盛唐气象:一个开放的时代

Climate of the Golden Age of Tang Dynasty: An Open Era

唐代的大都长安,处在当时世界几大文明的十字路口。在前近代的中国历史上,能够以一种相对健康的精神状态来引进和借鉴外来文化的,确实无出于盛唐。大量外来文明,滋润了唐代中华文明的繁盛。唐代为什么会出现对外来文化和周边民族文化兼收并容的博大襟怀呢?奥秘之一是民族自信心。唐代,中华民族有充分的自信。唐代对外来文化开放最盛的年代,恰恰也是最尊重民族文化传统的年代。唐朝人并不害怕外来文化吃掉民族文化,而有吸收外来文化发展本土文化的宏大气魄。唐代引进外来文化正是为了发展本土文化。奥秘之二是洋溢着青春气息的开拓精神和革新精神。唐代对外来文化的优容,洋溢着一种青春气息,这是由于当时社会处于一个除旧布新激烈变动的时期。这个洋溢着青春气息的社会,更有一种开拓精神,既崇文,也尚武。这种开拓精神与吸收外来文化是同步发展的。盛唐的开放精神至宋以后已一蹶不振,举世闻名的敦煌莫高窟在宋以后的衰落,是这种衰落的一种象征。究其原因,一方面,唐代的"开放"只是一种封建体制下的"开放",它没有商品经济的充分发展作为支撑;另一方面,与宋明理学的兴起和统治分不开。

Chang'an city,the capital of Tang Dynasty,was at the intersection of the major world civilizations of the time. Among the Chinese history of five thousand years,the Golden Age of Tang Dynasty was indeed incomparable for introducing and drawing abundant foreign culture with relatively wholesome attitude,which contributed to the prosperity of Tang civilization. Why was Tang Dynasty so inclusive to foreign culture and peripheral ethnic culture? First,the Chinese nation was fully confident in Tang Dynasty. People of Tang Dynasty did not fear that foreign culture'ate up'ethnic culture,instead,they had the magnificent courage to absorb foreign culture and develop native culture. Tang Dynasty gave the highest degree of openness to foreign culture,and meanwhile,it offered the most respect to traditional ethnic culture. Second,people of Tang Dynasty had pioneering and innovative spirit.Tang Dynasty was at a stage of intense changes in which the old would be eliminated to make way for the new,both civil and military were promoted and the whole society was alive with pioneering spirit. This pioneering spirit was synchronous with absorbing foreign culture,so the treat with leniency to foreign culture in Tang Dynasty was vigorous. However,the spirit of openness in the Golden Age of Tang Dynasty became severely depressed after Song Dynasty,and the decline of the world-famous Mo Kao Grotto at Dunhuang after Song Dynasty can be regarded as a sign of that. There were two causes leading to the depression. First,the'openness'in Tang Dynasty was existing under the feudal system without the support of the full development of commodity economy. Second,the depression was closely linked to the rise and rule of Neo-Confucianism.