Social Sciences in China, 2023

Vol. 44 , No. 4, 2023

The Modern Approach to “Xungu Leads to (Confucian) Yili”

(Abstract)

Meng Zhuo

The proposition that “xungu tong yili” (an exegetical tradition leading to Confucian teachings) expresses the core idea of traditional Chinese philology, which threads throughout the Han and Song dynasties and reached its historical acme in the form of the Qian-Jia school. The overemphasis of scholars from this school on exegesis led to the division between Hanxue (Qing scholarship in the Han dynasty tradition) and Songxue (Qing scholarship in the Song dynasty tradition) and a disconnection between “xungu (Chinese exegetical tradition exegesis) and yili (Confucian teachings).” The modern “linguistized” shift has seen the slow death of the xunguxue tradition (the theory and practice of xungu as a discipline), under which “xungu tong yili.” At the same time, modern xunguxue has clarified its own disciplinary orientation and has made great progress in both theory and practice, laying a reliable foundation for the renewed process of working out meanings through xungu. The heights of modern xunguxue allow the scholarly development of the meanings behind the classic texts in five respects: semantic verification, context representation, validation of themes, history of xungu interpretation, and pursuit of imagery. In the cross-disciplinary collision centered on Chinese hermeneutics, the modern approach to the proposition that “xungu tong yili” has shown abundant vitality.

Keywords: xungu tong yili, modern xunguxue, Chinese hermeneutics