西方“中华帝国”概念的起源(1516-1688)

The Origin of the Discourse of the Chinese Empire of in Europe 1516-1688

欧洲建构中华帝国(the Chinese Empire)话语经历漫长的历史过程。元朝以后,因海员在16世纪初的航海活动中接触到China,欧洲知识界对中国政体的概念始有更新;巴博萨和传西栾那因触及的维度不同,先后以"王国"和"帝国"概念来理解明朝。1585年门多萨基于朝贡制度的多级体系,指出China属帝国级别;此后经利玛窦、曾德昭、卫匡国而至柏应理,以帝国-王国等级比对、欧中概念对译和谱系建构等方法渐次建构出"中华帝国",并以清朝接续之。但欧洲的帝国观基于军事暴力,政体等级亦限于两级,与中国的政治经验相左,故无法解释中华体系;相反,中国政体模式则包容之。

The discourse of ＂ the Chinese Empire ＂ in Europe is a result of long-term historical construction. After Yuan dynasty, with the maritime navigation in the early 16 th century, European knowledge about Zhongguo came to the＂China＂ age, upon which the concepts of kingdom and empire were employed by Duarte Barbosa and Maximilianus Transiluanus in 1516 and 1536 respectively, according to the different aspects they grasped of the tribute system of the Ming dynasty. In 1585, Juan González de Mendoza first laid the foundation of the ＂ the Empire of China ＂ discourse, to be followed by Matteo Ricci, Alvaro Semedo,Martino Martini and Philppi Couplet; the discourse was eventually established first through cross-cultural comparisons between European concepts and facts about China and then through continuous construction of the imperial pedigree. Qing dynasty was included as part of this pedigree of Chinese Empire. However, the contradictions that emerged from the beginning of the discourse were created between the European frame of empire, characterized by its violence and empire-kingdom tier, and the Zhongguo political system. It is analyzed that the latter, especially with its Tian-hsia cosmology and the tribute system, is something more than the European notion of empire could conceptualize.