“文明起源”史观之意味:“中西马”视角的考察  

The Implied Meaning of“The Origin of Civilization”in the Conception of History:An Analysis from Chinese,Western,and Marxist Perspectives

作　　者：陈立柱[1] 陈希红 CHEN Lizhu;CHEN Xihong(Social Science Division,School of History and Culture,South China Normal University,510631)

机构地区：[1]华南师范大学历史文化学院,广州510631 [2]华南师范大学社科处,广州510631

出　　处：《河北师范大学学报（哲学社会科学版）》2024年第1期16-28,共13页Journal of Hebei Normal University(Philosophy and Social Sciences)

摘　　要：“文明起源”作为国内学界使用频率极高的舶来语,主要用以说明距今五千多年至“三代”时期历史文化的发展。但是否合适的问题很少有人认真考虑过,似乎马克思、恩格斯使用了就没有问题。其实马恩晚年虽借用了“文明”等术语,但对其核心内容如剥削、阶级性、虚伪、贪欲、国家镇压机器等都是持具体批判与整体否认态度的,尽管认为如此发展有其必然性,与其他学人用“文明”“野蛮”区分历史进步、停滞与落后,即无意中把知性专断与西方普遍性的观念传播开去明显不同,因为马克思是从人的全面发展和多数人得到解放出发看问题的。从历史研究追求平实公正应该使用更中性一些术语看,用褒义明显的“文明”来说某一时段历史的特质也是不合适的,因为说甲文明意味着乙不文明或野蛮,必然分出等级差别。回到传统中国,被视为“文明起源”这一段历史,中国古人认为是“大同”向“小康”、“公天下”向“私天下”之过渡,是以物役使人性的开始,是战争杀伐愈益激烈和彼此互助走向你争我夺、淳朴自然走向尔虞我诈的时期,此与马恩的认知明显具有相通之处。古史研究使用“文明起源”作为关键词展现的是西方资产阶级重物质、轻人道的历史观,体现的是西方资本主义价值观,不仅与马克思主义、中国文化精神相背离,也与史学自身追求相矛盾,说明目前的古史考量还深陷于西方中心观念之中,反省不够。在此认知基础上文章提出用相对平实的“文化源”代替不甚中性的“文明起源”,以作为中国文化精神开启之初一段历史的研究之用。“The origin of civilization,”a loan term frequently used in domestic academic circles,is mainly used to explain the historical and cultural development from more than 5,000 years ago to the Xia(ca.2100 BC-1600 BC),Shang(ca.1600 BC-1050 BC)and Zhou Periods(1046 BC-256 BC)in ancient China.However,few people have seriously considered whether it is appropriate.There seems to be no problem since Marx and Engels have used it.In fact,although Marx and Engels borrowed terms such as“civilization”in their later years,both of them were specifically critical and generally negative towards their core contents,such as exploitation,class nature,hypocrisy,greed,and state suppression machinery,although they thought that such development was inevitable.Their use was different from other scholars’use of“civilization”and“barbarism”to distinguish historical progress,stagnation,and backwardness,that is,to inadvertently spread the concept of intellectual arbitrariness and Western universality because Marx looked at the question in light of people’s all⁃round development and the liberation of most people.For fairness,some more neutral terms should be used in historical research.In this sense,it is not appropriate to use the term“civilization,”which has apparent commendatory meaning,to describe the historical characteristics of a certain period because saying that A is civilized means that B is uncivilized or barbaric,which will inevitably lead to hierarchical differences.Back to ancient China,with respect to that period of history regarded as“the origin of civilization,”the ancients in China thought that it was the transition from“Great Harmony”to a“well⁃off society”and from“the public world”to“the private world.”It was the beginning of humanity,driven by material things.It was the period with more violent wars and killings when mutual assistance moved towards fierce rivalry,and simple and natural beings moved towards deception and intrigues,which had something in common with Marx and Enge

关 键 词：文明起源 大同思想 马克思主义 西方中心论 文化源 

分 类 号：K221[历史地理—历史学]