从郑和宗教信仰争议看明帝国对西洋诸国的态度

Rethinking of the Debate over Zheng He’s Religious Belief

郑和率领舰队七下西洋，是15世纪初期中国及世界上的一件大事。舰队远至中东、东非，促进了中国文明与外部世界的交流，影响至为深远。但在郑和及其远洋事业的研究方面，学界对一些重大核心问题仍是众说纷纭。其中一例即是郑和的信仰问题。目前关于此问题主要有三种意见：信仰伊斯兰教说，信仰佛教说及信仰道教说。由于各种观点均能找到相关史料佐证，因此学者们对这些问题一直不能形成统一的意见。本文试图通过分析各种观点，结合对《布施锡兰山寺碑》的考察，对以往郑和信仰研究的方法论进行质疑。本文认为，各种史料，尤其是涉海碑刻，对郑和到不同宗教场所进行祭祀活动的记载，不能反映郑和本人的信仰状况。这些活动主要反映了明帝国对西洋及南洋诸国的态度，即明帝国皇帝试图成为南洋和西洋诸国超越宗教和文化的普遍性君主。普遍性君主的概念来自西方对于亚历山大大帝等古代帝王的研究，认为他们的身份超越某一种特定的宗教或文化，在各种不同的宗教文化中显示出不同的形象，以增强自身的统治合法性。郑和作为成祖皇帝的代表，试图在佛教、伊斯兰教、道教甚至印度教的文化中扮演角色，以增强中华帝国在海外诸国中的影响力。本文还提示，明帝国推行所谓“普遍性君主”式的统治方式，来源自蒙古帝国的影响。

Arguments vary widely over the study of religious belief of Zheng He, the great Chinese admiral who led his giant fleet to visit Southeast Asia, India, Middle East and Eastern Africa for seven times during the 15th century. Some scholars argue that he was a Muslim. Some hold that he was a Buddhist and others insist he was a Daoist. The controversy exists because all the arguments can find strong sources which record Zheng He＇s participation in these religious activities. This paper seeks to challenge the methodology that Zheng He＇s participation in religious ceremonies could identify his personal religious belief. This paper argues that, as the representative of the Ming emperor in the foreign countries, Zheng He tried to perform as a Universal ruler to strengthen Ming＇s influence on these foreign countries. A universal ruler required Zheng He to participate in different cultural and religious activities to establish his legitimacy of ruler over these peoples. That is the reason why controversial records about his religious activities appeared. This paper also indicates that the Chengzu emperor of the Ming dynasty, who attempted to act as a universal ruler, might be influenced by Mongol rulership.