一個葡萄牙傳教士所見之十六世紀中葉廣州──民族誌視角下的《中國志》文本與內涵

Mid-Sixteenth Century Guangzhou in the Eyes of a Portuguese Missionary: Treatise on things Chinese as Ethnography

葡萄牙道明會士克路士（Gaspar da Cruz, 1520-1570）曾於1569年至1570年間留居廣州，隨後完成了記述明代中國概況的專著《中國志》，反映出十六世紀中葉西方傳教士對中國文化的認知和書寫，具有重要價值。民族誌的研究視角可以幫助我們釐清《中國志》的獨特文本性質，發掘其中包含的豐富文化內涵。在舊帝國主義全球拓殖、西方渴望獲得中國知識的背景下，克路士憑藉其知識素養、宗教關懷與藝術情操，將前人的中國記述彙編改寫，融入了自己在廣州的經歷與思考，使全書對中國的描述顯得融貫而真實。通過對明代廣州居民日常生活的細緻觀察描述，克路士呈現出當地人群的整體文化面貌，記錄下他人未能察覺的底層社會現象，傳達了自己對理想社會的期望。此外，他的敘述也反映出人性中對和諧、平等、美好的普遍追求，建立起東西方文化交流的橋樑。儘管克路士的記載中不乏偏見與誤解，卻仍生動地描繪出一個西方傳教士眼中的十六世紀中葉廣州，呈現出彼時東亞和世界間之觀察與互動。

After living in Guangzhou for several months between 1569 and 1570, Gaspar de Cruz, a Portuguese Dominican friar, published Tratado das cousas da China (Treatise on things Chinese), which is commonly regarded as one of the earliest detailed European accounts of China. This paper argues that Cruz’s work has not been properly understood, because scholars have thus far failed to look at the work from an ethnographic point of view. In writing his work, Cruz combined his own experience in Guangzhou and prior work from other Portuguese such as Galeote Pereira’s report, lead a coherent narrative of China, and has left us with detailed descriptions of Cantonese life. He has presented us with a comprehensive view of the Cantonese culture at the time, including an account of how the poorest classes of lived. His work also embodies Cruz’s aspirations for an ideal society; it shows his pursuit of harmony, equality, and beauty in human life, as well as his desire to serve as a bridge of communication between eastern and western cultures. While it cannot be denied that his work suffers from many prejudices and misunderstandings, it must nevertheless be acknowledged that Cruz has left us with a vivid account of mid-sixteenth century Guangzhou. By examining his work carefully, we catch a glimpse of how one small portion of East Asia interacted with the rest of the world during the middle of the sixteenth century.