天下主义/夷夏之辨及其在近代的变异

Cosmopolitanism, the Debate of the Civilized and the Uncivilized, and their Variations in Modern Times

在近代中华民族建构的历史过程之中,传统中国的天下主义和夷夏之辨作为历史性的思维框架依然左右着近代中国的思想家们,只是在西潮的冲击下,二者在近代的氛围中产生了历史的变异,以中华文明为核心的天下主义蜕变为以西方为中心的文明论,以中原文化为标准的夷夏之辨异化为以社会达尔文主义为基础的种族论。而在极端的世界主义与民族主义之间,又提供了温和的文化民族主义与新天下主义生长的历史可能性,它们之间的复杂互动和交叉镶嵌对近代中国的民族国家认同产生了深刻影响。

In the historical process of nation construction in modern China, the traditional Chinese cosmopolitanism and the debate of the civilized and the uncivilized, as historical thinking frames, still dominated Chinese thinkers in modern times. However, under the impact of the West, they had their modern variations. Cosmopolitanism, which considers Chinese civilization as the core, has been transformed to a theory of civilization which regards the West as the center. The debate of the civilized and the uncivilized, which is characterized by cultural sinocentrism, has been dissimilated as racism based on social Darwinism. Between the extreme cosmopolitanism and the extreme nationalism, there are temperate cultural nationalism and neo-cosmopolitanism. The complicated interaction and cross inlaying among them have had profound influence on the nation-state recognition in modern China.