The Chinese Classics — Prolegomena

Project GutenbergProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

4.4

Word count: 332K words
Chapters: 34

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.The Chinese Classics — Prolegomena by James LeggeAuthor: ,Language: English, Class: PL: Language and Literatures: Languages and literatures of Eastern Asia, Africa, Oceania, Release Date: Dec 1, 2001

Editor's review

This is the "Prolegomena" portion of James Legge's The Chinese Classics, a scholarly introduction rather than a translation of the classic texts themselves. Its value lies in showing how nineteenth-century Western sinology understood Chinese classics: questions of textual provenance, authenticity, commentarial tradition, and translation principles are all discussed systematically here. For Chinese readers, reading this part offers a reverse perspective on how their own classical tradition was organized and interpreted by others, and it has methodological value as a point of reference. The text is in English and academically dense, suited to slow reading and comparative reading. If you are researching classic translation, comparative literature, or the history of sinology, this part offers concrete and detailed clues; if you merely want to read the Analects or Mencius as casual reading, you may find it dull. It is best treated as research material, not an introductory storybook.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Scholars and students researching the history of sinology and Chinese-Western translation of classics
Readers interested in questions of textual provenance and commentary in Chinese classics
Comparative literature readers who need to understand Legge's translation principles
Readers with strong English reading ability willing to read academic texts slowly

Not a good fit for

Beginners who want to read plain-language translations of the Analects or Mencius directly
General readers expecting light stories or general-knowledge books
Readers who struggle with English and are unfamiliar with academic discussion

Reading tips

Start with the chapters related to one classic rather than proceeding linearly from beginning to end.
Read against the Chinese originals and standard commentaries, noting Legge's handling and the differences.
Keep a basic reference work on sinology or translation studies at hand to check names and terms of textual scholarship.
After finishing, write a short review comparing Legge's prolegomena with the concerns of contemporary research.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Does this book contain the text of the Analects and other classics?

No. This is the prolegomena portion of The Chinese Classics, mainly discussing background questions such as textual provenance, authenticity, commentary, and translation principles, rather than a complete translation of the classic texts. To read the texts themselves, you need other volumes in the series.

Why is the author listed as Project Gutenberg?

Ebook platforms often mix publisher and author fields in their metadata; the data shows the author field as Project Gutenberg, but the content actually comes from Legge's prolegomena to The Chinese Classics. Judge by the content and Legge's scholarly background when reading.

What special value does this book have for Chinese readers?

It offers a mirror: seeing how nineteenth-century Western scholars organized Chinese classics, which commentaries they chose, and how they set translation principles. Compared with contemporary Chinese research, it helps readers reflect on how their own tradition has been narrated and classified, and it is suited to research reading.

How difficult is the English, and what background is needed?

It is academic English, with long sentences and terms from textual scholarship and translation. A good command of English and familiarity with the basic background of Chinese classics are recommended. If the English is hard, read relevant Chinese research first, then return to the English prolegomena.

Comments

Find this book

This site is an index: you start “Search all sources” in your browser, and the entries it lists all point to third-party sites; please judge their availability yourself.

About the author

Project Gutenberg Author

Project Gutenberg is not a single author but a nonprofit digital library founded by Michael Hart in 1971 and one of the world's earliest free ebook platforms. It relies on volunteers to digitize, proofread, and freely distribute public-domain works and is now operated by the Project Gutenberg Literary Archive Foundation. Its collection contains 2,692 works, mainly religious texts, epics, and story collections, including the King James Bible and the Douay-Rheims volumes, the epic Mahabharata, a literal translation of the Arabian Nights, and Danish editions of the Old and New Testaments. Public information is limited, and its nature is closer to a public-interest compiling and dissemination body; these texts are open to the public, easy to consult and circulate, and have had a profound influence on the spread of ebooks and the preservation of public-domain resources.