理雅各儒家经典译著中的夏商周“封建”制

The"Feudal"System of Xia,Shang and Zhou in James Legge's Confucian Classics

学术界关于中国封建主义(feudalism)问题的讨论由来已久,至今未有定论。对于儒家典籍中的“封建”一词,19世纪西方汉学巨擘理雅各并未使用feudal或其相关派生词来翻译,但他在《中国经典》系列译著中系统描述了中国的feudal society(封建社会)。通过夏商周封建制与欧洲中世纪的比较,可知理雅各对中国封建社会的定位和认识有多少正确和失误之处。

There has been a long discussion on Chinese feudalism in the academic circles,and there is no final conclusion so far.For the word"Feudalism"in Confucian classics,James Legge,a Western sinologist in the 19th century,did not use feudal or its derivatives to translate,but he systematically described China's feudal society in a series of translated works of Chinese classics.Through the comparison between the feudal system in Xia,Shang and Zhou Dynasties and that in the middle ages of Europe,we can see how many correctness and mistakes James Legge has in his positioning and understanding of Chinese feudal society.