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北京师范大学学报(社会科学版) ›› 2019, Vol. 0 ›› Issue (5): 73-99.

• 史学前沿 • 上一篇    下一篇

3—6世纪中西历史及文明发展比较研究

刘家和, 刘林海   

  1. 北京师范大学 历史学院,北京 100875
  • 收稿日期:2019-08-12 出版日期:2019-09-25 发布日期:2019-11-04
  • 基金资助:
    国家社会科学基金项目“古代基督教神学与基督教史学的建构研究”(18BSS022)。

A Comparative Study between the Roman World and China on the History and Civilization from the 3rd to 6th Century

LIU Jiahe, LIU Linhai   

  1. School of History, BNU, Beijing 100875, China
  • Received:2019-08-12 Online:2019-09-25 Published:2019-11-04

摘要: 3-6世纪,中西都经历了政治分裂、新起民族政权的挑战和新宗教的冲击,但在历史现象层面的相似背后,蕴含着深刻的同中之异。中国历史和文明历经危机而得以连续发展,西方历史和文明则在危机中断裂,这个结局并非偶然,而是由双方的政治、民族及文化等结构差异所决定的。政治结构上,中国延续了秦汉以来形成的统一的中央集权的郡县制国家和大一统观念,是有机的统一,比较牢固。在这个制度下,居民不分胡汉,都是编户齐民,身份和法律地位相同,也都追求统一。罗马延续了城邦体制及其理念,是松散的统一,并不牢固。其内部结构差异较大,居民身份多样,政治组织形式和法律也不一,自治传统深厚,蛮族也不追求统一。民族结构上,中国的胡汉关系历史悠久,融合程度深,以地域和文化界定夷夏。胡汉身份相同,受同一个法律的管辖。胡人政权主动采纳并推广汉族制度,形成了共同的民族认同。罗马与蛮族接触较晚,融合程度有限,更注重以法律身份区分不同的群体。蛮族并非罗马公民,而是自治的罗马军事盟友,保持了自己的政治制度和法律等,形成了各自的族群认同。文化结构上,中国始终保持了儒家为主而又兼容多元信仰的特点。儒家受到玄学、道教乃至佛教等的冲击,但其官方意识形态地位始终没有动摇。道教、佛教更关注个人内心世界,弥补了儒家的不足。胡人采用汉族文化并继承了这个模式,与汉族形成共同文化认同。西方由多神信仰转向一神信仰。罗马多神崇拜是政治的重要内容,注重集体的福祉。基督教填补了对个人内心世界关注不够的空白,但作为一神教它又不能容忍多神崇拜。作为国家唯一的合法崇拜,基督教仍是担负政治职能的组织。接受基督教的蛮族与抛弃传统信仰的罗马人一起形成以基督教为纽带的新文化认同。

关键词: 3-6世纪, 中国与西方罗马世界, 历史与文明, 比较

Abstract: This paper gives an overall analysis on the structural differences in history and civilization between the West or the Roman world and China from the 3rd to 6th century. Although both had been in great difficulty of political turmoil, segmentation and challenges from new barbarian states and new religions, they had great difference in the history of that period behind the similar phenomenon. It is not incidental for the Chinese history and civilization to survive the crisis with a continual development, while for the West to fail with a discontinuity, which resulted from the differences between the West and China in political, ethnical and cultural structures. Firstly, in terms of political structure, a unified and centralized state based on the junxian system (system of prefectures and counties) came into being in the Qin dynasty (BC 221-BC 207) and enhanced in the Han dynasty (BC 202-AD 220), and the idea of dayitong was kept and developed by both the han and hu peoples in ancient China, who were combined into a stable unification of equal identity and legal status. Rome rulers continued the pattern of polis and its ideology even after it had grown into a great empire, a loose and unstable unification or confederation with diversified civitas or polities and laws with a long tradition of autonomy, therefore failing to inspire the barbarians to seek for the reunification after its disintegration. Secondly, from the viewpoint of ethical structure, China had a long and intimate relationship between the han and hu peoples, and just distinguished the yi from xia in light of culture and region. The hu peoples were deeply Sinolized, and they adopted and promoted the han system comprehensively, thus forming a co-ethnical identity with the han people. The Romans were made in relatively late touch with the barbarians, by distinguishing its residents from each other by legal status. Less Romanized and as independent foederati inside the Empire, the barbarians were considered as non-citizens but aliens who kept their own political system, government and law, which resulted in their separated ethnical identity. Thirdly, as far as cultural structure was concerned, China kept a compatible multi-belief pattern with Confucianism holding the central position of the state ideology, though challenged by the xuanxue, Daoism and Buddhism, which attached more attention to the inner or spiritual world of the people and supplemented the shortcomings of Confucianism. The hu people adapted to and inherited this pattern, sharing the cultural identity with the han people. In the West, the polytheistic belief system converted to monotheism. Polytheistic worships in Rome used to be important political activities and emphasized more on the welfare of state than the needs of individual's inner world, and it was substituted by Christianity, intolerant of and incompatible with polytheism. As the only lawful religion and state ideology, it took the function of the political activity. In the end, the barbarians converted to Christianity and the Romans deserting their traditional beliefs merged into a new cultural identity based on Christianity.

Key words: the 3rd to 6th century, Roman World and China, history and civilization, comparison

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