Reconstructing the Kongzi shilun: From the Arrangement of the Bamboo Slips to a Tentative Translation

Abstract

This study is an attempt to provide a reliably based translation of the so-called Kongzi shilun. The first step towards this aim is to reconstruct the arrangement of the bamboo slips that constitute the manuscript. All the useful evidence for this task can be divided according to material and textual criteria and will be systematically analyzed. The former include, among others, the measurements and condition of the slips as well as the “blank end phenomenon”; the latter involve the sequence of the ode categories, textual parallelism, textual and topical coherence, etc. After reconstruction of the arrangement of the slips, new editions of the manuscript are given, both diplomatic and punctuated. The readings of the characters are based on recent studies with some modifications, which are explained in this paper. Finally, an English translation of the Kongzi shilun is provided.