Associate Professor Zhang Yadong from the School of Humanities has recently published an important research paper titled “The Double Misreadings of Mencius’s ‘Interpreting a Writing from One’s Own Perspective’ Interpreted by History of Chinese Literary Criticism and Hermeneutics of Chinese Literature” in the May 2025 issue of Literary Review, a leading journal in the field.

The May 2025 issue of Literary Review

The paper argues that Mencius’s concept of “yi yi ni zhi”—literally “to interpret a writing from one’s own perspective”—was originally a hermeneutic proposition within the Confucian exegetical tradition, formulated in response to the fundamental ethical dilemma of a father unable to maintain paternal authority over his son. According to the author, Mencius’s true interpretive aim was to reconcile the internal tension between the moral orders of ruler–subject and father–son, as revealed in the interpretive rift between The Book of Songs and The Book of History, rather than to articulate a methodology of poetic interpretation. However, both modern Chinese literary criticism over the past century and more recent literary hermeneutics have detached the phrase from its original discursive and exegetical context, reducing “yi yi ni zhi” to a general methodology of literary study and interpretation.

Dr. Zhang’s work exemplifies the intellectual rigor and academic depth of the School’s young scholars—rooted in classical scholarship while engaging in bold and original inquiry. The School of Humanities looks forward to more outstanding contributions from its emerging researchers, who continue to advance the discipline and enrich the School’s scholarly vitality.

About the researcher

Dr. Zhang Yadong is an Associate Professor at the School of Humanities, Taizhou University, and serves concurrently as Vice President of the Taizhou Literary Critics Association. Since joining the university in 2017, he has published multiple papers in leading academic journals such as Guangming Daily, Chinese Literary Criticism, and Studies in Chinese Language and Literature. He is the author of the scholarly monograph A Study of Pre-Qin Hermeneutics: Focusing on the Philosophers, and has led several research projects funded by the Ministry of Education of China and the China Postdoctoral Science Foundation. Dr. Zhang has also been selected for the Zhejiang Province Leading Talent Development Program and the Taizhou High-Level Talent Support Program.