明清之際傳教士釋《易》的神學優位取向及影響

The Theological Priority Orientation and Influence of Missionaries’Interpretation of the Book of Changes in the Late Ming and Early Qing era

明清時期曾被視為中國學術發展史上的第二次「百家爭鳴」階段。此時，除了儒釋道相互攻訐進行思想碰撞外，歐洲科學和神學的傳入也為中國帶來新的理論學說。這反映在當時的易學研究上，則表現為明清之際既有重視天道的「自然易學」和重視人道的「人文易學」，也有來華傳教士們重視「上帝」之道的「神學易學」。鑒於以往的學者們往往聚焦「自然易」和「人文易」的研究，而忽視「神學易」的形成、嬗變與影響，本文擬以明清之際的傳教士們對《周易》的理解和詮釋為中心，並揭示其理論背後的「神學優位」取向。通過考察該時期利瑪竇、曾德昭、衛匡國、高一志、白晉和馬若瑟等人對《周易》的理解和詮釋，不難發現傳教士內部對《周易》有一個從否定排斥到肯定接納的轉變。明末的傳教士們排斥《周易》的根本原因在於「太極生兩儀」的宇宙創生主張同「上帝」創世相矛盾。因此他們將「太極」解讀為「第二性的」、「依賴者」，曲解「帝出乎震」的文本原意，堅持「神學優位」的詮釋立場。這引起晚明本土學者們的強烈反對，因此雙方圍繞以「上帝」和「太極」為中心的兩種宇宙創生模式進行了激烈的辯論。清初「索隱派」的傳教士則通過將《易經》定性為「東方的《聖經》」實現對《易經》「太極」創生宇宙圖式的認可。換言之，耶穌會士們在保持「上帝優位」的情況下，承認「上帝」創造《易經》而《易經》再造天地。明清之際釋《易》所形成的「上帝優位」模式在海外易學的發展中產生了深遠的影響。例如，被稱為英語世界易學發展史上的《舊約全書》和《新約全書》的《易經》譯本均帶有「神學優位」的翻譯取向和特徵。時至今日，仍然有英譯本《易經》保留了這種「神學優位取向」的翻譯習慣，如仍將「帝」翻譯為「God」。因此，作為海外易學源頭的「神學易學」模式值得被關注和研究。

The Ming and Qing dynasties were once regarded by some scholars as the second stage of the“Contention of a Hundred Schools of Thought”in the developmental history of Chinese academia. During this time, intellectual confrontations among Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism were accompanied by the introduction of European science and theology, bringing new theoretical perspectives to China. This was reflected in Book of Changes studies (Yi易學) of the period, which featured three distinct approaches: the“naturalistic Yi”emphasizing the heavenly way, the“humanistic Yi”emphasizing the human way, and the“theological Yi”introduced by missionaries, which centered on the way of God. Given that previous scholars often put their focus on the former two interpretations while neglecting the formation, evolution, and influence of the“theological Yi.”This paper, through presenting how missionaries understand and interpret the Book of Changes, argues a theological superiority orientation in their works. By analyzing the interpretations of Matteo Ricci, Alvaro Semedo, Martino Martini, Alfonso Vagnoni, Joachim Bouvet, and Joseph de Prémare, it becomes evident that missionary perspectives on the Book of Changes underwent a transition from initial rejection to eventual acceptance. The missionaries of the late Ming period rejected the Book of Changes primarily because the cosmological concept of“Taiji太極generating the Two Modes”contradicted the Christian doctrine of divine creation by God. Consequently, they reinterpreted Taiji as a“secondary”or“dependent”entity, distorting the original meaning of the phrase“Di emerged from Zhen帝出乎震”to align with their theological stance of divine primacy. This theological interpretation was met with strong resistance from late Ming domestic scholars, leading to intense debates between the two sides regarding the competing cosmological models of God and Taiji. By the early Qing period, the Figarist missionaries sought to reconcile Book of Changes cosmology with Christian theology by redefining the text as the“Eastern Bible,”and hence recognized the model of“Taiji creates the cosmos.”In other words, while maintaining the primacy of God the Jesuits acknowledged that God created the Book of Changes, which in turn described the creation of the cosmos. The God-centered interpretative model that emerged during the late Ming and early Qing periods had a profound impact on the development of Yi studies abroad. For instance, the so-called the Old Testament and the New Testament of English translations of the Book of Changes both have religious orientation and characteristics. Even today, some English versions of this book retain this translation habits, continuing to render Di as God. Therefore, the“theological Yi”model, as the origin of the overseas school of Yi studies, merits further scholarly attention.