The Modern Approach to "Xungu Leads to(Confucian) Yili"

The proposition that "xungu tong yili"(an exegetical tradition leading to Confucian teachings) expresses the core idea of traditional Chinese philology, which threads throughout the Han and Song dynasties and reached its historical acme in the form of the Qian-Jia school. The overemphasis of scholars from this school on exegesis led to the division between Hanxue(Qing scholarship in the Han dynasty tradition) and Songxue(Qing scholarship in the Song dynasty tradition) and a disconnection between "xungu(Chinese exegetical tradition exegesis) and yili(Confucian teachings)." The modern "linguistized"shift has seen the slow death of the xunguxue tradition(the theory and practice of xungu as a discipline), under which "xungu tong yili." At the same time, modern xunguxue has clarified its own disciplinary orientation and has made great progress in both theory and practice,laying a reliable foundation for the renewed process of working out meanings through xungu.The heights of modern xunguxue allow the scholarly development of the meanings behind the classic texts in five respects: semantic verification, context representation, validation of themes, history of xungu interpretation, and pursuit of imagery. In the cross-disciplinary collision centered on Chinese hermeneutics, the modern approach to the proposition that "xungu tong yili" has shown abundant vitality.

Distinguishing ＂Chan＂ and ＂Quan＂—— A Discussion of the Publicness of Chanshi

The way written hanyu （language of China＇s Han people; Chinese） forms its characters places a high value on intuition, openness and sharing. ＂Publicness＂ is an essential characteristic of chanshi 阐述 and this attests to our argument. The chan 阐 in chanshi 阐述 （free interpretation） and the quan in quanshi 诠释 （exegesis） have profound philosophical and historical sources. The openness and publicness of chan 阐 seek outwardness, explicitness and clarity, holding firmly to the basic claims of dialogue and negotiation, thus containing some brilliant and constructive ideas to the cutting edge of contemporary hermeneutics. Quan 诠 is oriented toward the real, the detailed, the full and the demonstrable, qualities that look to the thing in itself, and it holds firmly to moving from textual research to meaning and significance; it shines forth in the national spirit of seeking truth. There were two approaches to hermeneutics in ancient China： one stressed the quan 诠 of research on ancient texts, the other the chan 阐 of intent. Each has its merits, and the two are compatible. With Chinese discourse as the mainstay, classical hermeneutics as a resource, and contemporary Western hermeneutics as a reference, we can use comparison, selection and the ascertaining of meaning to start from concepts and go on to categories, and then to propositions followed by schemata and thence to systems, finally realizing the modern metamorphosis of the views and theories of traditional hermeneutics, establishing a contemporary Chinese hermeneutics that highlights Chinese concepts, thought and theories.

Distinguishing between“Jie”and“Shi”

Taking the genesis of the ancient characters as a starting point and clarifying the approach to the development of hermeneutics in ancient China by examining the original forms of the relevant Chinese characters may provide a reliable philological basis for the overall construction of contemporary Chinese hermeneutics.Chanshi阐释is a process that starts with jie解,goes through quan诠and then reaches chan阐,fulfilling the highest goal of chan.Jie means to dismantle an object by means of external force;it remains at the level of fen(分split)and lacks an overall grasp.At all events,such interpretations must be precise;they are not chanshi.Quan is philological research on the original form underlying phenomena;it seeks precision,completeness and authenticity.The representation of the original forms underlying phenomena should follow quan as a standard.Chan means the interpretation of Yi Li(义理argumentation),seeking for enlargement and expansion on the basis of the original form,i.e.,the derived meaning.The aim and meaning of chan converge and are fulfilled right here.To put it simply,chan starts with jie,and is established on the basis of fen;quan begins with jie,and is zheng(正verified or finalized)in accordance with philological research;and quan must give rise to chan,in the great opening up of meanings.Jie means fen,quan means zheng,and chan means yan(衍spread out).Going from jie to quan,and thence from quan to chan,the entire course of chan is finished and it reaches the final aim.Chan arises from and realizes jie and quan.Deeply investigating the meaning of jieshi,especially the original meaning of the monosyllables jie and shi,and comparing them with the meanings and usages of chan and quan,we find that it is necessary and sufficient to select chanshixue阐释学rather than quanshixue诠释学,or still less jieshixue解释学,as the appellation of contemporary Chinese hermeneutics.