "name" as verbs, only the second "ming" is a verb because it is preceded by "ke" = "can be".
3. After the word "beginning" = (Cc) "shi", Mr. Hansen inserts the word (boundary) as if it were the true meaning of "shi". The sentence just got though stating that the beginning of "heaven and earth" = "tian de" is without a name (In Chinese, giving something a name also means categorizing it). So what does Mr. Hansen do - he gives it a name.
4. OK
5.
6. Both lines 5 and 6 are such a mess it's beyond belief. There is a great deal of controversy regarding the correct punctuation of these two lines. What Mr. Hansen has done is to completely ignore punctuation altogether. He adds English words that not only have no corresponding equivalent in the Chinese text, they change the original meaning of the sentence. There are no Chinese characters in this sentence that correspond to "to treat". Also, the (Cc) "miao" translated "mysteries" is improper. At the time the DDJ was written "miao" only meant subtle.
7. OK
8. OK
9. "Crowd" as a translation for "zhrong" is a very amateurish choice, as "zhrong" is not pertaining to just people in this sentence. Once again he mistranslates "miao".
If Mr. Hansen is incapable of even properly translating this particular work, then the house of cards he has constructed his theories upon has no foundation. So why pick on Mr. Hansen when there are so many other poor translations and interpretations of Chinese works? Mr. Hansen is a professor of Chinese philosophy, such individuals should be held to a higher level of competence.
Summary: Brilliant and thought provoking
Rating: 5
Captivating, clear, and powerful. Hansen analyzes the classical period of Chinese philosophy with stunning originality, but with scholarly precision and care. His inerpretation of Mo Tzu's role in Chinese philosophy completely redefined all of my thoughts on the subject. Hansen's insights will prove invaluable to any student of any philosophical tradition. This book is probably the best book about philosophy that I have read.
Summary: Daoism is real philosophy!
Rating: 5
This book is very clearly written and sees ancient Chinese thought from a Daoist (rather than the traditional Confucian) point of view. Chad Hansen make
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