古伟瀛 ，〈明末清初耶苏会士对中国经典的诠释及其演变〉，《台大历史学报》第25期（台北：国立台湾大学历史系，2000.6），页85-117。 中文摘要 明末清初是中国历史上一个重要的转变时期，在政治、社会、文化各方面都起了剧烈的变动。而西方传教士的来华在其中占了相当重要的因素。这些传教士所传入的西方文明智识，对文化上起了一定的冲击。但传教士的主要目的在于传教，如何在受儒家及佛道宗教影响甚深的中国社会环境中传播其教义，是耶稣会士必须思考的主要问题。明末清初的耶稣会士试图从中国经典中，找出与天主教教义互相发明之处并加以诠释，欲以此寻求士大夫阶级的认同。从表面的文辞到事件的内容，都是他们努力钻研寻找凭藉之处，而《四书》、《易经》尤为所重。基本上，耶稣会士认为中国古典中原本就包括了基督教的体系，记载了上帝、天主的教义训示，只是中国人已经忘记书中的真正意涵，故须由教士们重新解读出经典中的真意。本文所讨论的范围，是从利玛窦以降到马若瑟、孙璋，即从《天主实义》到清初索隐派的耶稣会士，他们对中国经典的观点已自成一家之言。而耶稣会士同时也翻译了不少中国古典传至西方，一方面显示其对中国古典的掌握，一方面对文化的交流具有一定贡献。本文欲从这些传教士对中国古典的选择，选择的背景、依据，如何诠释、诠释的结果及其冲击加以分析讨论，并探讨明末清初耶稣会士诠释中国古典的历史意义。 英文摘要 The era of the Late Ming and Early Qing was a crucial one in the history of China. Important changes occurred in many aspects of society and government. These changes were driven partly by the introduction of Western knowledge by Christian missionaries. However, the missionaries aimed primarily to promote their religion; their basic concern was how best to introduce Christianity to China. Surrounded by a Chinese populace deeply influenced by Buddhism, Daoism, and Neo-Confucianism, the Jesuits had to find a way to spread the message of Christianity. Having decided to accommodate their teachings to the upper echelon of society, the missionaries assiduously searched the ancient Chinese classics — especially the Four Books and the Book of Changes — to find statements and texts compatible with Christian doctrine. Fundamentally, they attempted to find "evidence" in the classics that the Chinese people in fact recognized one true God and that all the main Christian doctrines were present in the classics, though they may have been lost or forgotten in later ages. Some "Figurists" even believed that the Chinese classics contained messages from God that were lost even to the Western world. In this essay, we attempt to trace the thought and actions of the Jesuits of the late Ming and Early Qing, such as M. Ricci, J. Bouvet, and J. Premare, in the hope of better understanding the historical significance of their efforts.
