摘要
Throughout my years as a graduate student, I found myself regularly reaching for one or another of the translations of Chinese classics by Roger T. Ames and his distinguished collaborators. There I would discover clues to the authentic context and meaning of vocabulary often missed in the standard lexicons and commentaries. As a novice, I was struck by learning that tian 7~ had very little to do with the neo-Platonist notion of Heaven. This helped me understand how tianming 天命 （conventionally, ＂Mandate of Heaven＂） conveys a rich conception of relationally based accountability, quite apart from any resonance it may have with ScholasticNatural Law, None of this is to say that Ames has attempted to repudiate the historic pioneers of Chinese philosophical translation, such as the Jesuit fathers or James Legge or even Wing-tsit Chan. On the contrary, as the present-day exemplar of their tradition, Ames has advanced the practice of comparative philosophy through translations that accurately reflect the Chinese mind as closely as Westerners can. Fortunately, when I need to reachfor Ames＇s insights today, I can now find them in Confucian Role Ethics.＂ A Vocabulary, a single, portable volume.
Throughout my years as a graduate student, I found myself regularly reaching for one or another of the translations of Chinese classics by Roger T. Ames and his distinguished collaborators. There I would discover clues to the authentic context and meaning of vocabulary often missed in the standard lexicons and commentaries. As a novice, I was struck by learning that tian 7~ had very little to do with the neo-Platonist notion of Heaven. This helped me understand how tianming 天命 （conventionally, ＂Mandate of Heaven＂） conveys a rich conception of relationally based accountability, quite apart from any resonance it may have with ScholasticNatural Law, None of this is to say that Ames has attempted to repudiate the historic pioneers of Chinese philosophical translation, such as the Jesuit fathers or James Legge or even Wing-tsit Chan. On the contrary, as the present-day exemplar of their tradition, Ames has advanced the practice of comparative philosophy through translations that accurately reflect the Chinese mind as closely as Westerners can. Fortunately, when I need to reachfor Ames＇s insights today, I can now find them in Confucian Role Ethics.＂ A Vocabulary, a single, portable volume.
