I recently came across a
James Legge translation of a Mencius quote that I did not agree with. Here is
the quote and translation:
孟子曰:“君子所以異於人者, 以其存心也。君子以仁存心, 以禮存心.
Legge’s Translation:
Mencius
said, “That whereby the superior man is distinguished from other men is what he
preserves in his heart – namely, benevolence and propriety.”
James Legge was a famous 19th century
sinologist, who translated a number of classical Chinese works into English. One
of the works he translated was “The Works of Mencius,” from which came the above
quote. My problem with the translation is that it seems more of an interpretation than a translation.
I have learned that 以 can mean
“with,” “by,” “to take,” “to use,” “in order to,” and “because.” I also know
that 所以...者 can be translated as "that by which." Also 以其 seems to be an abbreviation of 爲以其, which translates as "[is] by his." And the Naver dictionary translates 存心 as 마음속의 생각, which can be translated as "beliefs," so here is how I would translate the Mencius quote.
Mencius (孟子) said (曰): “That by which the superior man (君子所以) is different (異) from (於) others (人者) [is] by (以) his (其) [heart-felt] beliefs (存心也).
The superior man (君子) takes (以) benevolence (仁) [and] stores (存) [it in] his heart (心), [he] takes (以) propriety (禮) [and] stores (存) [it in] his heart (心).”
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