西方文明冲击下近代中国文明话语的嬗变

The Transformation of Civilization Discourse in Modern China Under the Impact of Western Civilization

中国古代的文明意识诞生于“夷夏之辨”中。由于“夷夏之辨”主要依据民族文化差异确立,周边民族入主中原、继续沿袭华夏政体礼制具有合法性,造就了具有历史延续性的华夏文明,同时华夏文明之于周边民族所蕴含的文化优越性在潜移默化中孕育出根深蒂固的华夏中心意识。然而,近代以来伴随着西方坚船利炮的冲击,西方国家主导的以“种族论”为基础的“文明等级论”席卷中国,中国被动接受了“半开化”的身份判定。20世纪前后,西方文明在向中国侵入的过程中日益暴露其“利己”的实质,中国精英分子开始将文明看作多元的历史文化共同体,从文明的相对性的维度对文明内涵展开理性思考,为早期中国共产党人重新审视中国与世界的关系、正确处理中国固有文明与外来先进文明的关联奠定了基础。

The civilized consciousness of ancient China was born out of“The Debate on Differences of Yi-Xia”,which was mainly based on the ethnic and cultural differences,the neighboring ethnic groups into the central plains,continuing to follow the Chinese system of government and rituals with legitimacy,and creating a historical continuity of the Chinese civilization,while the Chinese civilization of the cultural superiority of the neighboring ethnic groups in the subtle cultivation had bred deep-rooted sense of the Huaxia center.However,in modern times,with the impact of Western ships and cannons,the“civilization hierarchy”based on“racial theory”led by western countries swept through China,and China passively accepted the“semi-enlightened”status judgment.Around the 20th century,as western civilization increasingly exposed its“self-interest”in the process of invading China,Chinese elites began to view civilization as a pluralistic historical and cultural community,and to think rationally about the connotation of civilization in terms of its relativity.This laid the foundation for the early Chinese communists to re-examine the relationship between China and the world,and to correctly handle the connection between China’s inherent civilization and advanced foreign civilizations.