重塑“不变之道”:甲午战后严复四篇时评研究

Remolding“the Unchanged Dao”:A Study of Yan Fu's Four Commentaries in 1895

甲午战后严复发表的四篇时评,既批评清流士大夫,又讥讽西学名流,认为两者皆未识西洋大体。在严复看来,西洋民主政治鼓励竞争,允许个人自由发展,所以国富民强。中国只有放弃传统的圣人之治,践行"为我自由,兼爱克己"的不变之道,才能实现个人与国家的双赢。具体的做法是,依赖明君废除八股取士,借助西方格致之学鼓民力、开民智、新明德,使人人自治、自由和自利。严复的思想逻辑自有其深刻之处,但是在实践中却面临着诸多难以化解的困境。

In the four commentaries published after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894—1895,Yan Fu criticized both the scholar-bureaucrats and the celebrities who were proficient in Western learning for their failure to grasp the principles on which the Western nations relied.Yan Fu pointed out that'the unchanged Dao'was'seeking for individual interests and liberties,practicing the principle of self-restraint and all-embracing love'.According to this view,the individual's free development was the foundation of the nation.The Western nations were prosperous mainly because they encouraged the people to compete and develop freely.China became weak and backward mainly because the government prevented people from competing and developing freely.Meanwhile'Yan Fu insisted that China could not adopt the Western democracy immediately because the Chinese people did not have enough ability to realize self-government.They should depend on an enlightened ruler who would reform the imperial examination system and then civilize the people with Western learning which would help them enjoy self-government,liberty and legitimate interests.As a result the nation would become strong and prosperous.Yan's thought is profound,but at the same time is faced with many difficulties in practice.