阅读史视角下的“西学东渐”问题——评潘光哲《晚清士人的西学阅读史(一八三三——一八九八)》

Study of“Dissemination of Western Learning to the Orient”from Perspective of Reading History——Comments on Pan Guangzhe’s The History of Western Learning Readingof Intellectuals in the Late Qing Dynasty(1833-1898)

潘光哲《晚清士人的西学阅读史》一书,以阅读史视野展开对“西学东渐”这一近代思想变迁问题的研究。阅读史研究侧重读者和书籍关系、读者的阅读实践和书籍在阅读过程中的意义重建等向度,为探究近代知识生成和思想流变构建了具体的历史场景。晚清士人的西学阅读史研究,对分析士人心态、重塑近代历史人物形象、探析近代中国的历史变迁提供了全新的研究视野和研究方法。深入研究晚清士人的阅读史,可以超越既存历史认知,探知历史本来面目,在时代变迁的潮流中寻绎历史的意义。通过阅读潘光哲著作,既可从阅读史研究视野窥探晚清士人思想变迁之路径,亦可体悟文献研究之方法,更能从著者征引的史料和注释出发,见微知著。

Pan Guangzhe’s book The History of Western Learning Reading of Intellectuals in Late Qing Dynasty,from the perspective of reading history,has launched a study on the modern ideological change of“Dissemination of Western Learning to the Orient”.The study of the history of reading focuses on the relationship between readers and books,the reading practice of readers and the reconstruction of the meaning of books in the process of reading,and builds a specific historical scene for exploring the generation of modern knowledge and the change of ideas.The study of western learning reading history of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty provides a new research vision and method for analyzing the mentality of intellectuals,reshaping the image of modern historical figures and exploring the historical changes of modern China,a thorough study of which can surpass the existing historical cognition,discover the true face of history,and find the significance of history in the trend of times change.Through reading Pan Guangzhe’s works,we can not only explore the path of thought change of intellectuals in the late Qing Dynasty from the perspective of reading history research,understand the method of literature research,but also start from the historical materials and annotations cited by the author.