利玛窦、汤若望和南怀仁: 在中国“科学传教”的变迁

Abstract

This essay explores the continuity between the “scientific apostolate” associated with Adam Schall von Bell and Ferdinand Verbiest, and the original mission strategy of “cultural accommodation” developed by Ricci, Ruggieri, and Valignano. Though it stirred some controversy within the Jesuit community, as if it were a violation of the community’s rules against members of the order accepting political offices, Schall’s acceptance was approved in Rome, on the assumption that it was necessary to preserve the Jesuit mission of evangelization in China. After all, Ricci himself had petitioned his Jesuit superiors in Rome to send missionaries who not only could communicate in Chinese but who also possessed specific expertise in mathematics and astronomy. Ricci’s initial contribution to the strategy of “cultural accommodation,” however, entailed making strategically important friendships with the Chinese literati, friendships based on mutual respect for each other’s learning and mutual interest in the advancement of science, which was the basis for the hospitality that Ricci and his companions received from some of the Confucianliterati. But by the time Schall and Verbiest sought to carry on the strategy of culturalaccommodation, the task was significantly complicated by the violent transition from the Ming to the Qing dynasty, and was far more controversial, both in Beijing as well as in Rome. This essay seeks to explore some of that complexity.这篇文章探讨了与汤若望（Schall）和南怀仁（Verbiest）有关的“科学传教”与利玛窦（Ricci）、罗明坚（Ruggieri）和范礼安（Valignano）制定的“文化适应” （cultural accommodation）传教战略之间的连续性。尽管这在耶稣会内部引起了一些争议，似乎这违反了耶稣会禁止其成员接受政治职务的规定，但罗马还是批准了汤若望的接受，理由是这对维护耶稣会在中国的传教使命是必要的。毕竟，利玛窦本人曾向他在罗马的耶稣会上司请愿，希望派遣不仅能用中文交流，而且还具备数学和天文学专业知识的传教士。然而，利玛窦对“文化适应”战略的最初贡献，是与中国文人结下了具有战略意义的友谊，这种友谊建立在对彼此学识的相互尊重和对科学进步的共同兴趣之上。在北京和罗马，利玛窦和他的同伴们从一些儒家文人那里得到的款待，在汤若望和南怀仁试图在明朝向清朝的暴力过渡所造成的极其复杂的环境中继续下去时，却引起了更大的争议。本文试图探讨这种复杂性