論章太炎及其終極關切──保存國粹

On Chang T'ai-yen and His Ultimate Concern─the Preservation of the National Essence〈Kuo-ts'ui〉

章太炎乃近代中國史上一位主要之思想家，學者及政治行動家。由於章氏行文之風格出自魏、晉，文字過於艱深古雅，加之其思想又深受西方及本土思想之多重影響，凡此皆足以使其思想令人難以理解。在有關章氏研究之有數著作中，對於章氏思想之評估亦無法令人滿意。其中之一主要觀點是：章氏之思想本身充滿矛盾。章氏曾是康、梁改革派之擁護者，其後卻投入革命的陣營；作為一個革命份子，它卻提倡國粹不遺餘力；它是一位國學家，卻又對儒學加以抨擊；更有進者，章氏雖提倡共和政體，卻譴責代議政治。然而，這些矛盾之外觀，大部分是可以消減或解除的。蓋對章氏本人而言，所有這些表面上呈現矛盾紛紜之觀念，皆只是達成其保存國粹此一終極目的之手段而已。因此，章氏本人在政治立場或觀點上之改變，從章氏保存國粹之關切此一角度來看，就一點也不矛盾了。本文主要就一八九五年至一九一一年間，章氏思想之轉變，矛盾之思想外觀及其與章氏之保存國粹此一終極關切間之關係作一考察，期能對章氏此一時期之思想有一相應而深入之理解。

Chang T'ai-yen was a major thinker, scholar and political activist in modern Chinese history. Since Chang wrote in a dense classical style—to be precise, the so-called Wei-Chin (220-420 A.D) style, and his thought had numerous Western and indigenous intellectual influences, all of which make his writings exceedingly difficult to understand. Even the scant scholarly treatment Chang has received in the West fails to assess adequately his life and thought. His ideas, when taken together, are considered to be contradictory. During his life, Chang was at different times a supporter of reform and at other times of revolution. As a political revolutionary, he called for the preservation of China's national essence. He was known as a great classical scholar, but he criticized Confucianism. Furthermore, he advocated republicanism and yet condemned representative government. Much of this appearance of inconsistency, however, is reduced, or even eliminated. For all of these differing ideas were perceived by Chang only as a means to serve an ultimate goal: the preservation of the national essence. Thus, in terms of his concern for the preservation of the national essence, the changes in his ideas are no longer contradictory. This essay is concerned with the life and thought of Chang T'ai-yen from 1895 to 1911, and in particular with his concern to preserve the national essence of China and its association with other seemingly contradictory ideas in his thought.