A Translation of Zhu Xi's Commentary on the Mengzi

FAIN: FB-50372-04

Bryan Van Norden
Vassar College (Poughkeepsie, NY 12604-0001)

Zhu Xi (Chu Hsi, 1130-1200 CE) is undeniably one of the greatest and most influential Chinese philosophers of the last thousand years. He articulated what became the orthodox interpretation of Confucianism, and the basis of the civil service examinations for six hundred years. As a result, Chinese thinkers since then (from his critics in the Lu-Wang School to some of the "New Confucians" of the twentieth century) operate in an intellectual framework that he helped create. One of the reasons for Zhu Xi's influence is that he made central to the Confucian educational curriculum the so-called Four Books: the Great Learning, the Analects of Confucius, the Mengzi (also called Mencius), and the Mean. Zhu Xi also wrote a detailed commentary on each of these books. My project is to provide a translation into English of the Mengzi with Zhu Xi's commentary. The Mengzi is an eponymous work that records the sayings of a third or fourth generation disciple of Confucius, who was thought to have understood the teachings of Confucius with special depth and clarity. The Mengzi is itself a work of great literary and philosophical interest, and is often more accessible for readers than the Analects. It shows a Confucian thinker skillfully blending argument and rhetoric to provide a foundation for Confucianism in human nature. This work has been translated before, but not with Zhu Xi's commentary, which is remarkably insightful in interpreting the Mengzi. The commentary also provides a broader metaphysical framework for Confucianism. With the publication of this translation, English readers will finally have access to one of the most important works of world philosophy and religion--as it has been read by generations of Chinese literati.

Media Coverage

Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Review)
Author(s): Hui-chieh Loy
Publication: Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
Date: 3/29/2009
URL: http://ndpr.nd.edu/news/23962-mengzi-with-selections-from-traditional-commentaries/

“Defining ‘Virtue Ethics’ and Exploring Virtues in a Comparative Context: Comments on Bryan W . Van Norden, Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy” (Review)
Author(s): Stephen C. Angle
Publication: Dao
Date: 9/1/2009
URL: http://www.kutztown.edu/academics/liberal_arts/philosophy/Dao/daotableofcontentsViii3.htm

Associated Products

Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries (Book)
Title: Mengzi: With Selections from Traditional Commentaries
Author: Zhu Xi
Author: Mengzi
Author: Bryan W. Van Norden
Abstract: This work is a translation of the ancient Confucian classic, the eponymous Mengzi, along with a running commentary, drawing on major traditional commentaries, particularly that of Zhu Xi.
Year: 2008
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/181421046
Secondary URL: http://amzn.com/087220913X
Publisher: Hackett Publishing
Type: Translation
ISBN: 978-0-87220-91
Translator: Bryan W. Van Norden

The Essential Mengzi (Book)
Title: The Essential Mengzi
Author: Bryan W. Van Norden
Author: Mengzi
Author: Zhu Xi
Abstract: This work is a translation of the most important and interesting passages from the ancient Confucian classic, the eponymous Mengzi. This translation also includes, grouped together the back of the book, selections from a variety of traditional commentaries on the text, particularly those of Zhu Xi.
Year: 2009
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/416262008
Secondary URL: http://www.hackettpublishing.com/the-essential-mengzi
Type: Translation
ISBN: 0-87220-985-7
Translator: Bryan W. Van Norden

Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy (Book)
Title: Virtue Ethics and Consequentialism in Early Chinese Philosophy
Author: Bryan W. Van Norden
Abstract: This work interprets Confucianism as a form of virtue ethics and Mohism (a Chinese philosophical school critical of Confucianism) as a form of consequentialism.
Year: 2007
Primary URL: http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77011526
Secondary URL: http://amzn.com/0521867355
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Type: Single author monograph
ISBN: 0521867355

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