Wittgenstein
never came to China, but his teacher and friend Russell did. Moreover, Russell
stayed for ten whole months. It can be argued that Russell brought Wittgenstein
along the trip, as he accepted a request from Wittgenstein that he has yet
fulfilled: publish Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus. Prior to the
trip, he had already written an
extended introduction for this miniature book and sought out the support of
many others, but with no discernible
result. Yet, a promise made should be a promise kept. Before he arrived in
China in September of 1920, he requested a lady to continue seeking supporters
for this book.
There is another
significance when one says that Russell brought Wittgenstein to China: through
Russell, Chinese academic circles first encountered Wittgenstein Philosophy.
The incident below perfectly illustrates this fact: Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus’s German-English bilingual edition is published by
Rutledge Publishing Company in 1922, the next translated edition is actually a
Chinese translated version published by Mr. Zhang Shen Fu in 1927, and the
other major Western translations only came after 1950! The keen intuition of
Chinese scholars surely benefits from Russell and his introduction.
Wittgenstein might be surprised that the sole philosophical masterpiece
published in his lifetime can be favored by Chinese scholars at such an early
stage.
The elegant translated title Mr. Zhang Shen Fu adopted
was名理论. The book was later revised by Mr. Chen Qi Wei, and a
new edition is published by Peking University in 1988. Adding to The Commercial
Press’s four other translated editions of Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, there now exist a
total of five versions of this work. Besides of these, Wittgenstein’s other
important work Philosophical Investigation also has five different
translated editions in Chinese. It is worth mentioning that Wright’s
translation of Culture and Value and Malcolm’s Ludwig Wittgenstein: A
Memoir-- with a Biographical Sketch by Wright were both translated into
Chinese in 1980, allowing more readers to understand his
character and ideology.
Using language to discuss existentialism, cognition, and
values is a major trend in Western philosophy, and Wittgenstein is definitely a
talented trendsetter. So how does this discussion relate to China? Wittgenstein
introduced the picture theory of language regarding the meaning of propositions
in Tractatus
Logico-Philosophicus and pointed out: “In order to understand the
essence of the proposition, consider hieroglyphic writing, which pictures the
facts it describes. – And alphabetic script developed out of it without losing
what was essential to depiction.” Although it cannot be certain that
Wittgenstein thought of Chinese characters in relation to what he stated, the
box letters we have been using for thousands of years are indeed based on
hieroglyphics. One can say that using the hieroglyphical traits of language to
speculate over the world, the society, and life problems is a specialty of the
academic circle of Chinese characters. As a result, the inference Wittgenstein
made above can perhaps give us some helpful insight regarding philosophical
discussions.
Besides the topic of Chinese characters being
hieroglyphics, we can also infer from one of Wittgenstein’s comments his
interest of Chinese as a special form of language. He wrote in his notebook:
“If we hear a Chinese, we tend to take his speech for inarticulate gurgling.
Someone who understands Chinese will recognize language in what he hears.
Similarly, I often cannot recognize the human being in someone.” This quote
contains a deep significance. As we know, Chinese has always been seen as the
most incomprehensible language by the Western world, and it even came to
signify obscure phenomenon. On the surface, there is the divergence in the pronunciations
and characters. Behind this exists the cultural contrast and the deep
difference in thought process and world view. Communal understanding and
conversations must originate from the mutual comprehension of languages. It is
difficult to erase the gap between East and West without understanding the
Chinese language. Since Wittgenstein comes from a standpoint similar to that of
cultural relativism, he both respects cultural differences and seeks family
resemblance between various cultures. In doing so, communication and
cooperation can be better realized.
One hundred years in the past, generations of
scholars followed the footsteps of Zhang Shen Fu, Hong Qian, Jin Yue Lin, Fong
You Lan, Zhang Dai and other predecessors to ceaselessly translate and research
Wittgenstein’s philosophical masterpiece. Since the 80s, Wittgenstein has
become one of the most acclaimed Western philosophers, which led to the
production of ample and thorough research results. The “Wittgenstein
Professional Committee of Philosophy,” formed in 2015, became the first Level
II academic committee named after a Western philosopher and attracted a
multitude of scholars to its biennial assemblies. Besides peers in philosophy,
many scholars of linguistics, logic, arts, and other fields of studies also
actively participate in the committee. The discussion topics cover the
philosophy of language, the philosophy of mind, the philosophy of mathematics,
the science of epistemology, ethics, aesthetics, and other fields as well. Heated
discussions are being held till this day.
One hundred and thirty years ago, Wittgenstein was born.
The lifeline of his philosophy lasted for more than a century and remains vital
still today. Does his humble and contemplative nature make him resemble a
traditional Chinese philosopher? Two years ago, the famed sinologist Mr. An Lezhe said that he would institute a comparative course of Wittgenstein and
Confucius in Peking University. Perhaps the course is already established now.
There is no reason that would not be popular.