Western Missionaries’ Perception of the Confucian Notion of Li

I. Introduction

Jesuit missionaries, beginning from their first missionary activities in China in the sixteenth century, translated the Four Books—The Analects (論語), Mencius (孟子), The Great Learning (大學), and The Doctrine of the Mean (中庸)—into Western languages. Based on the method of Jesuit missionaries, known as accommodationism, they tried to have Christianity permeate the local culture while understanding the local culture and customs, from simply donning Chinese clothing to translating the Confucian classics.¹ As one of the outcomes of the Jesuits’ approach based on accommodationism, the translations of Confucian classics served not only as studying materials for missionaries who came to China but also as a window for the people in the West who had never been to China to explore the East. Subsequently, Protestant missionaries succeeded in their endeavors to lay the groundwork for Eastern studies in the West. As missionaries’ translations have played an essential role in such cultural exchanges, this study focuses on the translations of the Confucian classics by Western missionaries to examine Western perception of Confucian thought.

Second, this paper selects the translation term of li 禮 as a research subject. This is because li is a key concept in Confucianism, and its importance is reflected in how Confucianism is also known as the Lijiao 禮敎, or “Teaching of Li.” Moreover, li holds significant religious connotations, particularly in ancestral rites and ceremonies. For example, the Shuowen Jiezi (說文解字) defines the character li 禮 and its radicals shi 示 and li 豊 as follows²:

The character li 禮 means “implementation” (lu 履), that is, to offer sacrifices to obtain benediction. It is composed of shi 示 and li 豊, with li 豊 representing a sound.³

The character shi 示 means that the heavens cast shapes and show good and bad fortune to inform people. The component of shi is er 二. The three dangling elements from the sky are the sun, moon, and stars; People observed changes in the sky and used them to track seasonal changes. The component shi represents the work of the gods, and in all characters that contain shi, it functions as the semantic element.⁴ The character li 豊 means “artifacts for ritual practice.” The component of li is dou 豆, and it is a pictograph. In all characters that contain li 豊, it functions as the semantic element. ⁵

As the explanation of the Shuowen Jiezi shows, the word li carries religious connotations related to heaven, gods, and ancestral rituals. In addition, the “Chinese rites controversy,” a dispute on the religiosity of Confucianism and Chinese rituals during the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, reflects how important the interpretation of li was to the Western missionary community. First, it is about how to designate God in Chinese. Second, it is about how to define worship service as either a superstitious practice or a mundane ritual regarding the ceremonies of ancestor worship (敬祖之禮), of Confucian sacrifice (祭孔之禮), and of worshipping heaven (祭天之禮). Due to the significant impacts of the controversy on their mission in China, as a result, the Jesuits were discharged, by which Christian missionary activities in China came to a halt.⁶ It reflects how important the interpretation of li was to the Western missionary community.

After two defeats in the Opium Wars, China reopened its borders, allowing Protestant missionaries to begin missionary work in China. British and American missionaries began to be active in China, playing dual roles as both missionaries and scholars, laying the foundations for Western Chinese studies.

Although there are prior studies on missionaries’ translation texts, they have primarily focused on translations done by specific translators or missionary societies such as Jesuits and Protestant missionaries. For example, Thierry Meynard (2011), Luisa M. Paternicò (2017), Michele Ferrero (2019), and Luo Ying (2014, 2015a, 2015b) have revealed the characteristics of the translated terms used in each Latin text. Li Xinde (2015) studied a broad range of translated works; however, his study did not include a discussion of specific translation terms. On the other hand, in the sphere of Protestant missionaries’ translation, previous research has predominantly centered on the translations done by James Legge. While Legge made significant contributions to the Western translations of Chinese classics, it would be premature to view his translations as the sole origin or standard without a thorough investigation into earlier translations. In this regard, this study proposes that the translations of Protestant missionaries, including Legge, may have been influenced by Latin translations of Jesuit missionaries. Studies on Western translations of Chinese classics still need comprehensive accounts of the historical process.

Therefore, this paper investigates the translation of li in Western translations of the Four Books and analyzes characteristics of the terms used in translations as well as the process of settling down the translation terms. Furthermore, it aims to shed light on the Western missionaries’ perception of Confucian thought and contribute to understanding the cultural exchange between the East and the West.

II. Translations of the Four Books

In Confucian philosophy, the Four Books—The Analects, Mencius, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean—are highly significant. These four texts reflect the ethical and philosophical principles of ancient Chinese, emphasizing moral development and social harmony. In addition, Western missionaries recognized the importance of the Four Books and were able to bequeath many translated texts. Western missionary translations of Chinese classics continued for about 200 years, from Jesuit missionaries to James Legge, and of course, they are still underway. This study confines the scope of the study to Legge’s work.

The following is a list of translations of books left by Western missionaries.

• (1) Ignatio da Costa and Prospero Intorcetta. 1662. Sapientia Sinica.⁷
• (2) Prospero Intorcetta. [1667] 1669. Sinarum Scientia Politico-moralis.⁸
• (3) Philippe Couplet. 1687. Confucius Sinarum Philosophus sive Sicentia Sninesis.⁹
• (4) François Noël. 1711. Sinensis Imperii Libri Classici Sex.¹⁰
• (5) Angelo Zottoli. 1879. Cursus litteraturæ sinicæ: neo-missionaries accommodates.¹¹
• (6) Joshua Marshman. 1809. The Works of Confucius; Containing the Original Text, with a Translation, Vol. 1. (to which is prefixed a dissertation on the Chinese language and character).¹²
• (7) David Collie. 1828. The Chinese Classical Work Commonly Called the Four Books.¹³
• (8) James Legge. [1861] 1960. Confucian Analects, The Great Learning, and The Doctrine of the Mean. Vol. 1 of The Chinese Classics (with a translation, critical and exegetical notes, prolegomena, and copious indexes).
• (9) James Legge. 1861. The Works of Mencius. Vol. 2 of The Chinese Classics (with a translation, critical and exegetical notes, prolegomena, and copious indexes).

The first part of the Jesuit missionaries’ translations (1)–(5) were all written in Latin. Ignatio da Costa (1603-1666) and Prospero Intorcetta (1625–1696) translated The Great Learning and half of The Analects. Their translation was the first published book among the Four Books translated by Jesuit missionaries. Philippe Couplet (1623–1693) revised and supplemented the earlier translations; his translation included translations of The Great Learning, The Doctrine of the Mean, and The Analects. It was published in Paris with the support of Louis XIV. It is considered one of the most significant academic achievements of the Jesuit missionaries. François Noël (1651–1729) completed the translation of the Four Books, including Mencius. He published Sinensis Imperii Libri Classici Sex (1711) in Prague. In addition to the Four Books, he also translated The Classic of Filial Piety (孝經) and The Small Learning (小學) and included a total of six volumes. About 100 years after the dissolution of the Society of Jesuits in China, Angelo Zottoli published Cursus litteraturæ sinicæ: neo-missionariis accommodates (1879), a Latin translation of Chinese classics and literature, including the Four Books. It was the last Latin translation by Jesuit missionaries.

In addition, this study also references the translation of Michele Ruggieri (1543–1607). He completed the translation of the Four Books in 1588 and intended to publish it in Rome; however, only part of it was handed down as a manuscript without publishing.¹⁴

After the Opium Wars, Protestant missionaries also worked on translations of Chinese classics and left behind the following translations. Joshua Marshman (1768–1837) was the first to translate The Analects into English and later translated The Great Learning, adding the translation manuscript as an appendix to his Chinese grammar book. David Collie (1791–1828) and Legge translated all the Four Books. Legge’s translation, in particular, contains an extensive amount of critical interpretation and commentary, as mentioned in the title. Therefore, it has laid the foundation for Sinology in the West.

The translations by the Jesuit and Protestant missionaries differ in the target languages of Latin and English. Although the translations may carry different meanings between these two related target languages, we will discuss both the Latin and English-translated terms together.

III. The Variety of Translations of Li

The concept of li is significant but elusive in the philosophy of Confucius. Thus, the missionaries had trouble finding a translation for li and commented on the difficulty as follows:

It is often exceedingly difficult to find an appropriate word for Ly, the term in the text, the general idea it suggests, is that of reason applied to governments and the manners and custom of life, hence reason, propriety, politeness, urbanity, good manners will often express the idea, while no one of them can be used invariably. (Marshman 1809, 145)

Li is not easily rendered in another language. There underlies it the idea of what is proper. It is the fitness of things (事之宜) what reason calls for in the performance of duties toward superior beings, and between man and man. Our term “ceremonies” comes near meaning here. (James Legge 1861, 143)

As the two translators mentioned above, li is difficult to translate and define with a single word. However, given that Protestant missionaries could have access to the previous translated works of Jesuit missionaries, it can be inferred that Jesuit missionaries faced greater challenges in translating li.

One reason is that early Jesuit missionaries showed a tendency to attempt various translation terms. Among the Four Books, li appears 18 times in The Doctrine of the Mean, 75 times in The Analects, 67 times in Mencius, and zero times in The Great Learning. Ruggieri used ritus, ceremonia, officium, and ratio in his translation of The Doctrine of the Mean. Given that The Doctrine of the Mean is a short text and the frequency of the term li is not particularly high, there was a relative variety of translation terms used by the translator. It was part of his efforts to convey the various aspects of the meaning of li. However, these translations were used within a single text, even without the original Chinese characters included, making it difficult for their readers to grasp the concept of li. In this chapter, the usage and succession of each translation term are examined. The order of translations listed below is based on time and frequency of their appearance.

Ruggieri commonly translated li as ritus and ceremonia in his translations. For instance, tianzi zhili 天子之禮 as regiis ceremoniis (“royal ceremony”), liyue 禮樂 as ritus et musica (“rite and music”), and jiaoshe zhi li 郊社之禮 as ritus sacrificandi regi caeli et terrae (“rite of sacrifice to the king of heaven and earth”).

Ritus was the earliest and most frequently used term for translation li in Latin translations. Da Costa and Intorcetta (1662), Intorcetta ([1667] 1669), Couplet (1687), Noël (1711), and Zottoli (1879) commonly translated li as ritus. However, the term “rite” is not commonly used in English translations. For example, Marshman (1809) never translated li as “rite,” and Collie (1828) used “rite” only five times in his translation of The Doctrine of the Mean and only twice in The Analects. Legge employed “rite” in the book’s title, The Book of Rites (禮記), and, only once, translated li as “the rites of propriety” in The Analects.

On the other hand, although Ruggieri translated li as ceremonia, other Jesuits in later periods hardly ever used ceremonia for li in Latin translations. Except for Couplet (1687), who used ceremonia twice, Costa and Intorcetta (1662), Intorcetta ([1667] 1669), Noël (1711), and Zottoli (1879) did not use ceremonia as the translation for li. As explained above, Latin translations more commonly used ritus and rarely ceremonia. Conversely, in English, li is generally translated as “ceremony.” In translations of Collie (1828) and Legge (1861), “ceremony” is the most frequently used translation word.

Ruggieri also translated li as officium and rendered liyi 禮儀 as humanitatis officiis (human duty). Yi also means “ceremony” or “model,” so the word liyi is a single term compound term consisting of two synonymous characters. Later, Intorcetta ([1667] 1669) translated liyi as rituum et officiorum (rite and duty). Strictly speaking, among the two characters of liyi, the former, li, was translated as ritus, and the latter, yi, was translated as officium. Later, officium was often used as a translation term of li. Examples can be seen in Table 1.

Table 1.

Examples of Officiorum as a Translation of Li

Costa and Intorcetta (1662), and Couplet (1687) often used officium. It was commonly combined with words like urbanitas, ritus, and ratio and composed as a compound word.

Officium is a Latin word with various meanings, including “duty,” “obligation,” “kindness,” “service,” “office,” “courtesy,” “ceremony,” and the like. Officium reminded its readers of Cicero's De officiis. Cicero translated the Greek kathekon (καθῆκον), which meant “what it belongs to us to do,” or “what accords with our nature,” into officium in Latin. In Cicero’s philosophy, officium referred to moral and ethical duties that individual’s should observe. Accordingly, the translation officium implied that the practice of li was rooted in inner virtue and moral self-cultivation.

Intorcetta also emphasized that li encompassed not only cultural rituals but also all the rules of the state and the most important virtues, arguing that li is meaningful only when grounded in virtue (Ahn 2021, 349). The translation term officium highlighted the moral and ethical aspects of li, in contrast to the terms such as “rite” and “ceremony,” which focused on external formalities.

Ruggieri also employed ratio as a translation for li. Examples are as follows:

• (1) 宗廟之禮, 所以序昭穆也. . . (The Doctrine of the Mean 19.4)Ruggieri: In regio templo sacrificiorum tempore ita cultus et humanitatis ratio habebatur, ut ordine sederet. . . ,Legge (1861): By means of the ceremonies of the central temple, they distinguished the royal kindred according to their order of descent.
• (2) 齊明盛服, 非禮不動, 所以修身也. (The Doctrine of the Mean 20.19)Ruggieri: Intus sincera virtus, extra ornatus et cultus in vestitu et actionibus, nihil fieri sine ratione, tria haec pertinent ad omtimam vitam et morum constitutionem.Legge (1861): Self-adjustment and purification, with careful regulation of his dress, and the not making a movement contrary to the rules of propriety, this is the way for a ruler to cultivate his person.

Ruggieri translated li in the above sentences as ratio. In (1), the function of li is to establish a standard for determining seating arrangements based on the status and kinship of those participating in the ritual. In (2), li is the moral standard for conduct based on rational judgment and morality. It represents that application of li to each individual varies. Subsequent Latin translations more often used ratio as a translation for li.

• (3) 君子博學於文, 約之以禮, 亦可以弗畔矣夫. (The Analects 6.27)Couplet (1687): Verus Philosophus amplissimo quodam versatur studio in libris scientiisque omnibus; Omnia examinans restringit exigitque ad regulam rectae rationis. Et sic quidem fieri poterit, ut is a veritate ac virtute nunquam declinet.Legge (1861): The Master said, “By extensively studying all learning, and keeping himself under the restraint of the rules of propriety, one may thus likewise not err from what is right.”

• (4) 博我以文, 約我以禮. (The Analects 9.11)Couplet (1687): dilatabat animum meum praesidiis philosophiae suae, & restringens ad unum omnia, contrahebat me ad unam caelitus inditae rationis moderationem ac regulam.Legge (1861): The Master, by orderly method, skillfully leads men on. He enlarged my mind with learning, and taught me the restraints of propriety.

Couplet frequently used ratio for li, for example, as “rule of right reason” in sentence (3) and as “one moderation and rule of reason divinely enrooted” in sentence (4).

Jesuit missionaries’ use of ratio as a translation of li was derived from two main sources. First, Jesuit missionary societies were deeply influenced by Scholasticism, particularly by Thomas Aquinas, who emphasized the ratio to explain theological and philosophical concepts. Meynard (2011) also argued that the Jesuits followed their rationalist interpretation. Second, the Jesuit missionaries’ translation of li as ratio was heavily influenced by the Collected Commentaries on the Four Books (四書集註) by Zhu Xi 朱熹 (1130–1200), who describes li as “the articulation of heavenly principles” (禮者, 天理之節文). Intorcetta (1667) and Couplet (1867) translated li as coelo lex and ratio.

Among English translations, Marshman (1809) translated li as “reason.” Legge also interpreted li as “what reason calls for in the performance of duties.”

• (5) 子曰, 恭而無禮則勞, 愼而無禮則葸, 勇而無禮則亂, 直而無禮則絞. (The Analects 8.2)Marshman (1809): Chee says, Respect, not regulated by propriety, will become a painful burden; prudence, not restrained by reason, will become timidity; courage, without the guidance of reason, will become insubordination; frankness, not regulated by reason, will become folly.

Marshman translated li as “reason” and emphasized the significance of li in this sentence, explaining that this sentence well demonstrates the essence of the virtue of li.

Later in the translation of The Analects and Mencius, new translation terms of li appeared. First, Costa and Intorcetta (1662) used urbanitas as a translation of li. Urbanitas means “city living,” “city life or manners,” “sophistication,” “polish,” or “wit.” Intorcetta (1669) and Couplet (1687) used urbanitas as a translation of li in the same sentence of The Doctrine of Mean. Couplet (1687) also used urbanitas once in The Analects. Examples are as follows:

• (6) 非天子不議禮, 不制度, 不考文. (The Doctrine of the Mean 28.2)Intorcetta (1669): NisilImperator, nemo instituat urbanitatis officia; nec inducat curiae usus; nec mutet quidquam rei literariae.Legge (1861): To no one but the Son of Heaven does it belong to order ceremonies, to fix the measures, and to determine the written character.
• (7) 居上不寬, 爲禮不敬, 臨喪不哀, 吾何以觀之哉. (The Analects 3.26)Couplet (1687): Praefecti non sint clementes, rursus si qui funguntur murtuis urbanitatis officiis ceremoniisque, si non ex animo colant se mutuò: si denique tot inter apparatus funebres, nullus tamen veri doloris luctûsque sensus existat; Ego quorsum obsecro spectator horum omnium esse velim?Legge (1861): High station filled without indulgent generosity; ceremonies performed without reverence; mourning conducted without sorrow; wherewith should I contemplate such ways?

In both sentences, the subject is a person of high status, such as tianzi 天子 (“a son of heaven”) or jushang 居上 (“a high nobleman”). That is, it influenced the usage of urbanitas as a translation term. The frequency of urbanitas is low, and as shown above in Table 1, urbanitas is commonly used with other words like ritus et urbanitatis official (“ritual and urban duty”), urbanitatis official (“urban duty”), and mutuis urbanitatis officiis ceremoniisque (“mutual urban duties and ceremonies”). Later, Noël (1711) and Zottoli (1879) used urbanitas more commonly, and in the case of Zottoli (1879), used only the word urbanitas for li. However, Protestant missionaries didn’t utilize “urbanity” as the translation for li.

Couplet (1687) employed new terms for li like civilitas and decorum in his translation of the Analects. First, civilitas means “civil,” “legal,” “affecting fellow citizens,” “political,” and “public.” Civilitas was used four times in Couplet’s translation of The Analects.

• (8) 如其禮樂, 以俟君. (The Analects 11.24)Couplet (1687): Caeterum quod spectat ad ipsos ritus officiaque civilia, necnon mutuam omnium inter se suoque cum principe concordiam, moresque & disciplinam Reipublicae bene constitutae; ad hoc perficiendum, sicut ipse sum impar, ita praestolor eximiae virtutis sapientiaeque virum, qui perficiat.Legge (1861): As to teaching them the principles of propriety and music, I must wait for the rise of a superior man to do that.
• (9) 君子三年不爲禮, 禮必壞. (The Analects 17.19)Couplet (1687): etenim si vir ac probus domestic lucut occupatus totos tres annos non fungitur ullis officiis civilibus, offiicia procul dubio vel ipsa desuetudine paulatim obliterabuntur ac peribunt.Legge (1861): Abstain for three years from the observances of propriety, those observances will be quite lost.

Both sentences refer to a junzi 君子 (“gentleman”) who is considered an ideal figure in the East. The other two sentences in which Couplet translated li as civilitas also mention a gentleman and chengren 成人 (“a complete person”).¹⁵ In other words, a person who knows and practices li is considered an ideal person like a gentleman or complete person. Therefore, Western missionaries regarded li as one of the qualities to become such a person and expressed it as civilitas. Later, Zottoli succeeded in using it two and five times, respectively, in his translation of the Analects and Mencius. However, it is hard to find examples of li translated as civilization in English translations of Protestant missionaries.

Decorum was also first employed in the Couplet (1687); the phrase liyuli (立於禮) in The Analects was translated as in omni vita decorum constantiamque servantes, per Officiorum libros ("maintaining decorum and constancy in all life, through the book of The Book of Rites"). He explained that based on The Book of Rites (禮記), one must keep decorum. It means "which is suitable, seemly, and propriety." Furthermore, Noël translated feili (非禮) as indecorum; Zottoli did the same. However, the term decorum was rarely used in subsequent translations. Later, Edouard Constant Biot (1803-1850) translated The Book of Etiquette and Ceremonies (儀禮) as the Decorum Ritual, published in 1851 in Paris.

Decorum is also a translation influenced by Cicero’s philosophy. It refers to the idea of appropriate behavior that aligns with an individual’s role in society and their personal virtues. However, Protestant missionaries did not use "decorum" but instead used "propriety" as a translation of li. This difference will be discussed in more detail in section IV.

Noël was the first to translate li as honestas. It means "honor," "integrity," "honesty," and "respectability." Although Noël usually translated li as ritus in The Doctrine of the Mean, he chose honestas when translating the sentence qinqin zhi sha, zunxian zhi deng, li suosheng ye "親親之殺, 尊賢之等, 禮所生也." (The Doctrine of the Mean 20.8). He translated li as rectae rationis caelitus hominibus infusae honestate ("the right reason of heaven infused with honesty to men"). Furthermore, Noël often used honestas as a translation term for li in The Analects and Mencius translations. He also translated ren 仁 as honestas in Mencius.¹⁶ Examples are as follows:

• (10) 仁人心也, 義人路也. (Mencius 6A.11)Noël (1711): Ista enim interior honestas, pergit Memcius, est velut ipsum hominis cor; equitas autem est velut recta hominis via.Legge (1861): Benevolence is man’s mind, and righteousness is man’s path.
• (11) 陽貨欲見孔子而惡無禮. (Mencius 3B.7)Noël (1711): . . . Noluit Confucius eum convenire, quia urbanitatis & honestatis leges non servabat.Legge (1861): Yang Ho wished to get Confucius to go to see him, but disliked doing so by any want of propriety.

In Noël’s translation, ren and li were both translated into honestas. However, he differentiated ren as internal honesty and li as the laws of honesty and urbanity. Later, Zottoli also translated li as honestas many times. In Cicero’s philosophy, honestum refers to moral goodness. Like officium, Jesuits missionaries utilized Cicero’s philosophical terms. However, in English translations, these terms were not used for li.

Later, Protestant missionaries mostly translated li as “propriety” in English translations. For example, Marshman translated it as “reason and propriety” or “propriety” about ten times. Collie translated li as “propriety” around 55 times and Legge approximately 70 times. “Propriety” was commonly used and gradually settled in as the translation of li. Propriety means behavior accepted as socially or morally correct and proper, or the state or quality of being correct and proper.

The translation of li as “propriety” was not first introduced by Protestant missionaries; rather, it originated in the Latin works of Jesuit missionaries. In Latin translation, proprius was used twice as a translation term of li: Ruggieri translated li as ratio, proprius honor, ceremonis (“reason, proper honor, ceremony”) and Couplet translated it as officiosi ritus ususque proprius (“official rites and proper usage”). In these Latin texts, propius functioned as a modifier. Whereas Latin terms such as officium, ratio, honestas, and urbanitas emphasized the moral, civic, and cultivated dimensions of li, the English term “propriety,” derived from proprius, conveys a more limited interpretation in comparison. It tends to focus on manners and social etiquette, rather than encompassing ethical and philosophical aspects of li.

Apart from these, there are other translation terms: jus (law), mos (custom), obsequium (compliance), and licita (licit) in Latin, and politeness, custom, manner, regulation, and rule in English. However, they were used less frequently. In this way, Western missionaries suggested various translations to convey the concept of li in their translations.

IV. The Changes in Translations of Li

This chapter focuses on the changes in missionaries' use of translation terms and analyzes their characteristics. A variety of terms were used in early Latin translations for li, and these laid the foundation for later English translations. Protestant missionaries selected and employed particular terms from these earlier versions; for example, Legge mainly used two translation terms, “propriety” and “ceremony.” This trend has continued to the present time. Ultimately, the translations of li are determined in the two terms. It is therefore important to explore how this translation tradition has been maintained and transmitted.

Early Latin translations show a tendency to use a variety of terms. Accordingly, Jesuit missionaries’ translation of the Four Books, in the order of The Doctrine of the Mean, The Analects, and Mencius, led further translation terms to appear, including urbanitas, decorum, modus, civilitas and honestas. At first, Jesuit missionaries easily captured the meaning of the external procedure of li and commonly translated it into “rite” and “ceremony.” It is because they first translated The Doctrine of the Mean, which was a part of The Book of Rites whose content were related to ancestral rites and ritual procedures. Therefore, the early Jesuit missionaries translated li ambiguously if li was used as a meaning except for an external procedure. For example, Ruggieri, one of the earliest translators, translated it into ritus and ceremonia, focusing on formal aspects while translating The Doctrine of the Mean. When li carries abstract and comprehensive meaning, he omitted it in his translation.¹⁷ Examples are as follows:

• (1) 親親之殺, 尊賢之等, 禮所生也. (The Doctrine of the Mean 20.8)Ruggierie: Porro haec parentum observantia ordinem habet, profectum a parentibus ipsis ad propinquos usque pertinent.Legge (1861): The decreasing measure of the love due to relatives, and the steps in the honour due to the worthy, are produced by the principle of propriety.
• (2) 溫故而知新, 敦厚以崇禮. (The Doctrine of the Mean 27.8)Ruggierie: . . . praeterita repetit, nova addiscit, demum semper lucem cognitionis addendo ipsam auget cognitionem.Legge (1861): He cherishes his old knowledge, and is continually acquiring new. He exerts an honest, generous earnestness in the esteem and practice of all propriety.

In sentences (1) and (2), Ruggieri did not translate phrases letter by letter. There was no corresponding translation for the character sheng 生 meaning “come into being,” nor was there one for li as an object of sheng 生. Similarly, in sentence (2), Ruggieri only referred to “cognition,” which does not clearly translate li. In contrast, later translators translated li in these sentences as shown in Table 2.

Table 2.

Examples of Translation Terms for Li

As shown in Table 2, li was usually translated into ratio, officium, or decorum in Latin translations and “propriety” in English translations. What is noteworthy is that li was never translated as “rite” or ”ceremony” in the quoted phrases. This is because the translators regard the meaning of li not as a formal procedure but as a different meaning in these sentences. Since there were few initial translated texts, the translation words for li were also limited.

However, the frequency of the term li appeared more often in the texts of The Analects and Mencius, and its meaning was also more varied. Therefore, in the translations of the two texts, various translation terms were introduced to reflect the diverse semantic characteristics of li in the contexts. It led to the expansion of the range of translation terms for li. New translation terms were adopted to represent semantic characteristics of li, especially in translations of The Analects and Mencius.

First, Western missionaries recognized that li must be based on inner morality, especially in The Analects. Ren is a crucial concept and li is often presented as its counterpart in The Analects.

• (3) 子曰, 克己復禮爲仁. 一日克己復禮, 天下歸仁焉. . . . 子曰,“非禮勿視, 非禮勿聽, 非禮勿言, 非禮勿動.” (The Analects 12.1)Couplet (1687): Confucius respondit : Vincere seipsum, atque ita redire ad primaevum illud temperamentum naturae rationalis, hoc est obtinuisse cordis innocentiam & perfectionem. Mortales universi vel unico die si vincerent seipsos & redirent ad temperamentum illud, tunc orbis universus rediret ad innocentiam nativam & perfeotionem. . . . Confucius respondit ; Contra rationem ne quid cernito, contra rationem ne quid audito, contra rationem ne quid effator, contra rationem ne quem animi corposive motum suscipito.Legge (1861): The Master said, “To subdue one’s self and return to propriety, is perfect virtue. If a man can for one day subdue himself and return to propriety, an under heaven will ascribe perfect virtue to him.” The Master replied, Look not at what is contrary to propriety; listen not to what is contrary to propriety; speak not what is contrary to propriety; make no movement which is contrary to propriety.

Practicing li is a means of actualizing ren, the highest virtue. Li serves as a moral guideline for how a person should see, hear, speak, and act. As a counterpart of ren, li represents external customs and manners. However, The Analects emphasizes that the practice of li must be rooted in an inner sense of morality. This idea is also reflected in the following sentence: “If a man be without the virtues proper to ren what has he to do with li?” (人而不仁, 如禮何?) (The Analects 3.3), suggesting that li is of no use if it is not based on the virtues of ren. To emphasize this moral dimension of li, missionary translators used Latin terms such as ratio and officium.

Mencius describes li as one of The Four Sprouts: ren 仁, yi 義, li 禮, and zhi 智. These are understood as inherent virtues in human beings. And as one of the factors, li refers to an innate sense of respect, propriety, and proper conduct. According to Mencius, li is something inborn in all humans, reflecting a natural inclination toward proper behavior in social interactions. Translating Mencius for the first time, Noël often translated li as honestas, which is the same as the translation of ren. It also emphasizes the internal morality of ren.

Second, the Western missionaries regarded li as one of the qualities that people of high status or social reputation, such as emperors, gentlemen, and saints, should have, so they translated li as urbanitas and civilitas. These translations convey a high regard for the concept of li. There is no example of li translated as civilization in English translations of Western missionaries. However, Gu Hongming¹⁸ translated the Four Books into English and translated li into “civilization.” He emphasized that Chinese civilization was moral due to the role of Confucianism in the formation and maintenance of the Chinese civilization. It is a positive interpretation of li.

Moreover, although Intorcetta did not translate Mencius, he also mentioned ren, yi, li, and zhi when he argued that the required virtues of a junzi (君子), an idealized figure in the East, were the same as those required by Western humanistic education, humanitas. Ren, yi, li, and zhi correspond to the four cardinal virtues of love (pietas), justice (iustitia), harmony (convenientia), and knowledge (prudential) (Ahn 2021, 49). He translated li as convenientia, which corresponded to “harmony,” which was different from the previous translation of li in his Doctrine of the Mean translation. Decorum and “propriety” both relate to the idea of behaving in a way that aligns with societal standards or expectations, and linked to the concept of harmony in social and personal interactions. Two terms represent a function of li that foster harmony by guiding individual’s to interact respectfully and thoughtfully within society.

Therefore, Jesuit missionaries translated the Four Books, and various translations appeared, like officium, ratio, modus, civilitas, honestas, decorum, proprius and so on. These terms reflect the semantic characteristics of li, internal moral standards that must be observed out of a sense of duty or through rational judgment, moderation, self-control, a guideline for individual conduct, and qualification for becoming a cultured person and required virtue for social harmony.

However, over time, these various translation terms gradually fell out of use. It is important to analyze how the range of translations became narrowed and how certain terms were anchored. Protestant missionaries did not adopt many of the earlier Latin terms for several reasons. First, there was a difference in the scope of meaning between the translation terms and the original concept of li. Some Latin translation terms were too broad or ambiguous to serve as precise translation of li. As a result, when such terms were used as a translation for li, it often required additional terms to convey the intended meaning accurately. For example, officium was so general in meaning that it was necessary to modify it with other words in order to indicate the specific aspects of li, so it was commonly combined with other words like urbanitas, ritus, or ratio and composed as a compound word in Latin translations. In addition, some were often associated with other concepts. For example, ratio was also used as a translation of li 理 and dao 道. Honestas was also used for both ren and li.

On the other hand, some terms pertain to just one aspect of li and were insufficient to encompass its full meaning. For example, urbanitas highlights only one characteristic of li, so it is difficult to encompass the meaning of li in it. Urbanitas has no example used as translation of li in a single word, it was composed with a list of several synonyms or many modifiers, such as ritus et urbanitatis official ("ritual and urban duty"), ritus, ceremoniae, officiaque exterior ("rite, ceremony, and external duties"), and externa rituum & urbanitatum official ("external rite and urban duty"). It is the reason why most of the early Latin translations are lengthy and complicated. However, in the last Latin translation of Zottoli, these translation terms of li were primarily inherited and used as single words. Therefore, terms such as urbanitas and officium were used as a single word for li in Zottoli’s translations. However, Protestant missionaries did not inherit these terms.

Second, Jesuit missionaries often utilized Cicero’s terms like officium, honestum, decorum, and so on. Cicero’s emphasis on ethical teachings, rhetoric, and the moral life aligns closely with the educational system of the Jesuits. For instance, in Cicero’s philosophy, officium refers to the moral and ethical obligation that humans, as social beings, must uphold. He elaborated on this concept in his work De Officiis, where he discussed the duties individual’s owe to each other and to society at large, emphasizing the importance of fulfilling one's role in the community. Consequently, the translation officium reflects that the practice of li is based on virtue which arises from internal morality. Translations of Jesuits were closely related to Western philosophical traditions, whereas Protestant missionaries were not. Protestant missionaries tended to avoid using words with strong philosophical connotations in their translations.

Furthermore, the translation terms ritus and “ceremony” are semantically similar, as both refer to the formal procedures or rules for events or actions. Jesuit missionaries chose the former, while Protestant missionaries chose the latter. Thus, Latin translations commonly used ritus, whereas English translations used “ceremony” for the term li because “rite” has a stronger religious connotation, which Protestant missionaries were reluctant to use.

Through this process, the range of translation terms for li was narrowed down, and it eventually settled on “ceremony” and “propriety” until today.

V. Conclusion

In modern times, Western missionaries have played a role in cultural exchanges between the East and the West. Especially their translations of Chinese classics into Western languages serve as an encounter between Western and Eastern philosophy, a basis for the Western understanding of the Chinese culture. This study examined the translation of li and the process of its interpretation in the West, which represents Western understanding of the Confucian culture and the East.

Early Jesuit missionaries regarded li as external rituals in the translations of The Doctrine of the Mean. Later, they came to understand more diverse characteristics of li in the translations of The Analects and Mencius and attempted more various translations: terms of officium, ratio, modus, and honestas represent li as internal moral standards that must be observed out of a sense of duty or through rational judgment, and moderation; urbanitas and civilitas as conduct for becoming a cultured person; and decorum and “propriety” as the idea of behaving in a way that aligns with societal standards, the concept of harmony in social interactions.

However, there was a difference in the scope of meaning between the translation and the original, and the Protestants were reluctant to use the philosophical terms of Cicero or religious terms. Ultimately, the Protestant missionaries selected and used “ceremony” and “propriety.”

This examination of the missionaries’ translations of li leads us to reconsider the meaning and value of li. This study suggests that the ultimate goal of li is harmony. Harmony encompasses two significant meanings. The first refers to both internal and external harmony, by which morality rooted in virtues is properly expressed through external actions. The second refers to the harmony between an individual and society. Unlike laws, li does not apply uniformly to everyone; appropriate manners vary according to position and situation. Each individual's proper practice of li contributes to social order, and when every member of society practices li, society becomes harmonious. Moreover, this study is meaningful in that it sheds light on one aspect of the cultural exchange between East and West, and reconsiders the concept of li through the lens of Western missionaries. Their interpretations contribute to understanding of other cultures and remain highly relevant in today’s multicultural world.

Acknowledgments

This work was supported by the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Korea and the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF-2022S1A5B5A16050465).

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