Abstract

This dissertation presents a complete annotated translation of Dai Zhen's Evidential Commentary on the Meanings of Terms in Mencius, and includes three introductory chapters which discuss the origin and significance of the text. ;The Introduction raises the issue of what it means to regard such a text as a work of "philosophy," given that this term, as Feng Youlan points out, denotes a category of Western origin. Chapter I considers various interpretations of Dai Zhen's work that have been proposed in the 20th century, and suggests that Dai himself might have characterized his work, in 20th century terminology, as a theory of the practices and structures that constitute the Sagely Way. Chapter III explores the genesis of Dai Zhen's argument as a critique of the fundamental assumptions and interpretative theories of Song daoxue Confucianism, as formulated in the Northern Song by Zhou Dunyi , Shao Yong , Zhang Zai , Cheng Yi , and Cheng Hao , and as systematized in Southern Song by Zhu Xi