Library of Christian Theological Studies Through the Ages -- Mystical Theology

Author: (Pseudo) Dionysius / Bao Limin
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-03-01
Features: Over the past century, Chinese academic thought has undergone significant changes. Through the translation and interpretation of Western humanities and social science works, the modern academic quality and form of Chinese thought have become increasingly rich. Wang Guowei once remarked, "The language of the Zhou and Qin dynasties was found to be inadequate during the era of translating Buddhist scriptures; similarly, the language of modern times suffers from the same inadequacy when it comes to translating Western classics." The translation of Western classics over the past century has made decisive contributions to the expansion of Chinese academic discourse. Translating academic works from around the world to benefit Chinese scholarship remains a major undertaking for Chinese scholars to this day. In the past decade, the field of translation has gradually expanded in depth and breadth. Christian theological classics are one of the fundamental components of Western thought and culture. However, in the century-long effort to translate Western classics into Chinese, the translation of Christian theological classics has been particularly sparse. In the 1940s, American sinologist Dr. Zhang Wenxin established the "Christian Classics Translation Project" and collaborated with Chinese scholars such as Professor Xie Fuya to compile it, which by the 1960s had become 32 volumes. The "Project" pioneered the translation of Christian classics into Chinese but also had historical limitations: its selection was highly systematic yet fragmented (many classics were translated in excerpts); the Chinese translations were not entirely satisfactory, lacking readability; it paid little attention to academic classics from the 19th century onwards; and the "Project" was ultimately abandoned without completing its planned scope. This library aims to carry forward the unfinished work of translating Christian theological classics by earlier scholars, thereby filling the gaps in the translation of Western classics into Chinese over the past century.