The westward spread of Zhouyi and the issue of its English name

• Main Author: Mu, Xiao Feng
• Other Authors: Li Chenyang
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Language: English
• Published: 2014
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/61905
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The Zhouyi was introduced to the West in the course of the 16th century. In the following four centuries, western studies of Zhouyi were divided into three main stages, based on changing research purposes. - The first stage was the “Missionaries’ Yi-study stage”, from the 16th to the end of the 19th century. Western missionaries in China and their declared religious purpose were the main characteristics of this period. - The second stage was the “Richard Wilhelm’s Yi-study stage”, which began with the appearance of Richard Wilhelm’s German translation in 1924. He treats Zhouyi as a book of Chinese wisdom which has positive significance in the development of human society: in his mind the combination of Chinese and Western cultures could help create a new world culture. His translation was recognized as the “New Testament”, compared with the “Old Testament” of James Legge’s translation in the history of western studies of Zhouyi. - The third stage was the “Comprehensive Yi-Study stage”, which came along with Richard Wilhelm’s English translation in 1950. In this period, the Western spread of Zhouyi was direct and fast, and Yi-Studies entered a booming period, although it also came to be seen as an era of great misunderstanding. From then on, English has become the main working language in Yi-study. However, some primary problems of Zhouyi did not receive adequate attention in the westward spread of Yi-study. This is the case especially with the term or terms referring to “Zhouyi” in English translation: an imperfect or deficient rendering of the term is leading to an inadequate understanding of the concept and true nature of the book in Western eyes. Key words: Zhouyi; Yijing; Studies of Yi; Yi-study