“Women’s Analects” (Nü Lunyu) and its place in the history of Chinese thought

Abstract

In this paper, we present the first complete translation into Russian of an important educational text written for girls in traditional China: the so-called “Women’s Lunyu.” This text was included in the collection of texts known as the “Four Books for Women,” which was finally formed at the turn of the Ming and Qing dynasties (17th century). The translation is preceded by a brief introduction that outlines the origins and authorship of the text. It is also accompanied by a commentary that emphasizes the variability of the text across different editions. Textual variability is a notable feature of such educational texts, as it is intrinsic to their nature and circulation, allowing for appropriate amendments and omissions. Textual variability encompasses almost all levels of language, from the graphic representation of individual characters to the lexical level of synonyms, and the syntactic level of sentences and larger textual structures. The text was generally quite popular in traditional Chinese society. Individual editions may have also reflected the specific ideological inclinations of certain groups, such as the Buddhists. Certain editions contain quite explicit references to Buddhist ideas, although the text itself is clearly based on the Confucian perspective. Therefore, some versions of the text demonstrate clear signs of ideological eclecticism characteristic of late Imperial China.