A Comparative Study on Different Translations of“Ren(仁)”in The Ana Analects of Confucius in Chinese and Western Cultures

The concept of"ren"(仁) in The Analects of Confucius is at the core of Confucianism and has acquired rich connotations and a dis-tinguished position. Enormous differences in cultural background between the East and the West, however, result in varied under-standings of"ren". In this paper, a detailed comparison between Ku Hung-ming's translation of The Analects of Confucius andthat of James Legge's is made to analyze the the impact of different cultural background on the understanding and translation of"ren"in the relevant contexts. It is concluded that cultural difference exerts a great influence on the English versions of The Ana-lects of Confucius.

The concept of ＂ren＂（仁） in The Analeets of Confucius is at the core of Confucianism and has acquired rich connotations and a distinguished position. Enormous differences in euhural background between the East and the West, however, result in varied under-standings of ＂ren＂. In this paper, a detailed comparison between Ku Hung-ruing＇ s translation of The Analeets of Confucius and that of James Legge＇ s is made to analyze the the impaet of different cultural baekground on the understanding and translation of ＂ren＂ in the relevant contexts. It is eoncluded that cultural differenee exerts a great influence on the English versions of The Ana- leets of Confucius.