双面西方:文明与强权——中国近代知识精英的西方想象

Janus of the West: Civilization and Power——Vision of the West of Modern Chinese Intellectual Elites

文明与强权,自古为西方社会之吊诡的一体两面,并与欧洲社会进化史相伴随。理与力的缠斗颉颃,是文明辩证法的一个缩影。甲午之后,追求现代性的中国启蒙知识分子,通过认识"西方"这一集现代文明与帝国强权于一身的两面神,理解世界现代化的历史趋势,并藉由其西方想象而确立了中国现代化之"文明"与"富强"两大目标。中国知识精英的西方观,关乎中国现代化之价值取向。严复对西方"自由为体,民主为用"的文明秩序和优胜劣汰的社会达尔文主义国际秩序的揭示,梁启超对文明进程中自由与强权之辩证法的思考,杨度关于现代西方"文明国家"与"野蛮世界"的分殊,陈独秀对西方列强之人性兽性并进的"世界文明之猛兽"的认知,冯友兰关于文明的"西方人"与野蛮的"西方国"的区分,无不辩证地揭示了现代西方社会秩序与国际秩序之"公理"与"强权"的悖论,以及西方现代性之人性与兽性的冲突。冯友兰"明层次"的辩证西方观,则提供了全面认识西方两面神的思想钥匙。

Civilization and power, as two sides of one coin of the paradox of western society since ancient times, accompanied the history of social evolution in Europe. The contending struggle between reason and force is a microcosm of the dialectics of civilization. After the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, Chinese Enlightenment intellectuals who pursued modernization came to understand the historical trend of world modernization by recognizing the 'West'—the Janus who combines modern civilization and imperial power in one, and established two major goals of 'civilization' and 'prosperity' of China's modernization with their vision of the West. The conception of the West held by Chinese intellectual elites is related to the value orientation of China's modernization. The western civilized order of 'Freedom as the essence, democracy as the utility' and the international order of social Darwinism of 'the survival of the fittest' revealed by Yan Fu, Liang Qichao's reflection on the dialectics of freedom and power in the process of civilization, Yang Du's viewpoint of differentiation of 'civilized countries' and'savage world' in the modern West, Chen Duxiu's cognition of the 'Beast of World Civilization' which refers to the simultaneous humanity and animality of western powers, Feng Youlan's distinction between civilized 'Westerners' and barbaric 'Western countries', all dialectically reveal the paradox of 'right and might' of modern western social order and the international order, and also the conflict between humanity and animality of western modernization. Feng Youlan's dialectical conception of the West of'conscious level' provides a key to comprehensive understanding of Janus of the West.