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Two Voices, One Classic: A Comparative Study of Legge’s and Luo’s English Translations of The Great Learning

Advances in Linguistics Research / 2025,7(4): 249-259 / 2025-11-24 22 10

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• Authors: Fengyi Zhang Huaying Li
• Information:

  Xihua University, Chengdu, China

• Keywords:
  The Great Learning; Translator Subjectivity; James Legge; Luo Zhiye; Retranslation Theory
• Abstract: The Great Learning (Da Xue), one of the Four Books, is a chapter of The Book of Rites. The English translation of The Book of Rites dates back to the 19th century, when Western scholars and missionaries undertook the translation of Confucian texts as part of a broader effort to introduce Chinese classics to Western readers. Among these translations, the complete versions by James Legge and Luo Zhiye stand out as the most significant. This study offers a comparative analysis of two English translations of The Great Learning, focusing on how translator subjectivity is expressed through lexical choices, syntactic structures, and cultural mediation. Situated within the field of translation studies, this research highlights that Legge’s Victorian-era translation favors formal equivalence and Christianized terminology, reflecting his missionary background and Orientalist viewpoint. In contrast, Luo’s modern translation employs dynamic equivalence and culturally adaptive strategies, aligning with his pedagogical goal of modernizing Confucian discourse. By examining these translation strategies in relation to the translators’ biographical and sociohistorical contexts, the study reveals how translator identity influences cross-cultural knowledge production. The findings
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.35534/lin.0704025 (registering DOI)
• Cite: Zhang, F. Y., & Li, H. Y. (2025). Two Voices, One Classic: A Comparative Study of Legge’s and Luo’s English Translations of The Great Learning—From the Perspective of the Translator’s Subjectivity. Linguistics, 7(4), 249-259.