Allegoresis: Reading Canonical Literature East and West

Why is it that a text, particularly a canonical text, is often said to contain a meaning different from what it literally says? How did allegorical readings arise and develop? By looking at such examples as Jewish and Christian interpretations of the Song of Songs and traditional Chinese commentaries on the Confucian classic Book of Poetry, Zhang Longxi discusses allegorical readings from a broad perspective that bridges the usual East/West cultural divide and examines their social and political implications. His approach is wide-ranging, cross-cultural, and cross-disciplinary, exploring allegoresis with regard to religion, philosophy, and literature. In his inquiry into allegory and allegorical interpretation, Zhang examines the idea of a self-explanatory text of the Bible as conceived by Augustine, Aquinas, and Luther; discusses the importance of the literal basis of textual interpretation; and takes up the question of moral responsibility and political allegiance. Zhang, who regards utopia as an allegory of social and political ideas, explores how utopian visions vary in their Chinese and Western expressions, in the process commenting on contemporary literary theory and political readings of literature past and present.

About the Author :
Zhang Longxi is Chair Professor of Comparative Literature and Translation and Director of the Centre for Cross-Cultural Studies, City University of Hong Kong. He is the author of Out of the Cultural Ghetto; Mighty Opposites: From Dichotomies to Differences in the Comparative Study of China; and The Tao and the Logos: Literary Hermeneutics, East and West.

Review :
"This is a wonderful book. Deeply learned and bracingly pointed in its analyses, Allegoresis is a wide-ranging discussion of allegorical readings that makes a major contribution to comparative literary study and comparative poetics. It will interest many readers engaged in questions of literary theory as well as in biblical studies and comparative studies generally, in addition to becoming a must-read for everyone in the field of Chinese literature and poetics."-David Damrosch, Columbia University "Is it possible to understand other cultures or are we always condemned to misunderstand? In this pioneering book that ranges from the biblical Song of Songs to the Confucian Book of Poetry and beyond, Zhang Longxi makes a persuasive case for an allegorical reading, stressing the tension between texts and interpreted meanings. On the basis of this tension he concludes by showing the troubling political connotations of every interpretation."-Fred Dallmayr, University of Notre Dame "Zhang Longxi's Allegoresis is a major contribution to the project of moving beyond the usual East/West divide with its predictable polarities. By re-placing the question of allegory in relation to its political, social, and ethical implications, and moving effortlessly between early Christian, classical Chinese, and contemporary theory, Zhang compels his reader into recognizing the profound commonalities and difficult differences between Western and Chinese literary culture. The scope and intelligence of this book are breathtaking, even inspiring."-David Stern, University of Pennsylvania