《The hermeneutics of reinterpreting King Lear in the light of the Hsiao-ching》.pdf

Sandra A. Wawrytko Meaning as merging: The hermeneutics of rein- terpreting King Lear in the light of the Hsiao-ching The aim of this articleis to examine a case of interculturalinterpretationwhich, I will argue, has the effect of enrichingboth traditions. In this discussion, I take on the precarious task of self-interpreter,as I endeavor to explain and comment on the process by which my comparative hermeneutichas been implemented. What is involved is a complex dynamic interaction between two texts-Shakespeares KingLear and the Confucian text, the Hsiao-chinga.The presentcontext does not allow for an in-depth exploration of the myriad factors at work here.However, as our focus is to be a demonstration of hermeneutical practice, the interpreted content is of lesser importance than the interpretive structure. The test case of King Lear and the Hsiao-ching is derived from a lecture delivered to a nonprofessional audience, one largely familiar with traditional readings of Lear, but extremely limited in terms of its exposure to the Chinese culturalcontext. The presentation came in the form of a challenge to the audience to reconsiderthe main line of Shakespeareancriticismwith regardto the meaning of the play through the infusion of non-Western concepts. Using the fulcrum of the Confucian virtue of hsiaob,an attempt was made to induce a literary para- digm shift, if only temporarily, in order to provoke the experience of the plays meaning as a merging of the two complementary traditions. The result was an enrichment of the reading of a well-known classic for all involved. An unex- pected, but exhilarating, by-product of the intended process was that the Hsiao- ching also was enriched, one might even say vindicated, by being read alongside of Lear. The claim being made hereis that KingLear holds themirrorup to natureby reflecting the essential need for hsiao in s