冲突下的暗合:论阮元与章学诚的学术交集

Coincidence under Conflict:On the Academic Intersection between Ruan Yuan and Zhang Xuecheng

阮元与章学诚虽然学术风格迥异,亦无直接学术联系,但却不乏学术交集,主要表现为:阮元不仅阅读甚至选刻过《文史通义》,将其作为《国史儒林传稿》的重要史源,而且对清代浙东史学颇为关注,为浙东学人依次立传,与章学诚晚年撰写《浙东学术》的举动正相映照。在史学观念上,阮元提出必须借助历史文本分析的方法,从中体察史家之“命意”,亦与章氏“史意”说相发明。凡此种种暗合,根本上源于二人经史观的契合,尤其是对史学经世价值的高度重视。章学诚强调“六经皆史”,以史统经,阮元亦以史学为一切学问致用之前提,这一相似的史学情结及其所暗含的强烈的现实主义的学术情怀,是阮元与清中叶其他有识学者理解和接受《文史通义》的重要前提,他们构成了《文史通义》最早的阅读群体。不过,阮元对理学思维的排斥,又决定了他对《文史通义》和浙东史学的认知是有限的,甚至是割裂的,他所感兴趣的主要是后者“重史”的观念和“经世”的旨趣,以及部分具体的历史编纂学主张和史传作品,至于章氏那套最为核心的主于逻辑推演和理论建构的偏形而上的“独断之学”,则较为排斥。这一思想局限,是乾嘉时期普遍重材料而轻理论的学风流弊的缩影,也是章学诚生前难以跻身主流学界的主要障碍。

Although Ruan Yuan and Zhang Xuecheng showed very different academic styles and had no direct academic connection,they did have academic intersections.Ruan Yuan had not only read or even selected and engraved Zhang Xuecheng's works General Interpretation of Literature and Historiography,regarding it as an important source of historical materials for the manuscript of biographies of the Confucians,but also paid great attention to the Eastern Zhejiang historiography in the Qing dynasty,and edited biographies for scholars in eastern Zhejiang in turn,which coincided with Zhang's General Interpretation in his later years.In terms of historical concepts,Ruan Yuan proposed that the method of historical text analysis must be used to find out the ultimate purpose of historians,which was often hidden behind Confucianism.This was also similar to Zhang's theory of the logic of historical theory.All these coincidences were fundamentally due to their consensus on Confucianism and historiography,especially the high emphasis on the value of historiography to promote social development.Zhang Xuecheng emphasized that Confucian classics are history books,and Confucianism should be studied with historical methods.Ruan Yuan also believed that historiography is the prerequisite for the application of all knowledge.This similar historiography complex and the strong realistic academic enthusiasm it implied were important prerequisites for Ruan Yuan and other wise scholars in the mid-Qing period to understand and accept General Interpretation.It was these elements above that constituted the earliest reading history and dissemination history of General Interpretation.However,Ruan Yuan's rejection of Neo-Confucian thinking determined that his knowledge of General Interpretation and Eastern Zhejiang historiography was limited or even fragmented.He was mainly interested in the latter's concept of emphasis on historiography and the purpose of participating in social construction,as well as some specific historiography claims and biographical works of historical figures.For the metaphysical theory of self-determination whose core were logical deduction and theoretical construction,Ruan Yuan held a relatively repulsive attitude.This ideological limitation was the epitome of the disadvantage of academic style that mainstream scholars in the reigns of Qianlong and Jiaqing generally valued materials and underestimated theory,and it was also the main obstacle for Zhang Xuecheng to enter the mainstream academic circle during his lifetime.