Translation of the given content to English: Chinese Classical Novel Translation and Annotation Series (First Series) -- Mencius

Author: Liu Meichang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: The book Mencius is rich in literary color, particularly in its portrayal of Mencius's own psychology. Mencius was very confident in his advocacy of the "Kingly Way," but the rulers of the time did not take him seriously, considering him "out of touch with reality." This, in turn, made Mencius even more confident and dismissive of the authorities of his time. As he himself put it, "When speaking to the great, one should despise them." When the King of Qi invited him to the court, he claimed to be ill and waited for the king to come to seek his advice. When the brother of the ruler of Teng came to learn from him, he ignored him. When the powerful minister of Qi, Wang Xuan, went on a mission with him, he remained silent the entire time. Mencius's idealistic and proud personality, which refused to bow to the conventions of the time, is vividly portrayed in the book. His inner turmoil is also palpable to later readers. The literary features of Mencius are often closely tied to Mencius's unique personality and psychology. The annotations and translations in this book are primarily based on Zhu Ji's Collected Annotations on Mencius and Jiao Xun's Corrective Commentary on Mencius, with references to some translations and annotations of the time. Mencius often used metaphors in his speech, which, viewed from today's perspective, sometimes lack logical coherence. In translation, some had to be rendered literally, while others required supplementary explanations to ensure clarity for readers. Too many additions, however, would increase the length of the text, posing a challenge for the author. The book was mainly annotated and translated by Du Yujian, while certain chapters of Gaozi and Jinxin were translated with reference to contemporary annotations by Liu Meichang.