James Legge was a pioneering translator of Chinese classical texts, and this Clarendon Press translation of the Li Chi, the Book of Rites, published in the Sacred Books of the East series, remains the standard nineteenth century English rendering still widely cited today. Its strength is real longevity: despite its age it continues to be used because no fully displacing modern translation has achieved the same broad currency, and Legge worked as a serious sinologist rather than a popularizer. Its limit is its age and the state of nineteenth century sinology it reflects, so a claim needing the most current scholarly understanding of a specific passage should be checked against modern Chinese studies scholarship alongside Legge's translation.
Facts
Assessment
Reliability Tier1
Published by Clarendon Press in the Sacred Books of the East series, James Legge's standard nineteenth century scholarly translation by a serious sinologist, still the field's most widely cited rendering, treated at the top tier as that standard scholarly edition. NotesThe standard 19th century English translation, still widely cited.
Citation
AuthorTranslated by James Legge
PublisherClarendon Press
Publication Year1885
Source TypeCritical edition
Claims Backed By This Source (27 claims)
This source backs 27 claims across the atlas. As facts: 22 well-attested. As cited relationships: 2 holds. Plus 3 entities citing it as a general reference with no single fact or relationship attached.
Disposition By Topic
- Scriptures & Texts, 8 claims: 6 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
- Sources, 7 claims: 7 well-attested.
- Rituals, 6 claims: 5 well-attested, 1 general references.
- Articles, 3 claims: 3 well-attested.
- Virtues, 3 claims: 1 well-attested, 1 holds, 1 general references.
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