东西文化观与近代中日文化交流——以日本“另类”启蒙思想家中村敬宇为考察中心

作为日本近代启蒙思想家的“另类”代表人物,中村敬宇对儒学和西学均有深厚的造诣。通过自身的深入体察和研究,中村敬宇概括出“敬天爱人”的观念,认为这种观念构成了东西方文化的思想要素和精神实质,具有共同性和普遍性,成为他关于东西方文化的基本观点,也是其东西文化观的特色之所在。在此思想认识的基础上,中村敬宇重视儒家文化的传承和弘扬,相继发表《支那不可侮论》《汉学不可废论》等文,批驳当时日本片面追慕西方文化而全盘否定儒家文化的言论思想。与此同时,他与王韬、黄遵宪等晚清中国文人、学者开展了丰富多彩的文化交流活动,探讨彼此关注的问题,其代表性著作、译作也经由梁启超等人的引介而传入晚清中国,形成了近代中日文化、思想的双向交流。考察中村敬宇的东西文化观及其文化交流活动,有助于当下我国传承和弘扬儒家学说的合理因素及中国文化的优秀传统,以增进民族自信、文化自信,对于在多元文化和跨文化交流日趋兴盛的当代国际大背景下坚持和倡导彼此尊重、相互理解的开放、平等、包容的原则也不无启示。

A View of Eastern Culture and Western Culture and Modern Sino-Japan Cultural Exchange: Focusing on the ″Alternative″ Modern Japanese Enlightenment Thinker Nakamura Keiu

After the Meiji Restoration, most modern Japanese enlightenment thinkers, represented by Mori Arinori, Kato Hiroyuki and Fukuzawa Yukichi, took evolutionism as their ideological basis. They admired Western civilization, and regarded it as the apotheosis of human civilization. They advocated that Japan should abandon traditional Chinese and East Asian culture which were rooted in Confucianism. As an ″alternative″ representative of modern Japanese enlightenment thinkers, Nakamura Keiu was familiar with both Confucianism and Western learning. With his own experience and study, he formed the idea of ″worship of Heaven and love for mankind.″ He held that this idea was universal and formed the ideological elements and spiritual essence of Eastern culture and Western culture. The idea represented Nakamura Keiu's basic vie w of Eastern and Western cultures, and reflected the unique features of his viewpoint. On this ideological basis, Nakamura Keiu stressed the inheritance and promotion of Confucian culture. He published ″China Should Not Be Humiliated″, ″Sinology Should Not Be Abandoned″ and other articles, criticizing the viewpoint that Japan should embrace Western culture and completely repudiate Confucian culture. Meanwhile, he was active in communicating with Chinese scholars of late Qing Dynasty like Wang Tao and Huang Zunxian on cultural exchange and their common concerns. His representative works and translations were also introduced into China by Liang Qichao and other scholars, thus forming the interactive communication of modern Sino-Japanese cultural and ideological exchange. Reviewing Nakamura Keiu' view of Eastern and Western cultures and his cultural exchange activities is helpful to China in inheriting and promoting the reasonable factors of Confucianism and the fine tradition of Chinese culture, which can further strengthen national self-confidence and promote cultural self-confidence, and which can also provide some enlightenment on maintaining and advocating the principles of mutually-respected and mutually-understood openness, equality and tolerance under the international background of increasing multi-cultural exchange and cross-cultural exchange. It is worth noting that Nagamura Keiwu's view contains the sublime ideal and appeal for the harmony of humankind and the world. On the one hand, he consistently adhered to the norm of state equality in international relations. He unequivocally opposed the foreign policy of power politics and hegemony of Western powers which advocated oppression over small and weak nations. On the other hand, he used the Confucian ideal of ″great harmony of the world″ for reference, and advocated promoting the Chinese fine tradition of aiding the poor and performing the duty of aiding and protecting small and weak nations, in order that the countries of the world help each other and enjoy peace and welfare. Nagamura Keiwu expressed his appeal for the harmony of humankind and the world with the lofty aim of taking aiding and protecting small and weak nations as duty and mission, and this viewpoint was deeply rooted in the soil of Chinese culture.