Unpacking an Ancient Chinese Text: A Phenomenological Hermeneutics

Robert Snyder
University of Idaho 

Human experience is the central factor in the movement towards interpretation and understanding. Hermeneutics is the study of understanding, especially the task of understanding texts. As Richard Palmer states, "interpretation is, perhaps the most basic act of human thinking; indeed, existing itself may be said to be a constant process of interpretation." This process of understanding must take into account the development of human consciousness and self-awareness, thus phenomenology. As Pierre Thevenaz said, human experience is always a metaphysical self-transcendence; the transcendence over oneself results from self-reflexive self-awareness, therefore, self-reflective critical self: integration.

The method that a scholar employs to interpret Classical Chinese texts can and does significantly influence the understanding, outcome and orientation of the translation. A major question that arises is: "how does one understand the Chinese mind?" Such an understanding, as Robert Allinson points out, is largely a work of interpretation; understanding is not reductionistic, it is expansive. The boundary of culture, language, and even time presupposes entry into a different mind, the Chinese mind. In order to do this one needs a new methodology that takes into account the human experience, the process of human consciousness and self-awareness.

In the endeavor to "unpack" an ancient Chinese text, we are faced with several challenges. The first challenge is the original text. The text is often a "snap shot" into a complex philosophical/cultural milieu. Frequently Confucian texts are simply recorded sayings and are not ordered nor presented in a systematized fashion. Another challenge is the difference of language. One problem is the difficulty of finding exact word equivalents, and another is the significant difference in grammar. A third challenge is the common question, "what did the original author mean or intend," which I believe frequently cannot be answered.

To overcome these challenges, I propose to add to the method which Sunnie and James Kidd present in their Experiential Method: Qualitative Research in the Humanities Using Metaphysics and Phenomenology. I suggest two additional ideas for interpreting Confucian texts. The first is the idea of "unpacking," such as unpacking an ancient buried treasure, an exploration in the process of understanding. The second is a "passing through the text," by which the author allows for intuited possibilities to arise from the dialogue with the text. These methods focus on personal experience and a staying-with the self-reflexive, keeping alive the dynamic movement of the experience and the bringing to the forefront understanding. There is a dynamic flow in the process of coming to understanding from the first experience of the originator of meaning in action to the final interpretation.

Through this process of "Experiential Method," "unpacking," and "passing through the text," I believe one can explore and uncover a personal understanding and interpretation of a text and successfully cross such boundaries as culture, language, and time, thus arriving at a contemporary hermeneutic of an ancient Chinese text.