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systematic and precise schools of textual interpretation in the 17th and 18th centuries which provided Legge with commentarial support for his criticisms of the Confucian orthodoxy. He could criticize the authorities from within their own traditions, rather than merely employing alien categories for his analysis. As has already been pointed out, Legge did prefer values outside of Confucianism in some cases, but his criticisms always took into account the many levels of commentarial tradition and their own analysis of the situations whenever they were relevant. In this way, he could defer to the authorities whenever he believed they were correct, and if not, he could often identify other Confucian scholars who suggested a way out of the difficulties. This kind of awareness of the Confucian tradition was rarely found among Western scholars anywhere in the world in the nineteenth century.
Furthermore, Legge himself progressed into a genuine and personal transformation of his thought and life as a result of his understanding of Confucianism, and particularly with regard to his respect and devotion to Confucius. This change of attitude is most clearly seen in the differences found between the 1861 and 1893-1895 editions of the Four Books. It came as a result of both his profound concern for China as a missionary-intellectual and his intimate knowledge of the many positive aspects he found in the person and philosophy of Confucius. Legge's shift of position was not a matter of convenience, but the result of a lifetime of missionary service and a constantly refined and critical awareness of Confucius and Confucianism.
Though many other examples could be given to illustrate this final clue to Legge's life, perhaps the most poignant indicator of his personal immersion in the Confucian tradition is manifest at the end of his life. Having completed the second edition of the Four Books, the octogenarian professor focused his scholarly attention on a single pre-Qin figure, the minister-poet Qu Yuan (屈原) (BC 340-278),* Qu Yuan was an heroic individual to Legge, remaining devoted to his ruler even in spite of circumstances which would have led others to run away from the responsibilities placed on him. In the end, Qu Yuan committed suicide as an act of frustrated loyalty. But before he did so, he had written a number of philosophical poems, among them a very famous one entitled "Heavenly Questions"
* In these ruminations on the nature of reality, Qu Yuan displayed a mind ready to receive deeper truths, hungering for answers which would