Cultural interaction and value pursuit: the Shijing in German culture

1 Introduction

Regarded as the source and foundation of ancient Chinese poetry, the Shijing has been recognized worldwide as a gem in the history of global poetry. As one of the original texts of the Chinese nation, its influence has long transcended China and Asia, becoming a popular research focus of Sinology in Europe and the United States. The German Orientalist Ernst Heinrich Meier (1813–1866) once remarked that the Shijing is “the oldest and finest collection of folk songs still extant” (Meier 1875: 5). The translation and dissemination of the Shijing in the West began with the translation of Confucian classics by Western missionaries in the 16th and 17th centuries. By the 19th century, Western studies of the Shijing had undergone a shift from classical to literary studies, and the study of the Shijing became an independent academic discipline that continues to this day.

Germany is a nation known for speculative thinking and numerous philosophers (Yang 2021: 130) and is renowned for its literary achievements. As a European country with a deep-rooted Sinology tradition, Germany has consistently maintained an active approach to translating and studying Chinese literary classics. The transmission and evolution of the Shijing in Germany reflect not only the general characteristics of European engagement with traditional Chinese culture but also the distinctive features shaped by Germany’s own historical and cultural development. The translation and dissemination of the Shijing in Germany followed a complex trajectory, which can be broadly divided into the following four periods: the initial contact phase in the 18th century, the rapid expansion phase in the 19th century, the flourishing and deepening phase in the 20th century, and the maturation and stabilization phase since the turn of the century. As a quintessential text representing the cultural essence and spiritual wealth of the Chinese nation, the ongoing translation and dissemination of the Shijing in Germany have largely relied on the interaction between Germany’s historical transformations and sociocultural evolution regarding Chinese culture.

The study of the Shijing in Germany is embedded in the longitudinal development of German society while also being a product of specific historical contexts, carrying value propositions based on local cultural and academic traditions. The Shijing has been interpreted and influenced differently across various historical periods in Germany. Its powerful function in text interpretation and meaning construction is a key reason for its enduring relevance to German transmission. Exploring the process of the Shijing’s translation and dissemination in Germany and its interaction with social and cultural contexts holds significant theoretical value in clarifying the reception history of the Shijing in Germany. Moreover, it contributes to the examination of the formation of European Shijing Studies and promotes research into the overseas dissemination of Chinese literary classics.

2 German translation and dissemination of the Shijing in cultural interaction

The translation and dissemination of the Shijing in Germany can be traced back to the German translation of the Description of the Chinese Empire in 1749, marking nearly 300 years of history. During this period, several outstanding translators emerged, including Friedrich Rückert (1788–1866), Victor von Strauß (1809–1899), Albert Ehrenstein (1886–1950), Fritz Mühlenweg (1898–1961), Günter Debon (1921–2005), and Rainald Simon (1951–present). Owing to their efforts, the Shijing entered the German cultural context, allowing German readers to appreciate the aesthetic essence of traditional Chinese culture. The continuous evolution of the Shijing’s German translations reflects not only the sustained attention of German scholars to Chinese classical literature but also an ongoing dialogue and interaction between Chinese and German cultures throughout various historical stages.

The translation and dissemination of the Shijing in Germany generally followed a progression from partial and selective translations to complete translations, and from translations via a third language to direct translations from the original Chinese. The first German translation of the Shijing was based on the French work Description de l’Empire de la Chine, published in Paris in 1735 by the French Jesuit Jean Baptiste Du Halde (1674–1743). This work included eight poems from the Shijing, making it the first Shijing translation to be published in Europe. Fourteen years later, in 1749, Description de l’Empire de la Chine was translated into German and titled Ausführliche Beschreibung des Chinesischen Reichs und der grossen Tartarey, which became the earliest partial German translation of the Shijing. Goethe, who read this translation, highly praised it, reinforcing his appreciation of Chinese culture. Through this version, German readers and the Sinology community made their initial contact with the Shijing.

During the rapid expansion phase in the 19th century, two significant translations of the Shijing emerged: Friedrich Rückert’s 1833 complete translation, Schi-King Chinesisches Liederbuch dem Deutschen and Victor von Strauß’s 1880 translation, Schi-King: Das kanonische Liederbuch der Chinesen, which was directly translated from Chinese. Rückert’s translation was based on the Latin version by the French missionary Alexandre de Lacharme (1695–1767), marking a new phase in the translation and dissemination of the Shijing in Germany. Lacharme’s Latin translation – the first complete Shijing translation in the West – holds great significance in the history of the transmission of classical Chinese texts to the West. Rückert’s version abandoned the traditional classifications of “Ballad” (Feng风), “Court Hymn” (Ya雅), and “Eulogy” (Song颂) and reorganized the poems according to thematic content. He focused more on the “Feng” and “Ya,” which feature folk song characteristics, than the “Song.” Additionally, he removed all annotations from Lacharme’s version, aiming to adapt the Shijing to the German readers’ preferences. Rückert emphasized presenting the Shijing’s aesthetic style using simple, unadorned language to facilitate its circulation among the general public. His goal was to bring mysterious and ancient Eastern literature to German-speaking countries and, thus, contribute to world literature (Rückert 1833: 1–6).

Although Rückert’s translation was the first to present the Shijing to German readers in poetic form and “introduced for the first time a truly first-rate work of Chinese literature to Germany” (Chen 1936: 158), some scholars have criticized it for being “merely a free interpretation of the Latin version” (Goedeke 1886: 1281) owing to its reliance on Lacharme’s Latin text. Nevertheless, Rückert’s translation, which directly reflected his vision of “world poetry,” had a profound influence on later Shijing translations and studies. Thus, it can be regarded as a major milestone in the history of Shijing’s translation into German.

Victor von Strauß’s 1880 translation Schi-King: Das kanonische Liederbuch der Chinesen was the first complete German translation of the Shijing directly from Chinese and remains one of the most influential versions. Its hallmarks are the pursuit of fidelity and content equivalence. In the preface to his translation, Strauß emphasized, “My primary goal is fidelity” (Strauß 1880b: 60). In both content and structure, Strauß adhered closely to the original text, striving to remain as faithful to it as possible. He carefully examined the deeper meanings of the poems and sought to replicate the original style in terms of rhetoric and meter, preserving the poetic techniques of “Narrative” (Fu赋), “Analogy” (Bi比), and “Association” (Xing兴) from the Shijing in his translation.

During the translation process, Strauß retained the rhetorical techniques of the Shijing by utilizing common cultural elements and metaphors found in both Chinese and Western poetic traditions. This approach enabled German readers to grasp the meanings and functions of these rhetorical techniques more accurately. For culturally rich terms, Strauß used transliterations with explanatory notes and replaced the original imagery with the corresponding target-language imagery to convey their deeper meanings more precisely. Besides detailed annotations explaining culturally loaded terms, Strauß also drew on James Legge’s method for translating the Shijing’s meter and consulted research on Chinese phonetics from the LiushuYinjunbiao (Table of Phonetic Correspondence of the Six Books). Combining these with the German poetic tradition, Strauß identified a correspondence between the four-character lines of the Shijing and German, skillfully capturing the rhythmic beauty of the original text.

Strauß’s work was praised by other Sinologists as “an unsurpassable treasure in German classical translations” (Grube 1909: 47) and “the best metrical translation in Europe” (Jennings 1891: 21). However, his excessive focus on meter also limited the expression of the poem’s content. As Hauser noted, “No matter how neatly Strauß’s translation aligns textually, it cannot replace the Legge translation” (Hauser 1908: 10). Nonetheless, Strauß’s translation, with its masterful presentation of the Shijing’s artistry, had a profound influence on the translation and study of the Shijing across Europe.

In the 20th century, the most representative German translations of the Shijing were Albert Ehrenstein’s Schi-King – Das Liederbuch Chinas, gesammelt von Kung-fu-tse and Mühlenweg’s Tausendjähriger Bambus, Nachdichtung aus dem Schi-King. Ehrenstein’s translation included 100 poems categorized into 4 themes: love, people, war, and kings. His translation strategy involved abridging, omitting, and adapting the original text and simplifying it to suit German readers’ preferences. In fact, translators are expected to maintain a balance between the often opposing extremes of author-centeredness and reader-centeredness (Meng and Meng 2020: 136). Thus, Ehrenstein’s translation adopts a reader-centered translation strategy. As this selective translation deviated from the original work to some extent, it attracted some criticism, such as Austrian Sinologist Leopold Woitsch’s view that Ehrenstein’s translation was merely an arbitrary rewrite with no consideration of the Chinese text. Nonetheless, it broadened the Shijing’s reception among German readers. By contrast, Mühlenweg’s translation was a free adaptation of 46 poems, with a focus on creating natural and elegant translations by simplifying the original. He believed that “freedom derived from a spiritual connection to the original work is the only feasible path for translation” (Mühlenweg 2002: 533). His “Germanized” adaptation significantly advanced a deeper integration of the Shijing within the German cultural context.

In the 21st century, two Shijing translations have had a profound impact: Günter Debon’s Der Kranich ruft – Chinesische Lieder der ältesten Zeit and Rainald Simon’s Shijing – Das altchinesische Buch der Lieder. Debon’s 2003 translation included 121 poems. It reorganized the selection of poems based on European translations, focusing on rhythm while omitting in-text annotations, making the translation more concise and clear. In presenting the meter of the Shijing, Debon referenced notable translations from France, Germany, England, the United States, and Switzerland spanning the 17th to 20th centuries, providing a valuable source for translators and scholars in German poetic research. In 2015, Simon released a complete translation of the Shijing directly from Chinese, the first since Victor von Strauß’s 1880 translation. Compared with Debon’s version, Simon did not overly emphasize rhythm but focused instead on repetition techniques and the rhythm of poetry. He retained the original structure’s sense of unfamiliarity while incorporating insights from Chinese Shijing studies, fostering a deeper and more accurate understanding among German readers. Some critics have noted that while Simon preserved the structural unfamiliarity of the Chinese text, his translation allowed readers to quickly grasp and become immersed in the work.

Ever since the Shijing was first introduced in Germany, its translation and dissemination have continued uninterrupted, with each century displaying unique characteristics. On the surface, this ongoing translation effort may seem like the mere transmission of a Chinese literary classic in Germany. However, at a deeper level, this reflects the cultural interaction between China and Germany. Despite the vast geographical distance, Germany developed a strong interest in and actively engaged in translating and disseminating Eastern traditional culture, particularly that of China. This highlights the potential for China’s rich cultural heritage to transcend differences and demonstrates its profound communicative power.

As the initiator of the “semiotic translation perspective” (Gorlée 1994: 17), Roman Jakobson (1896–1982) opened a new era in the study of signs and translation with his typology of translation. In “On Linguistic Aspects of Translation,” Jakobson proposed three types of translation: intralingual translation, interlingual translation, and intersemiotic translation (Jakobson 1959: 233). The semiotics of translation was first introduced by the German translator Gorlée (Jia 2016: 95), who examined sign transformation in the translation process through Peirce’s triadic model of signs and expanded the study of translation semiotics to include various textual genres beyond verbal sign conversion.

When considering the German translation issues of the Shijing from the perspective of translation semiotics, the “interlingual translation” aspect proves to be quite complex. This complexity includes early translations through French and Latin versions, as well as direct translations based on the original Chinese text, all of which transitioned from intralingual translation to interlingual translation. Rückert and earlier translations through a third language lacked an intralingual translation phase. However, beginning with Strauß’s translation in 1880, all subsequent German translations directly from Chinese have undergone an intralingual translation followed by interlingual translation. These renowned sinologists and translators inevitably went through an intralingual translation process in their minds, converting the classical Chinese of the Shijing into modern Chinese before rendering it into German. This process is particularly essential for contemporary sinologist translators, as the conversion from the source language to the target language requires (careful/complex) mental processing (Figure 1).

British translation theorist Roger T. Bell’s diagram of the translation process illustrates the transformation from the source language text to the target language text (Figure 1). First, before translating, the translator must interpret and clarify the literal expressions and implied meanings of the source language by analyzing the language and context, thereby understanding the semantic representation of the source language. Once the semantic representation of the source language is established, the translator synthesizes the semantics and information and then expresses these semantic representations along with the literal and implied meanings of the source language through the code of the target language, resulting in the target language text (the translation). This shows that conversion from the source language to the target language occurs during the memory process.

Figure 1:

Bell’s translation process (Bell 1991: 21).

In classical texts, the translator consciously or unconsciously processes and transforms the content of the source language (classical Chinese) into a modern language. This process is essentially an intralingual translation (Huang 2012: 69). Therefore, in translations of the Shijing like those by Strauß, even if there is no explicit conversion process from classical Chinese to modern Chinese to English, the intralingual translation (transforming classical Chinese into modern Chinese) still takes place in the memory section of Bell’s diagram (Bell 1991: 21).

3 Shijing Studies and value orientation in Germany

Although German Sinology began later than in France, which is known as the founder of Western Sinology, it developed rapidly and with unique characteristics. Most German scholars in Shijing Studies were translators. Their translation and research of the Shijing reflected the cultural and social needs of German society, Germany’s evolving understanding of ancient Eastern literature over time, and scholars’ attempts to construct their own visions of China and literary concepts.

The ideology of any given era inevitably reflects the spiritual and cultural image of a particular historical stage. Germany’s study and reception of the Shijing concealed and mirrored the country’s historical development, which were closely linked to the social conditions and cultural contexts of different periods. Following its initial contact in the 18th century, formal study of Shijing in Germany began in the 19th century. At that time, Germany’s growing economic and military power and its pursuit of global dominance required a deeper understanding of Eastern nations, particularly the traditional Chinese culture. In contrast to the Enlightenment era, Europe’s perception of China in the 19th century shifted toward a more negative view. However, the distant and unfamiliar poetic world presented in the Shijing challenged Germany’s prejudices against China. In the preface to his translation Die Geister der Lieder, Rückert likened the Shijing to “imprisoned spirits” (Rückert 1833:3), recognizing its expression of loyalty to the state and its condemnation of war and tyranny as universal values that transcend time and space. He elevated these universal values to the level of “world poetry” and “world reconciliation” (Rückert 1833: 6).

The Shijing’s depictions of love, loyalty, family, and nation, and its portrayals of agriculture, suffering, and war, deeply resonated with Rückert, prompting him to remark, “Anyone who reads this book can see their own reflection within it” (Rückert 1833: 6). He believed that poetry was the foundation for communication across all humanity, and his act of translating the poetry of different nations reflected his hope for peaceful coexistence among the world’s peoples. In this way, his ideas continued Goethe’s concept of “world poetry.” Rückert aligned with the Romantics, who believed that the Western world, ravaged by war and industrialization, needed to seek the original romantic state and ideal beauty found in Eastern countries. In fact, what attracted Rückert the most to Shijing was its reflection of the unadorned and naturally expressed emotions of ancient people (Zhang and Tan 2019: 164). Thus, the Shijing, with its portrayal of eternal human themes, became an integral part of “world poetry,” facilitating cultural integration and interaction between China and Germany. Rückert’s translation of the Shijing positively influenced German literature and music. For instance, the Nobel Prize-winning German author Paul Heyse’s poetic novel Brothers was deeply influenced by the Shijing, drawing on seven of its poems (Rose 1981: 146).

Strauß also conducted an in-depth study of the Shijing and published related articles in the Zeitschrift der Deutschen Morgenländischen Gesellschaft. He emphasized that the Shijing faithfully represented the lives of the early Chinese people and the original state of humanity (Strauß 1880a: 587). In the 60-page preface to his translation, Strauß pointed out that the Shijing was deeply rooted in the daily lives of common people, which made it more accessible to the general public and reflected human commonality transcending race and time (Strauß 1880a: 4). He also highlighted that, besides its high poetic value, the Shijing is also an important vehicle for understanding ancient Eastern culture, comparable only to the Psalms of the Bible and the Rigveda of India (Strauß 1880a: 3).

Although the 19th-century fascination with China waned and the image of China changed, the missionary spirit in European society remained influential and continued to be promoted (Yue 2018: 197). Strauß’s translation and study of the Shijing were driven by Germany’s curiosity about ancient Eastern countries and the desire to discover the literary treasures of the East. Simultaneously, there was a motivation to use the Shijing to support monotheism in Christianity and promote Christian teachings. Strauß provided an intercultural presentation of the Christian doctrine by referencing the Bible in his translation of the Shijing. He offered religious interpretations of core concepts from the Shijing, such as “Tian (天)” and “Di (帝),” equating them with the Christian “Gott” and projecting this image in his translation. Although the Christian “Gott” and the Shijing’s “Di (帝)” and “Shangdi (上帝)” are fundamentally different, his religiously metaphorical study of the Shijing revealed his motivation and desire to emphasize the importance of traditional Chinese civilization. His ultimate goal was to “open a new chapter for Germans to understand the oldest East Asian poetry and contribute to Goethe’s concept of ‘world literature’” (Strauß 1880c: 61).

Strauß’s translation and interpretation of “Di (帝) ” and “Shangdi (上帝) ” in the Shijing exemplifies Jakobson’s concept of “equivalence in difference.” Jakobson posited that translation is not merely a simple conversion of languages; it requires the establishment of a new relationship between the source and target languages. The goal of translation is to seek a form of equivalence in language and meaning; however, this equivalence is not a one-to-one correspondence; it exists within the differentiated contexts of various cultures and languages. Although “Di (帝) ” and “Shangdi (上帝) ” in the Shijing do not correspond exactly to “Gott” in the Bible, the aim of translation is not only to convey information; more importantly, it is to generate a similar effect in the target language, ensuring that certain words or phrases serve corresponding functions. This highlights the fact that translation is a dynamic process involving the interaction of language, culture, and context. This requires the translator to continuously adjust and refine their strategies, seeking the most appropriate expressions that remain faithful to the original work while flexibly addressing linguistic and cultural differences. Ultimately, it strives to achieve equivalence in difference as much as possible, even in the face of untranslatability.

In the early 20th century, Germany briefly rose to become the world’s second-largest economy, fueled by the Second Industrial Revolution. However, industrialization and social unrest brought about an unprecedented crisis of thought and spiritual turmoil. During this time, Germany continued to seek solace in elements of Eastern culture, particularly from traditional Chinese thought. Ehrenstein chose to translate the Shijing because of its everyday realism, focus on real-life struggles, and spirit of resistance against oppression and violent rule, which offered comfort to the German people. His true aim was to provide a spiritual haven for the Germans who had endured the devastation of the two world wars. In the 21st century, as Sino-German relations progressed steadily, with increasing trade and academic exchanges, more German scholars began to focus on China’s rising power. These scholars, fluent in Chinese and dedicated to the study of Chinese classical literature, developed new perspectives on the Shijing in line with contemporary developments.

Debon considered the Shijing to be “one of the earliest witnesses to Chinese thought” (Debon 2011: 19) and viewed it as an essential classic for understanding Chinese culture and civilization. To reach a wider audience, he skillfully blended the Shijing’s timelessness, artistry, and readability into his work, researching its enduring vitality and influence beyond its era. Simon, however, broke free from the traditional European framework for translating and studying the Shijing, aiming to delve deeper into its literary and cross-cultural value. His goal was to foster greater exchanges between Chinese and Western civilizations. Simon placed particular emphasis on overlooked aspects of the Shijing, such as its overlapping repetition and poetic rhythm, and highly praised its artistic and aesthetic value.

Throughout different historical stages of Germany’s social development, translators and scholars translated, annotated, and studied the Shijing, addressing the specific cultural contexts and needs of their times. By exploring the text from the perspectives of Sino-German historical and cultural backgrounds, literary criticism, and aesthetic analysis, they fostered cross-cultural understanding and dialogue surrounding the Shijing. They also recognized its aesthetic significance and artistic value as part of the shared cultural heritage of humanity. German exploration and research into the Shijing enriched its interpretation from a foreign perspective and provided theoretical references and practical examples for cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the West.

4 Conclusions

As the earliest anthology of Chinese poetry, the Shijing holds irreplaceable literary and cultural value. It is not only a treasure of ancient Chinese literature but also an essential part of “world literature.” The nearly 300-year history of its translation and dissemination in Germany reflects German academia’s continuous focus on traditional Chinese culture. From early translations to modern interdisciplinary research, German scholars’ efforts have revealed a diverse range of value orientations, including fostering a cultural understanding, reflecting the visions of China, shaping literary concepts, and promoting cultural exchange. German translators and Sinologists have continually refined their translation strategies and provided profound cultural interpretations, making the Shijing a gem in the history of Chinese classics translated into Western languages. Their translation and research work not only demonstrate the Shijing’s strong cross-cultural influence but also contribute significantly to the cultural exchange and mutual understanding between Eastern and Western civilizations.

The translation and interpretation of the Shijing in Germany have had a significant impact on cultural comparison, interdisciplinary studies, and the innovation of translation theory, thereby influencing German Sinology. German scholars’ research on the Shijing deepens understanding of ancient Chinese poetry’s aesthetic orientation and its philosophical and social ideas, while also fostering deeper exploration of Chinese literature, history, and culture in the Western academic world. The interpretation of the Shijing by German scholars often transcends literary studies, encompassing disciplines such as philosophy, history, and sociology. Therefore, the German version of the Shijing has provided a model for interdisciplinary research, advancing German Sinology and promoting a multidimensional understanding of ancient Chinese culture. Furthermore, in the process of translating the Shijing, German scholars have not only focused on linguistic transformation but have also aimed to capture the poem’s phonetics, rhythm, and symbolic meanings. This translation strategy has had a significant influence on later Sinological translation studies, especially in areas such as poetry translation, phonology, and semantics, offering new insights for the development of translation theory.

The introduction and reception of the Shijing in Germany have crucial implications for enhancing cross-cultural dialogue, promoting Sino-German cultural cooperation and academic exchanges, and advancing modern Sinology research. As a treasure of Chinese culture, the translation and interpretation of the Shijing in Germany demonstrate that the translation of literary works is not merely a linguistic conversion but a form of cultural exchange and collision. Future research should further emphasize cross-cultural dialogue and promote mutual understanding and respect between different cultural systems. The translation and study of the Shijing by German scholars provide important literary resources for the German-speaking world and build a bridge for Sino-German cultural exchange. In the future, academic communities of China and Germany can further advance academic exchanges and collaboration, focusing on the interdisciplinary and innovative aspects of modern Sinology, thus opening up broader spaces for the development of Sinology research.