What does it mean to be the case in Wittgen­stein’s Tractatus? : on Zhang Shenfu’s and Mou Zongsan’s interpretations

Jõeleht, Karel (author)

Zhang Shenfu and Mou Zongsan were both major intellectual figures of the 20th century. Zhang is chiefly remembered for introducing Bertrand Russell’s philosophical thought and logic into Chinese academic and intellectual circles, while Mou is best known for his con­tributions to Modern Confucianism. Notably, both scholars also translated Wittgenstein’s Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus into Chinese, Zhang’s version being the first, and Mou’s the third Chinese rendition of the work. The opening proposition of the Tractatus states: “The world is all that is the case”. Here, what “is the case”, namely the facts, are the exist­ing states of affairs. However, Zhang and Mou each offered distinct interpretations of this proposition, especially when it comes to the notion of what “is the case”. By examining Zhang’s and Mou’s translation work in a comparative manner, this paper shows how their divergent renderings of what “is the case” and its cognate concepts do not simply reflect different linguistic choices, but rather deeply affect the development and shape two dis­tinct philosophical interpretations of the Tractatus’ opening ontological claim.

• Language: English
• Keywords: Zhang Shenfu, Mou Zongsan, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, comparative philosophy, interpretation
• Work type: Article
• Typology: 1.01 - Original Scientific Article
• Organization: FF - Faculty of Arts
• Publication status: Published
• Publication version: Version of Record
• Year: 2026
• Number of pages: Str. 177-200
• Numbering: Vol. 14, no. 3
• PID: 20.500.12556/RUL-190610
• ISSN on article: 2232-5131
• DOI: 10.4312/as.2026.14.3.177-200
• Publication date in RUL: 05.11.2026

Record is a part of a journal

• Title: Asian studies = Azijske študije
• Publisher: Založba Univerze v Ljubljani
• ISSN: 2232-5131
• COBISS.SI-ID: 265206272

Licences

• License: CC BY-SA 4.0, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International
• Link: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/
• Description: This Creative Commons license is very similar to the regular Attribution license, but requires the release of all derivative works under this same license.

Secondary language

• Language: Slovenian
• Title: Kaj pomeni, da nekaj »velja kot dejstvo«, v Wittgensteinovem Traktatu? : o in­terpretacijah Zhang Shenfuja in Mou Zongsana

Abstract

Zhang Shenfu in Mou Zongsan sta bila pomembni intelektualni osebnosti 20. stoletja. Zhang je predvsem znan po tem, da je v kitajske akademske in intelektualne kroge uvedel filozofsko misel in logiko Bertranda Russlla, medtem ko je Mou najbolj prepoznaven po svojih prispevkih k modernemu konfucijanstvu. Omeniti velja, da sta oba prevedla Wittgensteinov Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus v kitajščino; Zhangov prevod je bil prvi, Mouov pa tretji kitajski prevod tega dela. Uvodna teza Traktata se glasi: »Svet je vse, kar velja kot dejstvo.« To, kar »velja kot dejstvo«, torej dejstva, so obstoječa stanja stvari. Vendar sta Zhang in Mou to tezo razlagala različno, zlasti glede pojma tega, kar »velja kot dejstvo«. S primerjalno analizo njunih prevodov članek prikazuje, da njuni razhaja­joči se upodobitvi tega, kar »velja kot dejstvo«, in z njim povezanih pojmov ne izražata zgolj različnih terminoloških izborov, temveč bistveno vplivata na razvoj ter oblikovanje dveh različnih filozofskih interpretacij uvodne ontološke trditve Traktata.

• Keywords: Zhang Shenfu, Mou Zongsan, Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus, primerjalna filozofija, interpretacija