启蒙时代西方对中国宗教的解读

Notes on Chinese Religions by Westerners during Initiatory Ages

礼仪之争其实就是欧洲教俗世界关于中国文化和宗教的一场大讨论。它除讨论耶稣会士对中国文化的适应政策是否合理之外,另一核心议题就是讨论中国宗教的性质,本文所要讨论的是,礼仪之争的对立双方对中国儒教的认识,给远在万里之遥的欧洲本土的知识分子带来什么启发。由于教派之间的辩论促进了理学在欧洲的传播,但对理学更感兴趣的似乎不是围绕耶稣会士传教政策而兴的教会内外的对立两派,却是对天主教会心怀不满或者自成一套的思想家、哲学家。无论17和18世纪的欧洲知识分子怎样评价孔子学说和宋明理学,其共同的本质特点是以对基督教教义体系的情感作为认识、理解和评价中国哲学的参照,没有人能接触到完整的中国哲学,也无人有能力深入其中。中国哲学对于教义的捍卫者和反时者来说,都是对灵感的刺激,都是帮助阐发其观点或建立其学说的证据甚至是发语词而已,但没有人是真正参照中国哲学生发出自己的理论的。欧洲的知识分子们并不像耶稣会士那样希望用自己的哲学改造中国哲学,他们同样也不认真指望将中国哲学作为自己学说中的一个有机组成。

In fact"the argument for etiquette"was a great discussion about the Chinese culture and religion in both religious and unreligious worlds in Europe.There were two key topics among the Jesuitical cassocks:what was"the quality of the Chinese religion"and weather it was reasonable to take the policy to acclimatize oneself to the Chinese culture.This article will talk about which kind of the enlightening the local intellectuals in Europe several thousand miles far from China had got from the different understands on the Chinese Confucianism hold by opposite both sides in"the argument for etiquette".Whereas debating among the denominations promoted Li Xue spreading in Europe,the people who paid more attention might not be the members of opposite both sides separating from the different viewpoints to the Jesuitical missionary policy but those ideologists and philosophers who grouched against the Catholic Church or went on their own way.No matter how the European intellectuals in the 17th er 18th centuries commented on Li Xue in Song and Ming Dynasties,there was the common essential characteristic that taking the sensibilities to the system of the Christian doxy as a reference how to know,realize and comment on the Chinese philosophy,no one could get to the intact Chinese philosophy,no one could go deep into it either.as for defendants or opponents for the doxy,the Chinese philosophy was an excitant of inspiration,also the evidence or the beginning word to help elucidating viewpoints and composing doctrines.However,there was no one who created his theory really referring to the Chinese philosophy.The european intellectuals did not rebuilt the Chinese philosophy with the own philosophy as the Jesuitical clergymen hoped and did not seriously expected to take something from the Chinese philosophy as a combinative part of their own doctrines.