Abstract

Henry David Thoreau read three English translations of the Confucian Four Books and produced undated translations from a French translation of these texts. This study examines the relationship between Thoreau and Confucian thought via his engagement with this set of translations. Selections from the English translations were reprinted in the “Ethnical Scriptures” columns of the Transcendentalist periodical, The Dial. This study examines this understudied column, considering the possible impact the passages made on Thoreau's thought. Next, Thoreau's translations from the French are addressed, with the question of dating the translations explored, given its necessity for a robust appreciation of their role in the arc of his thought. Then, the connection between Confucian and Thoreauvian thought about civil disobedience is analyzed, with reference to a recent debate in the literature. Recommendations for further scholarship are offered, emphasizing links between Confucianism and Walden in general, and Mencius and Thoreau in particular.