丁韪良与晚清“祭祖之争”

W. A. P. Martin and “the Dispute of Ancestral Worship” in the Late Qing Dynasty

晚清"祭祖之争"反映了明末清初相关议题在新时期的延续与变化。旅华汉学家丁韪良对中华祭祖文化的认识逐渐深化。在1877年、1890年两次"宣教大会"上,丁韪良与西方来华传教士主流意识唱反调,大谈中华祭祖文化的积极意义;会后还对自身观点做进一步的辩护。他发表的诸多论述中国祭祖文化作品,不仅有利于抵制西方来华教会利用强势对中华文明的排斥,而且有助于促进中学西渐,推动西方汉学家及西方社会对中国的深入了解与研究。丁韪良的有关认识与举动反映了长期旅华汉学家与一般传教士之间立场、观点的分歧。

The dispute of acestral worship in the late Qing Dynasty reflects the continuation and change of related issues from the late Ming Dynasty to the early Qing Dynasty in the new period. W. A. P. Martin,a sinologist in China,deepened gradually his understanding of the Chinese ancestral worship culture. In the two"missionary conference"in 1877 and 1890,W. A. P. Martin sang a different tune about mainstream consciousness of western missionaries in China and talked about the positive significance of Chinese ancestral culture. After the conference,he also further defended his viewpoints. Many of his articles and works on the ancestral worship not only resists the exclusion of the Chinese civilization by the western church in China,but also helps to promote the introduction of Chinese learning into the west and push forward the deep study about China by Western sinologists and western societies. W. A. P. Martin's cognition and actions reflects the disagreement of the position and opinion between the sinologists living in China for a long period and the general missionaries.