An Apology for James Legge’s Translation-Annotation of Shi Jing

Ku Hung-ming and José Frèches criticized James Legge for his lack of literary sensibility and independent thinking. This article is to argue against their criticism in the following aspects in the case of James Legge’s Translation-annotation of Shi Jing. First, it examines the works that James Legge consulted so as to determine how he participated in the commentary tradition of Shi Jing and the sources of his thought. Second, it analyzes James Legge’s comprehension of the feeling implied in the poem of Jing Nü and its linguistic devices. Third, it explores how James Legge integrates the spirit of Shi Jing into his daily life by digging his personal archives. It shows that James Legge formed his own critical translation and annotation of Shi Jing after repeatedly reading the poems to savour their sense and sensibility, and reasoning with the Chinese commentators. And it also shows that James Legge can enter into the spiritual world of the ancient Chinese poetry. Such is James Legge’s experience of translating Shi Jing, which is really enlightening.