方东树《汉学商兑》新论

A New Discussion of The Discussion of the Han School of Classical Studies by Fang Dongshu

《汉学商兑》四卷,为方东树的代表作与成名作。是书自面世至今,已有二十余种版本刊行,但迄今尚无一校勘精良的善本。而学术界对该书的评价,亦褒贬不一,莫衷一是。通过对《商兑》全书详悉比勘版本与梳理文献,可知方东树当初并没有编纂《汉学商兑》向汉学家发难的动机,而是在广州受江藩、阮元等人的刺激导致的结果。《商兑》初编于道光四、五年间,至道光十一年完成并初刊,此前并无刻本行世,该书通行诸本以增入方东树《汉学商兑刊误补义》的望三益斋刻本最为权威也最为完备。方东树学宗程朱,排斥他学,有极深的门户之见,加上他轻言易忿、好战斗狠的性格,致使全书充斥着诟詈谩骂之词,令人难以卒读。全书虽征引繁富,但多出于二手材料,只是一部抄撮斗凑、大言自壮、毫无新见的百衲篇。后人谓《商兑》出而汉学熄,并起到了汉宋调和的导向作用,但事实是汉学衰微等与《汉学商兑》并无任何的直接关联。

The Discussion of the Han School of Classical Studies,in four volumes,is the representative and bestknown works of Fang Dongshu.More than twenty editions have been published since the book first came out,yet it still lacks a reliable and well collated edition.And the evaluations of the book are also mixed.By comparing the different editions of the book and carding the existing literature,we can get to know that Fang did not have the motivation of compiling the book to give the scholars of the Han School a hard time,instead,he was stimulated by Jiang Fan,Ruan Yuan and others in Guangzhou.The book was first compiled in 1824 or 1825,and got finished and inscribed in 1831;there was no block-printed edition before that.Among its current editions,the Wangsanyizhai edition which supplemented Fang's Correction and Complement to The Discussion of the Han School is the most authoritative and complete one.Modeling himself after Cheng Hao,Cheng Yi and Zhu Xi,Fang was exclusive of other factions,and held profound sectarianism.With the addition of irritable and truculent personality of the author,the entire book was filled with abuses.Although the book cited a wide variety of references,they were mostly second-hand materials,thus it is only apatchwork of arrogance without any creative ideas.Some late-generation scholars said that the Han School declined because of the emergence of this book,and it had played a guiding role in reconciling the Han School and the Song School.But the truth is:the decline of the Han School was not directly related to the book in any sense.