释古与疑古——19世纪西方汉学界的“古史辨”

The Reinterpretation of Chinese History——the “Gu Shi Bian”( 古史辨) in the Community of 19th Century's Sinologists

20世纪20年代,"古史辨"派在中国的学术舞台上脱颖而出。然而,就在古史辨派兴起之前的半个世纪,中国古史同样也是西方汉学界热议的话题。湛约翰、艾约瑟、金斯密、翟理思、花之安、啊查理等当时汉学界的活跃人物纷纷参与其中高谈阔论。通过对中西方在语言、宗教、文字等各方面的比较,汉学家们就中国文明的起源、上古历史和古书的真伪等问题展开了激烈的争辩。研究这段几乎被遗忘的历史,不仅有助于加深我们对近代西方汉学发展历程的认识,同时也为研究近代西方世界中国形象的建构过程提供了一个重要的参考。

In 1920 s,the 'Gu Shi Bian'school became a new star in the circle of Chinese history study. But the history of ancient China had already hotly debated by the Western Sinologists nearly half a century before.Through the comparison of languages,religions and cultures between China and the West,such questions as the origin of the Chinese civilization,the truthfulness of ancient history and the reliability of Chinese classics were intensely debated in the community of Sinologists.