中学西传的典型个案:19世纪“儒教”(Confucianism)一词的发明

A Typical Case of Introduction of Chinese Learning into the West:the Invention of "Confucianism" in the 19th Century

"儒教"(Confucianism)一词在西方的发明,不仅受到17、18世纪耶稣会士所造词类的影响,而且也受到发明者自身宗教经历的影响。19世纪的传教士身处中国更广阔的宗教、社会语境中,能看到一个更完整的宗教活动的多棱面,故多将儒教视为一种宗教文化,并将之建构为一个宗教范畴。20世纪,中国原有的宗教语境被破坏殆尽,在中国国内,科举的废除使祭孔的意义流失大半,到"五四"时期,儒教被视作导致中国积贫积弱的罪魁祸首;在欧洲,中国研究的新主流方法是经籍研究影响下的文献学研究方法,将儒教作为宗教文化的看法在这一环境中难以生存。这些因素导致了建构儒教的方式在整个20世纪的根本变化,即将儒教视作一种哲学而建构。但是,这些新的叙事却远离了历史的实际,与中国思想的发展史相去甚远,与历史上儒家宗教文化存在的实际情形也大相径庭。

The invention of the word ＂Confucianism＂ in the West was not only influenced by the Jesuits＇ coined words in the 17th and 18th century, but also influenced by the inventor＇s religious experiences. The missionaries in the 19th cen- tury, under China＇s religious and social context, witnessed broad religious activities, regarded Confucianism as a religious culture, and constructed it as a religious category. In the 20th century, the original religious environment had been ru- ined, and abolition of imperial examination made memorial ceremony of Confucius less significant. Till the May 4th Move- ment, Confucianism was regarded as the main reason of China＇s poverty. In Europe, the main method of Chinese studies is the bibliographic study influenced by Confucian Classics, and the views of Confucianism as religious culture was unac- ceptable under the circumstances. The above elements led to the basic changes of the constructive mode of Confucianism in the 20th century, and Confucianism was taken as philosophy to be constructed. However, the new narrative was far away from the historical realities and Chinese ideological history, and also quite different from Confucian religious culture in history.