The Clarification and Reconstruction of the Concept “Auslegung” in Contemporary Methodological Hermeneutics

“Auslegung” is one of hermeneutics’ key concepts. Among Chinese scholars, there are two translations for the term: “解释” and “阐释”. Since the foundation of modern hermeneutics, the connotation of the concept “Auslegung” has changed through its contemporary development, shifting from objective meaning to extended meaning. E. Betti, the master of contemporary methodological hermeneutics, tries to clarify and reconstruct this concept by differentiating “Auslegung” from “spekulative Deutung”, in order to defend the objectivity of understanding. Deep research into this problem and the related debate between Betti, Hirsch and Gadamer, is required to clear away misunderstandings and settle disputes among scholars over the development of hermeneutics and the Chinese translations for the term.