中西文化交汇与新加坡儒教复兴运动的兴起

19世纪末20世纪初,在中西文化的交互作用下,在新加坡华人社会兴起了一场规模浩大的儒教复兴运动。新加坡儒教复兴运动虽明显受中国本土的孔教运动影响,但与康有为试图借助政治的力量将孔教定为国教不同,新加坡儒教复兴运动走的是民间化的道路。基于新华社会多元的语言状况,儒教复兴运动中一个重要的特点,就是运用中英双语来推广儒学。受新加坡地区浓郁的宗教氛围影响,新加坡儒教复兴运动以构建儒教为要旨,力图整合佛教、道教以及民间宗教信仰,并通过与基督教的论争来完善理论体系的建构。新加坡儒教复兴运动的兴起,是儒家文化在新加坡的传播由自发走向自觉的集中体现,同时也是儒学在宋明理学之后第二次转向的重要组成部分。

The Convergence of Chinese and Western Cultures,and the Rise of the Confucian Revival Movement in Singapore

At the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century,under the interaction of Chinese and Western cultures,a large-scale Confucian revival movement was launched in the Chinese community in Singapore.Although the Confucian Revival Movement in Singapore was obviously influenced by the Confucian Movement in China,it was different from Kang Youwei’s attempt to define Confucianism as a state religion through political power,as it was more of a civilian movement than a political endeavor.As the Chinese community in Singapore was multilingual,an important feature of the Confucian Revival Movement in Singapore was the use of both Chinese and English in promoting Confucianism.Influenced by the strong religious atmosphere in Singapore,the Singapore Confucian Revival Movement aimed at integrating Buddhism,Taoism,and folk religious beliefs into Confucianism,and perfected its theoretical structure through debates with Christianity.The rise of the Confucian Revival Movement in Singapore was a concentrated reflection of the spread of Confucian culture in Singapore that changed from a spontaneous one to a conscious one.It also constituted an important part of Confucianism’s reorientation after the Neo-Confucianism.