Context and difference in intercultural understanding: a case-study from the Neo-Confucian tradition

Starting from the publication of the Confucius Sinarum Philosophus (Paris, 1687)—the first Latin translation of Chinese philosophical texts—European scholars, such as Leibniz, Malebranche, and Bayle, became interested in learning about Chinese culture. However, the pivotal stage of this reception was partial and strongly influenced by contemporary religious and political goals, which are well represented by the Jesuit mission in China. Weighing the merits of early understandings of Neo-Confucianism against their limitations, I present a case study regarding the notion of li 理 in the sense of the brothers Cheng Hao 程顥 (1032–1085) and Cheng Yi 程頤 (1033–1107) and argue for the importance played by context and difference in intercultural understanding. First, early European receptions of the Neo-Confucian li are assessed in terms of their merits and limitations and with reference to the practice of translation. I argue that the Eurocentric character of early receptions of Confucianism is not only due to the underlying aims by which such understanding was vehiculated but also, and more specifically, to a lack of nuanced understanding resulting from an unbalanced focus on similarities across traditions. Formal indication is introduced as a tool to stem the issues of underdetermination and limitation posed by translation. It is applied to an overview of the various ways in which the Cheng brothers explain li by specifying it through the conjunction with other notions such as dao, tian, xin, ming, and xing. I conclude that understanding li as a formal indication can help us to appreciate the role of context and difference in understanding Chinese philosophical texts, an endeavor here taken as but one example of cross-cultural and intercultural understanding.