Social Sciences in China (Chinese Edition)

No. 2, 2024

The Subject and Discourse of Compatibility in Chinese Hermeneutics

(Abstract)

Li Jianzhong

The semantic meaning of the Chinese character jian (compatible/concurrent) contains hermeneutic implications: “holding two seedlings simultaneously” is the encounter between the interpretive subject (the human hand) and the interpretive object (the two seedlings), while the semantic increase in “holding two seedlings simultaneously, containing three seasons, traveling at double speed, and benefiting the world” is the expansion of the explanatory space. The wisdom of the compatibility or concurrent nature of Chinese civilization constitutes a cultural gene and is the semantic foundation of the subject and behavior of Chinese hermeneutics. Taking jian as a root word, Mozi praised “compatible scholars” and “compatible monarchs,” and Zhuangzi commented on “encompassing all things.” Er Ya lists fourteen alternative terms for the word “I” (the subject). “Somebody” in the phrase “I miss somebody” in the Book of Songs can mean both “you” and “I.” As the subject in Chinese hermeneutics, jian includes the subject’s position, with benefits whether rich or poor; the subject of thought in Confucianism-Taoism-Chinese Buddhism; and the subject of knowledge, with the four forms of knowledge at one’s fingertips. The Chinese usage is more abundant and extensive than that of the subject in Western phenomenology. The subject of compatibility creates a compatibility discourse that refers to the compatibility of semantics and pragmatics in Chinese. Through imagery, emphasis on language, and contextual transformation, the compatibility discourse of shi poetry is formed with three types of exegesis, while wen (essays) is formed with three properties and yu (language) with three forms. The semantic interpretation and knowledge archaeology of jian may provide a feasible path for the conceptual identification of the subject and discourse of Chinese hermeneutics.