思想史研究视野中的图像

Pictures in the Field of Vision in the Studies of Intellectual History

在中国思想史研究领域 ,研究者们对于图像文献的价值一直不够重视。本文通过一组宗教祭祀神挂轴、若干东西方文化交流史上早期互相想象的图画、古代中国刻印的世界地图 ,以及早期译西书中的一组插图、道教典籍中一些地理图转化的神符图等个案的分析 ,指出图像资料的意义并不仅仅限于“辅助”文字文献 ,也不仅仅局限于被用作“图说历史”的插图 ,当然更不仅仅是艺术史的课题 ,而是蕴涵着某种有意识的选择、设计和构想 ,隐藏了历史、价值和观念。因此 ,图像资料本身也是思想史应当注意与研究的文献 ,只是目前尚需要有一些不同于文字文献的研究方法。

In studies on intellectual history pictorial literature has never received adequate attention. Based on analyses of a hanging scroll of gods used in religious ceremonies, pictures of each other's imagination of the Oriental and the Occidental in early cultural exchanges, the map of the world block printed in ancient China, a set of illustrations in an early Chinese translation book, and magic figures from Taoist classics, the paper concludes that pictorial data are of great value. They embody profound choices, designs and ideas, and imply historical backgrounds, values and conceptions. Serving not only as supplementary data to written materials, pictorial data are also important bodies of literature that deserves more attention in the study of intellectual history. We need, however, to develop new methods of study different from those in the study of written literature.