关键词: 孟子, 诠释, 经典诠释学

Abstract:

Mencius’ classical hermeneutics is a theoretical system. The tenet of classic interpretation is to defeat the wrong by the right”, that is, “to stop the wrong speech and correct the people’s minds” by discriminating the right from the wrong. The principle of classical interpretation is “to interpret classics according to emotions”, that is, to interpret classics according to the feelings and will of the author and the reader. The understanding of the original meaning of classic is “to meet the heart with the heart”, that is, to meet and understand the emotion and will of the author with that of the reader. The reason why this kind of corresponding is possible is based on “people’s hearts are the same”. The specific steps of interpretation go as follows: firstly, believing that “books cannot be trusted completely”, that is, being skeptical of the expressions in classics; then taking the path of “from the details to the essentials”, that is, to reveal the secret and great significance of the classics through detailed discrimination and argument. The generation of the new meaning of classics is “to give the meaning according to the text”, that is, not only “to capture the meaning from the text”, but also “to give the meaning with the text”, that is, to make classics generate new meaning. The life source of interpretation is “to understand the person through the times”, that is, to understand the author and then his or her work by understanding his or her life. In this regard, Mencius’ classical hermeneutics has reached the state of “pre-subjectivity”. All in all, it is life that creates the “will” of the author and the reader. Only then can understanding the original meaning by “meeting the heart with the heart” and making classics generate new meaning by “giving the meaning with the text” be possible, the interpretation principle of “interpreting classics according to emotions” be implemented, and the interpretation tenet of “stopping the wrong speech and correcting the people’s minds” be realized to serve the world.

Key words: Mencius, interpretation, classic hermeneutics