中国与欧洲的关系源远流长,很难用一个维度讲清楚。但中国与欧洲的关系无疑又是人类世界最长久而又非常重要的关系,因为它不仅无法限定在互相带来利益的贸易,也无法限定在互相交流带来的好奇,还有互相结盟的冲动,也有互相羡慕及攀比的内在动力。
中国与欧洲的交往与互动,很大程度上推动了人类在科学技术、文化认知、经济与社会发展领域的进步,尽管这些互动关系并非总是平等与对等的。总体来讲,古代中国无论在文化还是科技及生产领域都领先世界,因此中国成为欧洲向往的“圣地”,欧洲启蒙思想家想象出来的中国模式成为推动欧洲思想及社会运动的重要背景。然而,当欧洲率先实现了工业化后,却忘记了自己“师傅”的恩德,反过来想把中国与印度这些东方文明的代表踩在脚下,用坚船利炮轰开了东方的大门,把印度变成了殖民地,也差点把中国弄成它们的殖民地。欧洲列强从这种不平等的关系中获得了巨大的好处,并包装出了一种“欧洲中心论”,不仅抹杀了过去东西方文明的交流对欧洲文明崛起的贡献,而且要让这种“西方天生优越”的思维定式固化为一种永远统治世界、包括永久统治遥远的中国思想界的一种工具。好在历史是发展的。“三十年河东,三十年河西”,中国这句民间谚语可能最好地总结了历史变迁的逻辑。
在历史的很长一段时间里,中国人对外来的文化与技术都不屑一顾,认为中国自己生产的文化与科学技术才是世界最好的。孔子云,“故远人不服,则修文德以来之。”这充分表明,中国的文人觉得,中华文化可以教化外面世界的落后民族。奇怪的是,当中国被欧洲列强痛打了之后,却一下子失去了自信心,认为自己什么都不如人。中国的知识分子把中国挨打的原因归纳为“落后”,而“落后就要挨打”成为近代中国的一句至理名言。也正是在这种背景下,“崇洋媚外”成为一些中国知识分子的习惯。他们习惯把海外的奇闻怪事、奇谈怪论当作自己与没见过海外世界的中国人吹牛的资本,不断地放大海外的“文明程度”,贬低自己同胞的“素质”与“水准”。这些习惯持续了很长一段时间,以至于“改革开放”后,一批跑到欧美国家学习先进经验又回来的中国知识分子,仍然不时地会陶醉于这种操练。
其实,在中国最悲惨的那些年月,欧洲知识分子中仍有一些人坚定地认为,中国人的文明程度是欧洲人所望尘莫及的。比如,20世纪20年代中国还在各路枭雄的一片内战中挣扎时,英国哲学家罗素到中国巡回讲演。在对比中西文化后,他讲道:“如果在这个世界上有哪个国家‘骄傲得不屑一顾’,那这个国家肯定是中国。中国人天生就具有宽容友爱、以礼待人、礼尚往来的态度。如果中国人愿意的话,他们会成为世界上最强大的国家。但是中国人只是追求自由,而无意于‘支配’。如果其他国家逼迫中国为自由而战,那么他们可能会尝到帝国的滋味而失去自己的美德。”5649329
而且,罗素还把中国知识分子到欧洲去寻找“强国之路”的努力大大讥讽了一把。他说:“中国人到西方寻找知识,满怀希望能打开通往智慧的大门(我想这是枉费心机)。西方人到中国去有三个目的:打仗、赚钱和传教。虽然传教的目的具有理想主义的美德,并激励了很多人去过英雄般的生活,但是军人、商人和传教士都在把我们的文明强加给世界其他国家,在某种意义上说,这三种人都是好战之徒。中国人却并没有强迫我们学习儒家学说。他们认为,宗教虽多,但其理一以贯之。所以不会干涉我们。中国人很有经商头脑,但是他们的经商之道不同于在中国的欧洲商人。欧洲商人总是不断寻求特权,垄断权,以及在中国修筑铁路和开采矿产的权利,并以坚船利炮作为要挟。中国人照例不是好的战士,因为他们自知师出无名。不过这仅仅是他们通情达理的一个证据。”5649330
无论如何,中国是从欧洲那里学会了现代的科学技术原理,才懵懵懂懂觉得中国也需要向欧洲那样进入现代社会,学会工业化,学会现代化。应该说,中国在挨了欧洲的打后,才痛定思痛,认真地当了一回学生。但中国是个好学生。在经过了半个世纪的社会动荡——革命、内战、被侵略、抗战、再内战之后,中国终于稳定了下来,开始重新从制度到现代工业化上再建国家。然后,在发展的道路上,中国自己又犯了一些“冒进”和激进的错误,走了一些弯路,浪费了一些时间。但自从1978年中国走上改革开放的道路后,用了40年时间,很快地实现了工业化,很快地进入了现代化。可以说,我们把西方工业化的过程浓缩了5—6倍。
中国近些年的发展有目共睹,让许多过去一贯俯视中国的西方知识分子也不得不重新寻找定义中国的逻辑框架。而中国人最终也可以平视欧洲,可以正常梳理中国与欧洲的交往历史,也可以更好地理解我们自己发展的历史了。如此,我们便可以尝试着打破一些“迷信”,比如“落后就要挨打”。其实,中国在历史上并不总是被更先进的力量打败的。当中国科技、文化都先进的时候,也会被落后的民族打败。宋朝被打败就是如此。
根据安格斯·麦迪森《世界经济千年史》,汉朝经济占世界的26.2%,宋朝的GDP占世界的22.7%。
按照宋朝的生产能力与技术能力,中国的水平远超世界各国,更不要说周边邻国了。宋朝已经发明了火药,在战争中武器也占有一定优势,因此在守卫开封时,还用火器打败了金国的骑兵。
宋朝的城市人口比重超过了20%,非农业税比例超过80%。非农业税的比例越高,意味着制造业和服务业越繁荣。宋朝时期藏富于民的现象真实存在。宋真宗时期的宰相王旦曾说过:“京城资产,百万贯者至多,十万以上,比比皆是”。一户宋代中产的财产大约是汉代时中产家产的10—30倍。后代的明朝人也承认“宋之富盛,过今远已”。此外,宋朝百姓可以很好地享受生活,他们也有“黄金周”休假日。据宋人笔记《文昌杂录》记载,宋朝官员可以享受公共休假77天,可以结社出远门,可以上茶坊品茶,可以到瓦舍勾栏看表演,可以批评官家不必担心被问罪。
然而,宋朝也运气欠佳。宋朝赶上了全球气候变冷的“小冰河期”,北方民族在气候变冷的情况下不断南侵。宋朝不得不先后同北方来的各种少数民族交战,先是与契丹的辽国交战,后又与从更远的北方下来的女真人金国交战,最后亡于蒙古人多年的进攻。宋朝与蒙古打了40多年,从抵抗蒙古人的入侵来说,是抵抗的时间最长的了。蒙古军队三次西征。第一次用6年灭了花剌子模,占领了中亚及南亚的一部分地区;第二次用7年,攻占了钦察、斡罗斯、匈牙利、波兰等国家与地区;第三次用8年占领了木剌夷(今伊朗)、阿巴斯王国(今伊拉克)、叙利亚与部分埃及地区。相比之下,宋朝的抵抗还是很强悍的。
世界历史上也是一样,先进的文明被落后的部族打败的历史也不少。罗马帝国就是毁灭于蛮族入侵。而且,蒙古骑兵曾经横扫西部,打到阿拉伯与欧洲世界,屠城、灭国的事没少发生。若不是蒙古大汗蒙哥在四川的钓鱼城身亡,西征的蒙古各部争先恐后地撤军回来以争夺汗位,世界历史恐怕就要改写了。
如此看来,19世纪,欧洲列强是利用了中国当时的分裂,利用了当时最大的满汉民族矛盾,看准了清朝统治者的软肋下手。从这一角度看,马戛尔尼率领的英国代表团就是一次火力侦察之旅。欧洲列强打探清了中国的各种矛盾,利用这些弱点去打击中国,才取得了成功。因此,当我们分析当今中国与世界的关系时,也不必总是“言必称西方制度优越”,而是要更客观地看待世界历史的发展,承认虽然社会结构性的原因是引起社会变化的主要原因,但各种偶然因素对世界历史变迁的影响也绝不应该被低估。
分析中国与欧洲的关系,我用了四种维度:文明对话、战略结盟、科技交往、经济贸易交往,最后又用了一章分析了中国与欧洲关系中一系列奇特又难解的问题。这些问题使中国与欧洲的关系在结构上处于一种难解难分之势,双方必须合作才对大家都有好处,但各自却又无法彻底清除合作中存在的许多障碍,因为双方的发展都受制于各自的历史发展轨迹,都受各自内部政治、经济、社会因素的影响。因此,即使有时欧洲与中国的政治精英、国家领导人都达成一致时,在推进具体合作中仍会遇到意想不到的困难,欧盟想解除对华武器禁运而未果的事就是前车之鉴。我们必须客观、公正地来看待这些中国与欧洲关系中存在的问题,努力使中国与欧洲的关系朝着对我们双方都有利的方向去发展,才能使这种关系长久维持下去,使中国与欧洲的交往成为人类不同文明之间有益交往的典范,成为建设人类命运共同体的重要参照。
丁一凡
2019年3月于北京海淀
China's relationship with Europe has a long history and is difficult to explain in one dimension. But the relationship between China and Europe is undoubtedly the longest and most important relationship in the human world, because it cannot be limited not only to the trade that brings mutual benefits, but also to the curiosity brought by mutual exchanges, the impulse to form alliances, and the internal motivation to envy and compare with each other. China's exchanges and interactions with Europe have largely promoted human progress in the fields of science and technology, cultural cognition, and economic and social development, although these interactions are not always equal and equivalent. Generally speaking, ancient China led the world in terms of culture, science and technology and production, so China became a "holy place" for Europe, and the Chinese model imagined by European Enlightenment thinkers became an important background for promoting European intellectual and social movements. However, when Europe took the lead in industrialization, it forgot the kindness of its "master", and in turn wanted to trample China and India, the representatives of Eastern civilization, under their feet, and bombarded the gate of the East with strong ships, turning India into a colony, and almost making China their colony. The European powers have benefited greatly from this unequal relationship and packaged a "Eurocentrism" that not only erases the contribution of past exchanges between Eastern and Western civilizations to the rise of European civilization, but also solidifies this "Western-inherently superior" mindset into a tool for perpetual world domination, including the distant Chinese intellectual community. Fortunately, history develops. "Thirty years in Hedong, thirty years in Hexi", a Chinese folk proverb that may best sum up the logic of historical change. For a long time in history, Chinese disdained foreign culture and technology, believing that China's own culture, science and technology were the best in the world. Confucius Ziyun, "Therefore, if the distant people are not convinced, they will cultivate Wende." This fully shows that the Chinese literati feel that Chinese culture can civilize the backward peoples of the outside world. Strangely, when China was beaten by the European powers, it suddenly lost self-confidence and thought that it was inferior to others. Chinese intellectuals have summarized the reason for China's beating up as "backwardness," and "backwardness means beating" has become a wise saying in modern China. It is precisely in this context that "admiring the outside world" has become the habit of some Chinese intellectuals. They are accustomed to taking overseas anecdotes and strange theories as their own and Chinese bragging capital for themselves and those who have never seen the overseas world, constantly amplifying the "degree of civilization" overseas and belittling the "quality" and "standard" of their compatriots. These habits lasted for a long time, so much so that after the "reform and opening up", a group of Chinese intellectuals who went to European and American countries to learn advanced experience and returned still reveled in this exercise from time to time. In fact, in China's most tragic years, some European intellectuals still firmly believed that the Chinese was more civilized than Europeans could match. For example, in the 20s of the 20th century, when China was still struggling with a civil war among various heroes, the British philosopher Russell went on a lecture tour of China. After comparing Chinese and Western cultures, he said: "If there is any country in this world that is 'proud and disdainful,' it must be China." Chinese are born with an attitude of tolerance and friendship, treating others with courtesy, and courtesy to each other. If Chinese willingly, they will become the most powerful country in the world. But Chinese only pursues freedom, not 'domination'. If other countries force China to fight for freedom, they may taste empire and lose their virtues. Moreover 5649329 Russell greatly ridiculed the efforts of Chinese intellectuals to go to Europe to find the "road to a strong country." "Chinese go to the West in search of knowledge, full of hope that it will open the door to wisdom (I think it's a futile effort," he said. Westerners go to China for three purposes: to fight, to make money, and to preach. While missionary purposes have idealistic virtues and inspire many to live heroic lives, soldiers, merchants, and missionaries are imposing our civilization on the rest of the world, and in a sense, all three are militants. Chinese did not force us to study Confucianism. They believe that although there are many religions, their principles are consistent. So it won't interfere with us. Chinese are very business-minded, but their way of doing business is different from that of European businessmen in China. European merchants constantly sought privileges, monopolies, and the right to build railroads and mine minerals in China, using strong ships and cannons as a threat. Chinese are not good warriors as usual, because they know that they are unknown. But this is only one proof of their reasonableness. "5649330 in any case, China learned modern scientific and technological principles from Europe, and then ignorantly felt that China also needed to enter modern society like Europe, learn to industrialize, learn to modernize." It should be said that after China was beaten by Europe, it made up its mind and seriously became a student. But China is a good student. After half a century of social turmoil – revolution, civil war, invasion, resistance war, and civil war – China finally stabilized and began to rebuild the country from system to modern industrialization. Then, on the road of development, China itself made some "aggressive" and radical mistakes, took some detours and wasted some time. But since China embarked on the road of reform and opening up in 1978, it took 40 years to quickly industrialize and quickly enter modernization. It can be said that we have condensed the process of industrialization in the West by 5-6 times. China's development in recent years is obvious to all, and many Western intellectuals who have always looked down on China in the past have had to rediscover the logical framework that defines China. And Chinese can eventually look at Europe at eye level, can normally sort out the history of China's exchanges with Europe, and can better understand the history of our own development. In this way, we can try to break some "superstitions", such as "if you fall behind, you will be beaten". In fact, China has not always been defeated by more advanced forces in history. When China's science and technology and culture are advanced, it will also be defeated by backward nations. The defeat of the Song Dynasty was like that. According to Angus Maddison's Millennium History of the World Economy, the economy of the Han Dynasty accounted for 26.2% of the world's economy, and the GDP of the Song Dynasty accounted for 22.7% of the world's GDP. According to the production capacity and technical capabilities of the Song Dynasty, China's level far exceeds that of all countries in the world, not to mention neighboring countries. The Song Dynasty had already invented gunpowder, and weapons also had a certain advantage in war, so when guarding Kaifeng, they also defeated the cavalry of the Jin Kingdom with firearms. In the Song Dynasty, the proportion of urban population exceeded 20%, and the proportion of non-agricultural taxes exceeded 80%. The higher the percentage of non-farm taxes, the more prosperous the manufacturing and service sectors. During the Song Dynasty, the phenomenon of hiding wealth for the people was real. Wang Dan, the prime minister during the Song Zhenzong period, once said: "The assets of the capital are at most one million, and more than 100,000 are everywhere." The property of a middle-class family in the Song Dynasty was about 10-30 times that of a middle-class family in the Han Dynasty. Future generations of Ming dynasty people also recognized that "the prosperity of the Song Dynasty is far away." In addition, the people of the Song Dynasty could enjoy life well, and they also had "Golden Week" holidays. According to the Song Dynasty's notes "Wenchang Miscellaneous", officials in the Song Dynasty could enjoy 77 days of public leave, could go out in associations, go to tea houses to taste tea, go to the Washe Hook to watch performances, and criticize officials without fear of being questioned. However, the Song Dynasty was also unlucky. The Song Dynasty caught up with the "Xiaoice River Period" of global climate cooling, and the northern peoples continued to invade south under the condition of cold climate. The Song Dynasty had to fight various ethnic minorities from the north, first with the Liao state of the Khitan, then with the Jurchen Jin state from farther north, and finally died in the Mongol attacks for many years. The Song Dynasty fought with the Mongols for more than 40 years, and it was the longest resistance in terms of resisting the Mongol invasion. The Mongol army marched west three times. For the first time, it took 6 years to destroy Khorezm and occupy parts of Central and South Asia; The second time took 7 years to capture Kipchak, Joros, Hungary, Poland and other countries and regions; The third took eight years to capture Murayi (present-day Iran), the Abbasid Kingdom (present-day Iraq), Syria, and parts of Egypt. In contrast, the resistance of the Song Dynasty was still strong. The same is true in the history of the world, and there is also a lot of history in which advanced civilizations have been defeated by backward tribes. The Roman Empire was destroyed by barbarian invasions. Moreover, the Mongol cavalry once swept the west, hit the Arab and European worlds, and slaughtered cities and destroyed countries. Had it not been for the death of the Mongol Khan Meng Ge at Diaoyucheng in Sichuan, and the Mongol forces of the Western Expedition scrambling to withdraw their troops back to compete for the Khan's throne, I am afraid that world history would have been rewritten. In this way, in the 19th century, the European powers took advantage of the division of China at that time, took advantage of the largest Manchu-Han ethnic contradiction at that time, and saw the weakness of the Qing rulers. From this point of view, the British delegation led by Macartney was a fire reconnaissance tour. The European powers found out China's various contradictions and used these weaknesses to attack China, and they were successful. Therefore, when we analyze the relationship between China and the world today, we do not always have to "say that the Western system is superior", but rather look at the development of world history more objectively, and admit that although the cause of social structure is the main cause of social change, the impact of various accidental factors on world historical changes should never be underestimated. To analyze the relationship between China and Europe, I used four dimensions: dialogue among civilizations, strategic alliance, scientific and technological exchanges, economic and trade exchanges, and finally used a chapter to analyze a series of strange and difficult problems in China-Europe relations. These problems have made China-Europe relations in a structural situation that is inextricably linked, and the two sides must cooperate to benefit everyone, but each side cannot completely remove many obstacles to cooperation, because the development of both sides is subject to their own historical development trajectories and their own internal political, economic and social factors. Therefore, even when European and Chinese political elites and national leaders sometimes reach an agreement, they will still encounter unexpected difficulties in promoting concrete cooperation, and the EU's unsuccessful attempt to lift the arms embargo on China is a lesson in the past. We must view these problems in China-Europe relations objectively and fairly, and strive to make China-Europe relations develop in a direction that is beneficial to both of us, so that such relations can be maintained for a long time and China-Europe exchanges can become a model of useful exchanges between different civilizations and an important reference for building a community with a shared future for mankind. Ding Yifan in Haidian, Beijing in March 2019(AI翻译)