新教传教士对文学中国的发现及其“和合”思想平议——以《东西洋考每月统计传》为中心

The Discovery of the Literary China in the Eyes of the Protestant Missionaries and Their Ideas of Harmony——On Eastern Western Monthly Magazine

新教来华传教士对于"中国"的发现及其"中国观"的形成,是随着他们接触、进入中国之不断深入而逐步展开并确立起来的,其中对"历史中国"、"文献中国",尤其是"文学中国"的发现,不仅极大地扩展了传教士对于中国的认知,亦让他们能够深入到中国人的情感世界、精神世界及审美世界之中,并在一个初步超越民族文化差异及现实功利诉求的求知、求真与审美的基础之上,初步展开不同文化与文明之间的心灵对话与学术交流。而作为这种对话与交流的思想基础,或者说在这种对话与交流过程中逐渐明晰起来的,正是一种新的富于文化与文明之融会整合意识与精神——"和合"思想,只不过19世纪西方传教士所借用的"和合"思想,是以基督教信仰来统摄东西文化与文明之间的差异的。

Protestant missionaries have gradually established the idea of the discovery of ＂China＂ and its ＂China Concept＂ after they contacted and expanded their knowledge about China. The discovery of history of China, of literature of China, and especial- ly of Literary China not only helped the missionaries enhance their perception of China but also helped them penetrate further into the emotional world, the spiritual world and even the aesthetic world of the Chinese people. As a result, they could initially launch a spiritual dialogue and academic exchange on different cultures and civilizations. The basis for dialogue and exchange was the idea of harmony, a more closely integrated sense and spirit rich in cultures and civilizations. Nevertheless, the idea ~ft harmo- ny used by western missionaries in the 19th Century was an approach by which they dominated the differences between cultures and civilizations in western and eastern countries by means of the belief in Christianity.