Sun Yat-sen University Professor Zhan Wenjie talks about "Utopia": Why should we still read classics today?

China News Service, Beijing, September 27 (Reporter Ying Ni) "Confucius never flew on a plane, Plato didn't understand computers, how can the ancients still guide today?" Similar arguments are emerging on the Internet. Zhan Wenjie, a professor at the Department of Philosophy at Sun Yat-sen University, pointed out that the core issues in the field of ethics and politics - justice, good and evil, and a good life - will not lose their meaning due to changes in social structure.

New translation of "Utopia" by The Commercial Press. Photo courtesy of the publishing house

The Commercial Press's new translation of Plato's "Utopia" was held in Beijing recently with the theme of "Why do we still read "Utopia" today?"

As the translator of the new version, Zhan Wenjie pointed out that reading "Utopia" is helpful in understanding the spiritual context of Western civilization. To understand the West, one cannot bypass Plato, just as one cannot understand Chinese culture without reading Confucius, Mencius, and Lao Zhuang. He refers to Whitehead's oft-quoted remark: "The whole European philosophical tradition is nothing more than a series of footnotes to Plato."

Talking about the contemporary vitality of classics, he said that "Utopia" is not a dead text displayed in libraries, but a living classic that is still being read, discussed, and used to stimulate thinking. The scientific germs and ethical concepts in ancient thought have penetrated into modern education, humanistic works and daily conversations as cultural genes. The reason why classics are alive is that each generation is getting resources from them to respond to the problems of its own time.

Zhan Wenjie said that natural science knowledge will be iterated or even eliminated with the development of the times, such as the geocentric theory being replaced by the heliocentric theory, but the core issues in the field of ethics and politics - justice, good and evil, and a good life - will not lose their meaning due to changes in social structure. The entire book "Utopia" revolves around "what is justice": from the popular concept of "honesty and trustworthiness, repaying debts", to the war vision of "helping friends and harming enemies", to Socrates' position - justice will not harm anyone, because justice makes people better. These discussions point to the ultimate issues of common concern to all mankind, rather than ready-made answers of a certain era.

Conversation scene. Photo courtesy of the publishing house

Talking about this new edition, Gu Qing, Secretary of the Party Committee and Director of the Commercial Press, reviewed the earliest version of "Utopia". In 1920, Wu Xianshu's translation was released by the Commercial Press. This was the first complete Chinese translation of Plato's works in China, and is also regarded as the beginning of the Chinese translation of Plato's dialogues. Wu Xianshu translated The Republic as "Utopia", and this translation later became the most popular Chinese name. In 1986, the translation by Guo Binhe and Zhang Zhuming was published and included in the "Chinese Translation of World Academic Masterpieces Series". The Chinese language is fluent, easy to understand, and has far-reaching influence. In 2024, the Commercial Press launched a Greek-Chinese bilingual version of "Utopia (Political System)", translated by Xiong Lin, and typed in Greek and Chinese, directly tracing back to the original text. Zhan Wenjie's new translation is a direct translation from ancient Greek, following the translation principle of "context first, taking into account unity", while referring to a variety of research documents and multi-lingual versions.