Dialogue between Chinese Hermeneutics of Confucian Exegesis and Western Hermeneutics from the Perspective of Comparative Classical Studies (Symposium)

Yang Naiqiao argues that,unlike literary hermeneutics,hermeneutics of Confucian exegesis had fundamentally functioned as a form of state hermeneutics since Emperor Wu of the Han dynasty “elevated the Six Classics while dismissing the Hundred Schools.” When exegetical hermeneutics,as a subsidiary discipline,was detached from the hermeneutics of Confucian exegesis,it lost its inherent historical significance rooted in the grand tradition of Confucian exegesis.Jiang Zhe argues that compared to Chinese classical studies,the hermeneutics of Confucian exegesis exhibits a stronger consciousness of comparative research.By utilizing modern hermeneutical theories to conduct integrative and meta-level studies on traditional Chinese Confucian exegesis and Western classical studies and biblical exegesis,it forms a dual,mutually reflective comparative perspective and a research approach that draws from both Chinese and Western traditions.Zhou Haitian argues that there exists an essential ontological,methodological,and object-based difference between “classical hermeneutics” and “hermeneutics of Confucian exegesis.” The misplacement of the latter by the former manifests in two aspects:“substituting texts for the Classics” and “substituting history for the Classics.” Wang Yuefan argues that Lu Jiuyuan's statement “Six Classics are annotated by me;I am annotated by the Six Classics” embodies the essence of exploratory hermeneutics.It not only emphasizes the interpretative agency of the interpreter and the generative nature of the text but also serves as an ontological proposition commensurable across Chinese and Western traditions.It advocates realizing the meaning of the interpreter as a being-in-the-world through introspective reflection upon the heart-mind.