斯坦利 英国爱丁堡大学
Stanley, Brian, University of Edinburgh
原文Original
Spreading the Knowledge of China in the West: Chinese Contributions to the World Missionary Conference, Edinburgh 1910
The development of Sinology as a field of academic study in Britain owes a great deal to the contributions of Christian missionaries. The first professor of Chinese in a British university was the former missionary of the London Missionary Society, James Legge (1815-97), Professor of Chinese at Oxford University from 1876 to 1897. Legge’s translation of and commentary on The Chinese Classics and his editions of Confucian and Taoist texts published in Max Müller’s series of Sacred Books of the East were of seminal importance in disseminating scholarly knowledge of Chinese cultural traditions in the English-speaking world. However, Sinology may also be understood more broadly as the public knowledge and understanding of the Chinese people and their culture. Sinology in this broader sense is a creation not of scholars alone but of Chinese people in their increasing interaction with others. This paper surveys the contributions to Sinology in this popular sense made by the Chinese delegates to the World Missionary Conference held in Edinburgh in June 1910.
Of the 1,215 official delegates at this epoch-making international Christian conference, only eighteen were from Asia, of whom three were from China: Mr Cheng Jingyi, a young assistant pastor from a church in Beijing; Professor T. Y. Chang, a Presbyterian Professor from Beijing; and Professor Dong Jingan from Shanghai Baptist Theological Seminary. All three addressed the conference, and their contributions, particularly those made by Cheng Jingyi, attracted much comment. For many delegates this would have been their first exposure to Chinese people and their first encounter with Chinese perspectives on Christianity.
My paper will summarise the addresses given by these three Chinese speakers, and evaluate the impact which they had on their Western audience. Particular attention will be given to the two addresses by Cheng Jingyi. Despite being possibly the youngest delegate at the conference, Cheng is mentioned in many accounts as being the outstanding speaker of the conference. His first address urged the delegates not to be afraid to allow the Chinese church to assume the challenge of sustaining and managing its own life. Self-support should be viewed as a joy, not a burden. The controlling power over the Chinese churches had in the past been in missionary hands, and appropriately so, but the time had now come for every Chinese Christian to assume responsibility for their own church and the propagation of the faith. But it was Cheng’s second contribution, to the debate on ‘Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity’ that made the more lasting impression on his hearers and is far more widely cited in both contemporary and retrospective accounts. Cheng referred to the modest progress the Protestant churches in China had already made towards a federal structure, and went on to say that:
Speaking plainly we hope to see, in the near future, a united Christian Church without any denominational distinctions. This may seem somewhat peculiar to you, but, friends, do not forget to view us from our standpoint, and if you fail to do that, the Chinese will remain always as a mysterious people to you!
Cheng endeavoured to convince his audience of how urgent a priority the formation of a united Protestant church was for Chinese Christian leaders. He observed that ‘denominationalism has never interested the Chinese mind. He finds no delight in it, but sometimes he suffers for it!’ The only conceivable obstacles to the formation of a united church in China would be ‘due to our Western friends and not ourselves.’
Cheng’s forthrightness and perspicacity immediately established his credentials with the organizers of the conference, John R. Mott and J. H. Oldham. Cheng was thus chosen as the one representative from China among the thirty-five members of the Continuation Committee set up to continue the work of the conference. The Continuation Committee would eventually, in 1921, evolve into the International Missionary Council (IMC), one of the foremost bodies in twentieth-century Christian ecumenism. In China itself, steps were taken in 1912-13 to establish a national branch of the Continuation Committee; and somewhat similar bodies were formed in Korea and Japan. With a missionary colleague, Cheng was appointed the first joint secretary of the China Continuation Committee. Cheng held this office until 1922, when he presided over the inaugural conference in Shanghai of the successor to the China Continuation Committee – the National Christian Council of China. From 1924 to 1933 he served as the Council’s general secretary. In 1927, the vision outlined in his second Edinburgh speech was partly realized through the formation of the Church of Christ in China, which united sixteen different Presbyterian, Congregational, and Baptist church bodies; Cheng was appointed as its first moderator (and later general secretary, a position he held until his death in 1939). He attended the Jerusalem conference of the International Missionary Council in 1928, and was elected as vice-chairman of the conference. He was appointed a member of the IMC executive committee, and served in that capacity until the Tambaram meeting of the IMC in 1938.
Cheng Jingyi and his Chinese colleagues at the Edinburgh conference played a crucial role in helping Western Christians to understand the distinctive challenges which the Chinese churches faced. They were thus in a real sense purveyors of Sinology – the knowledge of China. What they had to say in 1910 also anticipated some of the emphases which would mark the independent and non-denominational church created after 1949.
译文Translation
在西方散播中国之学：中国在1910年爱丁堡世界宣教大会中的贡献
在英国，汉学作为一种学术研究持续发展，主要得益于基督教传教士的贡献。英国大学的第一个中文教席就是由伦敦差会（London Missionary Society）前传教士理雅各（James Legge 1815-97）出任的。从1876年至1897年，理雅各一直在牛津大学担任中文教授。理雅各对于中国经典的翻译和评注，以及他编辑的儒家和道家文献（收入马克思·缪勒（Max Müller）主编的《东方圣书》（Sacred Books of the East）系列出版），对中国传统文化在英语国家学术界的传播起到了至关重要的作用。另一方面，汉学其实还可以广义地理解为一般大众对中国人及其文化的认识和了解。在这个意义上，汉学的建立就不只是学者的贡献，它还得益于中国民众与其他民族之间日益增多的交流。本文所讨论的就是后一个问题，即，1910年6月赴爱丁堡参加世界宣教大会的中国代表对广义的汉学所做出的贡献。
这次划时代的基督教国际会议有正式代表1215名，只有8人来自亚洲，其中3人来自中国：诚静怡先生是来自北京某教会的助理牧师、张廷荣教授是来自北京的长老会信徒、董景安教授来自上海的浸信会神学院。三位中国代表都在会议上发表了卓有见识的演说。尤其是诚静怡的演说，吸引了众多的注意和评论。对于许多与会代表来说，这是他们第一次接触中国民众，也是第一次了解中国关于基督教的看法。
本文将概述这三位中国代表的发言，评估他们对于西方听众的影响。诚静怡的两场发言将是研究的重点。尽管他可能是与会代表中年纪最小的，但是许多记录中都显示，他是本次会议最引人瞩目的演说者之一。在第一场演说中，他敦促代表们放手让中国教会面对自主发展的挑战。自给自足应该是一种乐趣，而不是负担。很长时间来，中国教会都是由传教士控制，这在以前可能是恰当的举措，但是，现在已经到了让每一个中国基督徒为他们的教会负责、为他们的信仰奔走的时候了。诚静怡的第二场演说更是给听众们留下了深刻的印象，并且在当时和之后的文献中得到了极为广泛地引用。这篇演说论述的是“协同合作与促进合一”（Co-operation and the Promotion of Unity），诚静怡先介绍了中国新教教会在联邦分权制（a federal structrue）过程中已经取得的些许进展，然后讲道：
“简单地说，我们希望看到不久的将来，在中国能有一个合一的基督教会出现，没有任何宗派及教派的特征。这听起来可能让你们觉得奇怪，但是，朋友们，请从我们的角度观察我们，如果你们不这样做，那么你们将永远无法理解中国人。”
诚静怡竭力向听众证明，对于中国基督教领袖来说，优先建立合一的新教教会已经是迫在眉睫。他认为“中国人从未对宗派主义产生过兴趣。他们不但不喜欢宗派主义，反而要时常为之烦恼！”中国建立合一教会的唯一障碍“是西方友人，而不是我们自己”。
凭借他的直率和敏锐，诚静怡很快就取得了会议组织者穆德（John R. Mott）和欧德罕（J. H. Oldham）的信任。作为中国的唯一代表，他被选入了35 人的续行委员会（Continuation Committee），共同负责会议的后续工作。这个委员会在1921年发展成为国际宣教协会（International Missionary Council）——20世纪基督教普世教会运动（Christian ecumenism）中最重要的机构之一。在韩国和日本之后，中国也于1912-13年建立了续行委员会分支机构，诚静怡与另一位传教士同事被任命为第一届负责人。诚静怡担任这个职务一直到1922年，其时他在上海主持了中华续行委员会改为中华基督教会的会议。1924年至1933年，他担任协会秘书长。1927年，他在爱丁堡的第二场发言中的构想部分成为了现实，16所不同的长老会机构、公理会机构和浸信会机构组成了中国基督教教会。诚静怡出任协调人，后担任秘书长一职直至1939年去世。他于1928年出席了国际宣教协会的在耶路撒冷举行的大会，在会上被选为副主席（vice-chairman）。诚静怡还被任命为国际宣教协会（IMC）执行委员会成员，直到1938年在坦巴兰会议上卸任。
在爱丁堡会议上，诚静怡及他的中国同仁为帮助西方基督教徒认清中国教会面临的突出问题做出了杰出的贡献。因此，他们是当之无愧的广义汉学的传播者。他们在1910年的演说也预示了1949年后建立的中国自主合一教会的某些重要特点。