Translation Challenge!

[kdavid]

"The common denominators in the broad tradition of Qing jingshi constructed retrospectively by nineteenth-century literati were less a specific political agenda or political style than they were a set of intellectual predilections."

Good luck!

BTW: Here, jingshi is 经世

[daofeishi]

I'd give it a try if I was able to parse it in English. To me that looks like something that came out of a postmodernist essay generator. What is meant by "common denominator"? Commonly held criteria of what jingshi is? And how does it make sense to talk of a "denominator" as possibly being an agenda or a style? To me, at least, agendas and styles are two objects with widely differing characteristics. Translating the above would be like translating the Jabberwocky. It could be done, but the result would be something like "a splunk is less of a shade of blue or a verb, and more like a bumblebee."

[daofeishi]

19世纪文化人事后建构出来的清代经世广义概念并非出于政治议程或思想作风，而是出于学术倾向和立场。

[hbuchtel]

For context, see last paragraph, page 151: google ebooks link

Saving the World:

Chen Hongmou and Elite Consciousness in Eighteenth-Century China

[kdavid]

To me that looks like something that came out of a postmodernist essay generator.

Reminds me of Frederick Jameson, whom I had to read extensively for my undergrad thesis. Now I'm starting to think it was all just a big prank.

19世纪文化人事后建构出来的清代经世广义概念并非出于政治议程或思想作风，而是出于学术倾向和立场。

This is very good. Let's see if it flies with my adviser!