Understanding traditional Chinese philosophical texts

The descriptive aim of this essay is to sort out and distinguish among somedifferent hermeneutical approaches to Chinese philosophical texts and to make clear that theapproach that one employs carries with it important implications about the kind of intellectualproject one is pursuing. The primary normative claim is that in order to be doing research inthe field of traditional Chinese philosophy, one must make a case for one's interpretation asrepresenting philosophical views that have been held by Chinese thinkers and that makingsuch a case is a distinctive type of intellectual activity analogous to making a case in a courtof law. In addition to this conceptual or methodological point, I argue that the interpretationof Chinese philosophical texts should make clear and take into account the special role thatcommentary has played throughout the tradition.