University of Macau Library

Author: Bai, Limin
Title: Revisiting James Legge’s Christian interpretation of Confucian filial piety: a comparative approach
Journal Name: The Journal of the Macau Ricci Institute
Pub. Info: Nov. 2018, No. 3, pp. 35-46
Link: http://mrijournal.riccimac.org/articles/issue_03/MRI_Journal_Issue_Three.pdf
Abstract: This paper focuses on James Legge’s Christian hermeneutical approach to Confucian filial piety. It firstly investigates various interpretations of Confucian filial piety, and then discusses the manner by which Legge combined the concept of a Christian God with the Confucian doctrine of filial piety through his translation of Confucian classics. This resulted in the alteration of the immediate father figure in Confucian filial piety to the Father in Heaven. A further study of the indigenous concept of tian 天 as the divine power and the concept of the Christian Heavenly Father then ensues, leading to a comparison of the moral authorities in Chinese and Western cultures. It argues that Legge’s Christian hermeneutic interpretation of filial piety highlights the true value of humanity and humaneness in Confucian moral philosophy. Paragraph Headings: 1. What is Filial Piety? 2. A conflict of interpretations 3. The hermeneutical challenge 4. Toward cultural synthesis