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Babel
Vol. 70:4 (2024) ► pp.531–553

The construction of philosophical ideas in the paratexts of the German translation of the Zhuangzi by Richard Wilhelm

ORCID logo | Shandong University,
| Tongji University,
Among the numerous German translations of the traditional Chinese cultural classic Zhuangzi, the version by the missionary Richard Wilhelm, Dschuang Dsi. Das wahre Buch vom südlichen Blütenland (1912), is of great significance as the first direct translation from Chinese. The work contributed greatly to the popularity of Taoism in Germany. However, studies on the German versions of the Zhuangzi are limited, and most focus on the text itself, whereas the research value of the paratexts has been neglected. This study explores the role of paratexts of Wilhelm’s translation in the construction of Zhuang Zhou’s philosophical ideas. We find there is a noticeable presence of the translator’s voice in the paratexts of Wilhelm’s translation. Moreover, the interpretative role of the paratexts can enhance readers’ understanding of Wilhelm’s construction of the philosophical ideas conveyed by the text. Based on the analysis of paratexts, we conclude that Wilhelm’s translation is characterized by Western cultural interventions, such as analogies between Zhuang Zhou and Western philosophers and the adoption of Christian claims. This may be attributed to the goal of Wilhelm’s translation (i.e., to introduce the Zhuangzi to general German-speaking readers), his cultural background of Western education (especially at the Tübingen Seminary), and the sinological tradition of studying and translating Chinese classics from the perspective of Western culture at the time.
Keywords: Zhuangzi , the German version of the Zhuangzi , Richard Wilhelm, paratext
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework
    • 2.1Genette’s paratext
    • 2.2Paratexts in translation studies
  • 3.Paratexts of Richard Wilhelm’s translation
  • 4.Analysis of paratext
    • 4.1“Translator’s voice” in paratexts
    • 4.2Paratext and text: “Mahout” and “elephant”
      • The translation of dao
      • The translation of wuhua
  • 5.Discussion
  • 6.Conclusion
  • Acknowledgements
  • Notes
  • References
Published online: 21 November 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/babel.22036.pan
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