西方汉学“帝国史”范式及其局限——兼谈“文明史”范式的可行性

The Paradigm of“Imperial History”in the Western Sinology and Its Limitations:The Feasibility of the“Civilizational History”Paradigm

西方汉学的历史书写存在一种以"中华帝国"概念为基轴的"帝国史"范式。该范式包括三种叙事,即突出"汉族"与所谓"异族"二元对立的空间叙事,围绕秦至清所谓"帝国时代"展开的时间叙事,以及传统中国政治的皇帝专制主义叙事。"帝国史"范式忽略了中原与边疆的互动一体化进程;以皇帝制度的建立与废止等政治事件划分历史分期极其狭隘,不能反映漫长的历史变迁过程;专制主义叙事基于皇帝或皇权本身理解传统中国的政治制度,陷入了还原主义。为了避免"帝国史"范式的缺陷,建构一种"文明史"范式,不仅是必要的,而且是可行的。

There exists a paradigm of"imperial history"in the Western Sinological writings,based on the concept of"Chinese empire".This paradigm consists of three narratives,namely,(1)a spatial narrative highlighting the dichotomy between the"Han majority"and the so-called"alien peoples";(2)a temporal narrative centered around the so-called"imperial era"from the Qin through the Qing dynasties;and(3)a despotist narrative in traditional Chinese politics.The"imperial history"paradigm ignores the interactive integration process between the Central Plains and the frontiers.Also,the political events such as the establishment and abolition of the emperor’s system are used to periodize history in an extremely parochial way and fail to reflect the long process of historical changes,whereas the despotist narrative defines the political system of traditional China on the basis of the emperors or imperial powers in history and falls into reductionism.In order to minimize the deficiency of the"imperial history"paradigm,it is not only necessary but also feasible to construct a"civilizational history"paradigm.