谢林德：在汉学研究中寻找“生命”意义

文/徐庆群 路卓杭

译/张佳艺

（德国），中国人民大学哲学院、新奥国际杰出教席岗位教授，曾在德国维尔茨堡大学、慕尼黑大学学习汉学、哲学和日本文化学，在武汉大学学习中国哲学，在慕尼黑大学获得硕士、博士学位和教授资格。曾在慕尼黑大学、马堡大学、台湾开南大学（桃园）和政治大学（台北）任职。现在中国人民大学哲学院开设中国形上学研究、中国人生哲学研究、道家哲学和周易哲学研究等课程。2009年撰著《易经》德文新译本，在《易经》《庄子》等研究方面成果丰硕，产生较大的影响。

He served as a Xin’ao International Distinguished Chair Professor in the School of Philosophy at the Renmin University of China.He studied Sinology, Philosophy, and Japanese Culture at the University of Würzburg and the University of Munich in Germany and Chinese Philosophy at Wuhan University, and he received his M.A., Ph.D., and a professorship at the University of Munich. In addition, he held positions at the University of Munich,the University of Marburg, Kainan University (Taoyuan), and Chengchi University(Taipei) in Taiwan. He is now teaching courses in Chinese Metaphysics, Chinese Philosophy of Life, Taoist Philosophy, and Zhou Yi Philosophy at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China. In 2009, he wrote a new German translation of the. His fruitful research on theandsignificantly impacts him.

我本以为，写汉学家的故事是最容易的。

但事实上，这是我遇到的最难写的文章。

因为，汉学家研究的问题太深奥，比科学技术更深奥。

第一次接触汉学家，源于2022年7月20日在北京语言大学举办的“世界汉学家理事会成立大会暨世界文明与中国道路”论坛，我参加论坛，聆听了诸多外国前政要、驻华大使、汉学家和国内专家学者对汉学的认识。其中德国汉学家谢林德（Dennis Schilling）教授给我留下了十分深刻的印象。

闭上眼睛，你一定听不出来他是外国人。品味观点，你更是感觉不到他是外国专家。他的纯正中文、他的汉学研究，让我骄傲又汗颜。

从汉学系出发，先“易”后难

在“世界汉学家理事会成立大会暨世界文明与中国道路”论坛上，谢林德教授回顾了汉学作为一门学科的创立与内部专业分化的过程，指出汉学常常提供一种“整合”的视角，将各种现象和发展置于一个更广泛的架构中。大多数情况下，这个“整合”的视角基于中国历史传统或文化背景，但是有时候一个跨学科的背景也能当作“整合”视角的基础。在中国历史中“文”“史”“哲”三种知识领域从来都是相互拥抱、相互渗透。

因此，汉学以其综合的观点，可以阐明其他学科所不能阐明的关系，例如，现代问题如何在历史框架上显示出来。这种综合性的视角并不新鲜，但是以专业方法为主的现代研究已弃之而不顾。

除了综合视角以外，汉学另一任务是它独特的“基础研究”：它将有关中国文化、社会和历史的生活和思想的知识资源带到今天的知识范围。换而言之，它致力于研究那些由于传统选择而被遗忘的知识，开辟新的知识资源，加深我们关于中国文化的知识。我被谢林德教授如此深的汉学研究造诣折服，原来谢林德教授先后在德国维尔茨堡大学和慕尼黑大学学习汉学、哲学和日本文化学，1985年至1987年在武汉大学学习中国哲学，在慕尼黑大学获得硕士学位、博士学位和教授资格。

我们知道，维尔茨堡大学成立于1402年，是享誉世界的高等学府，有600多年的历史，有14位诺贝尔物理学、生理学或医学以及化学奖得主，比如德国著名物理学家威廉·康拉德·伦琴，在大学的物理研究所发现了X射线（也叫伦琴射线），是全球第一位诺贝尔物理学奖得主。人文科学、法律和经济、生命科学、自然科学和技术是维尔茨堡大学最具优势的四大学科。在生物、医学、物理学和心理学等学科领域保持着国际水准。维尔茨堡大学汉学系成立于1965年，培养了大批研究中国的人才。慕尼黑大学汉学系更是早在1946年创立，是欧洲汉学研究的重镇，中国古代哲学史、宗教史、思想文化史和中国艺术与考古等是该系研究的重点。就是在这样的学术环境中，谢林德涉猎了诸多汉学相关的专业领域比如中国思想史、中国社会史、中国文学、中国哲学、中国宗教史、汉语语言学，而且熟读四书五经六艺，熟谙中国传统文化。

I thought it would be easiest to write about sinologists.

But in fact, this is the most difficult article I have ever written.

After all, what sinologists study is too profound, much deeper than science and technology.

My first contact with sinologists came from the forum “The Inaugural Conference of the World Council of Sinologists and the World Civilization and China’s Road” held at Beijing Language and Culture University on July 20, 2022, in which I attended and listened to the views of many foreign dignitaries, ambassadors, sinologists and domestic experts and scholars on sinology. Among them, Prof. Dennis Schilling, a German sinologist, left a deep impression on me.

You will not recognize him as a foreigner when you close your eyes. Considering the ideas, you will not even believe he is a foreign expert. I feel proud but also humbled by his authentic Chinese and sinology research.

Starting from the Department of Sinology, First “Easy” and Then Hard

In the forum “The Inaugural Conference of the World Council of Sinologists and the World Civilization and China’s Road”, Prof. Dennis Schilling reviewed the process of the founding of Sinology as a discipline and its internal disciplines differentiation, pointing out that Sinology often provides an “integrative” perspective, placing various phenomena and developments within a broader framework. In most cases, this “integrative” perspective is based on Chinese historical traditions or cultural contexts, but an interdisciplinary context can sometimes serve as the basis for an “integrative” perspective. For example, in Chinese history, the three cognitive fields of “literature”, “history”, and “philosophy” have always been combined and penetrated each other.

Thus, with its integrative perspective, sinology can illuminate relationships that other disciplines can not, such as how contemporary issues reveal themselves in a historical framework. This integrative perspective is not fresh, but it has been abandoned by modern studies, which are dominated by professional approaches.

In addition to an integrative perspective, another task of sinology is its distinctive “basic research”: It brings intellectual resources about the life and thoughts of Chinese culture, society, and history to the scope of knowledge today. In other words, it works on the understanding that has been forgotten due to traditional choices, opening up new sources of knowledge and deepening our understanding of Chinese culture. I was impressed by the depth of Prof. Dennis Schilling’s sinology research attainments. It turns out that Prof. Dennis Schilling studied sinology,philosophy, and Japanese culture at the University of Würzburg and the University of Munich in Germany, studied Chinese philosophy at Wuhan University from 1985 to 1987 and received his master’s degree,doctorate, and a professorship at the University of Munich.

We know that the University of Würzburg, founded in 1402, is a world-renowned institution of higher education with a history of more than 600 years. 14 Nobel Prize winners in physics, physiology or medicine,and chemistry graduated from here, such as the famous German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen, who discovered X-rays (also called Röntgen rays) at the Institute of Physics of the university, was the world’s first Nobel Prize winner in physics. The humanities, law and economics, life sciences, and natural sciences and technology are the four disciplines in which the University of Würzburg has the greatest strength. International standards are maintained in the discipline areas of biology,medicine, physics, and psychology. The Department of Sinology at the University of Würzburg was founded in 1965 and has trained many elites to study China. The Department of Sinology at the University of Munich, founded in 1946, is a major European center for the study of sinology, where the history of ancient Chinese philosophy, religion,thoughts and culture, art and archaeology are the focus of research. In this academic environment, Dennis Schilling became involved in many fields of specialization related to sinology, such as the history of Chinese thoughts, social history, literature, philosophy, religious history,and linguistics. He was also well-versed in the Four Books, Five Classics, and Six Arts.

但是对谢林德来说，对学术生涯产生重要作用的还是20世纪80年代，他在中国做交流生的两年。硕士毕业之后，攻读博士学位，再次来华，搜集资料，他说，那时北京的冬天很冷，他经常泡在国家图书馆（旧馆）读书。阅览室里的人很少，有时就一两个人。但是他并不觉得孤独，因为他徜徉在浩瀚的汉学世界里，像一个发现新玩具的孩子，乐此不疲。这些积淀后来形成了他的博士论文，即关于中国经学“拟易”文学的起源和发展，其研究对象时间范围从先秦时期到明清时代，详细探讨了“拟易”经典的文体结构、思想基础及社会背景，并说明“拟易”文学的形式及其特点。

汉代扬雄仿《周易》作《太玄》，仿《论语》作《法言》，后人谓之“拟经”。那么“拟经”与“拟易”有什么区别呢？谢林德说，“拟经”是大范畴，历史上还有模拟《尚书》《春秋》等，清初朱彝尊《经义考》用“拟经”概念讨论这些著作的内容及其与经典的关系，“拟易”是“拟经”中的一部分。扬雄最早模仿《周易》卦象占辞系统。以“参摹”（三种数字符号）代替《易经》刚柔两种爻符号，以“方州部家”四位制度代替《易经》六位制度，以“参摹而四分之”的方式造成八十一首，代替《易经》六十四卦，以九个“赞”代替《易经》六个爻的占辞。《太玄经》天文知识很丰富，以汉代“三统历”为基础，将《太玄经》思想结构与汉代时间观和空间观密切配合，譬如《太玄经》八十一首，各首有九赞，一共有七百二十九赞，每两赞主一昼夜，所以七百二十九赞代表三百六十四半日，增加“踦”“嬴”两赞，就符合一岁的日数。《太玄经》一个美妙的特点是将宇宙论和人类文明史融合为一，成为一个大的系统，在中国哲学史上占有独特的位置。汉代有另一本著名“拟易”著作，叫作《易林》，作者不明，据传焦延寿、崔篆等人被指为作者，《易林》以用处为主，其结构基于《易经》变卦观点，六十四卦中每一个卦可以转变另一个卦，所以有64乘64等于4096次的可能性，而《易林》对所有的可能性提供一个占辞，一共有四千零九十六个占辞，它占辞的文学价值很高，之前已经被几位学者注意到，比如闻一多和钱锺书。

However, for Dennis Schilling, it was in the 1980s that he was an exchange student in China for two years, which significantly impacted his academic career. After graduating with his master’s degree, he studied for his Ph.D. and came to China again to collect information.He said that it was pretty cold in the winter of Beijing in those years,and he used to soak in the National Library of China (former site) to read. There were few people in the reading room, sometimes just one or two. But he did not feel lonely because he wandered in the vast world of sinology, like a child who finds new toys and enjoys himself. These knowledge accumulations later formed his doctoral dissertation on the origins and development of Chinese scripture literature, “Yi mimicry”(mimicking the Book of Changes). It was a detailed study of the literary structure, ideological foundations, and social background of the“Yi mimicry” classics from the pre-Qin period to the Ming and Qing dynasties. It also discusses the form and characteristics of “Yi-mimetic”literature.

In the Han dynasty, Yang Xiong mimicked theand theas, which later generations called “Jing mimicry” (mimicking scriptures). So what is the difference between “Yi mimicry” and “Jing mimicry”? Dennis Schilling said that “Jing mimicry” was a large category, and there was a mimicry of the history of the, etc. In the early Qing dynasty,Zhu Yizun’sdiscussed the content of these works and their relationship with the classics using “Jing mimicry”. “Yi mimicry” is a part of “Jing mimicry”. Yang Xiong imitated the system of trigrams and divining statements of the. Replace the two Yao symbols in thewith the “Can Mo” (three numerical characters);replace the six-digit system in thewith the four-digit system of the formation of four levels for a country; replace sixty-four hexagrams with eighty-one chapters led by “Can Mo and four divisions”; replace the divining statements of six Yao in thewith nine“Zan”. Theis rich in astronomical knowledge. Based on the “three unified calendars” of the Han dynasty, the works embodying the ideological structure act in close coordination with the view of time and space in the Han dynasty. For example, there are eighty-one chapters in. Each chapter includes nine Zan and a total of seven hundred and twenty-nine Zan. Every two Zan corresponds to one day and one night. Thus the sum of Zan represents three hundred and sixtyfour and a half days. With the two Zan of “Yi” and “Ying”, the number of days in a year will be met. One of the beautiful features of theis that it integrates cosmology and the history of human civilization into one extensive system, which occupies a unique place in the history of Chinese philosophy. There is another famous “Yi mimicry” work from the Han dynasty called, the author of which is unknown. It is said that Jiao Yanshou, Cui Zhuan, and others are the authors. Yi Lin is mainly practical. The structure is based on the changing trigrams in the. Each one in the sixty-four trigrams can transform another, so 4,096 possibilities are equaled by 64 times 64.provides a divining statement for all the options, totaling 4,096 statements. It has high literary value and has been noticed by scholars such as Wen Yiduo and Qian Zhongshu.

《易经》是儒家经典著作之一，古往中外今来，无数先贤们，尽毕生精力学《易》，操《易》，虽“日用而不知”“仁者见仁，智者见智”，但揭开宇宙间万事万物运动、发展、变化规律的总法则是《易》之根本。

基于多年的辛勤耕耘，谢林德的《周易》研究可谓是“炉火纯青”。1998年出版《占辞与数字：汉朝占书〈太玄经〉及〈易林〉——有关〈易经〉问世至明末以来其演变、模仿及创新之探讨》（也是谢林德的博士论文）；2009年出版《易经——新德译本（附加导论及注释）》，并进一步研究《周易》占辞中的神话内涵；2004年完成教授论文《佛教唯识宗在清末政治哲学思想中的回复与接受——论谭嗣同（1865—1898）与章炳麟（1869—1936）之著作》等著作，该书非常仔细地研究历史、文化、社会背景以及众多学者的传记和出版物，以回答这样一个问题：像佛教唯识学这样的唯心主义学说为何突然受到许多学者的关注，并能够进入当时政治辩论中。谢林德也编辑两本讨论中国古代文献中的妇女观的书。他还发表了《中国古代丧礼研究》《人的平等观与中国近代政治思想》《中国古代爱情观》《“泛若不系之舟”——〈庄子〉“逍遥”的存在主义哲学》等诸多论文。在中国哲学研究方面，谢林德主要研究对象是《周易》和《庄子》传统思想，其他研究重点在于中国生死观、比较哲学、中国形上学和观念史等问题。

许多年来，谢林德曾在慕尼黑大学、马堡大学、台湾开南大学（桃园）和政治大学（台北）等高校任职，2016年以来在中国人民大学哲学院担任新奥国际杰出教席岗位教授，指导博士和硕士研究生，开设中国形上学研究、中国人生哲学研究、道家哲学和周易哲学研究等课程。

Theis one of the classical works of Confucianism. From ancient times to the present, countless sages devoted their lives to learning theand behaving as mentioned. Although changes happen every day and people hardly realize, and opinions vary from person to person, revealing the universe of everything in motion, development, and change in the law of the total law is the fundamental of the Book of Changes.

谢林德教授在中国人民大学校园（倪天勇 摄）

用“以名遣名”命题，会之一心

“语言是思维与研究的先导。”这是我在了解到谢林德精通德文、汉文、英文、梵文、满文和熟练使用拉丁文、日文、法文、俄文等多国语言后从心里涌上的一句话。我想，他具有的这种掌握多国语言的能力和素养，是他之所以能将不同文化融会贯通的先决条件，也是他对多元文化驾轻就熟的重要原因。讲完他的博士论文，谢林德接着讲他的教授论文。他说，论文讨论了清末民初佛学唯识思想复兴的原因，以谭嗣同、章太炎（后易名章炳麟）的政治思想为主，说明清末唯识思想复兴的革命政治背景。

在交流中，谢林德主要阐释了他对章炳麟《齐物论释》的新议。《齐物论》是被誉为“钳挞九流，括囊百氏”《庄子》中的一篇，位列《庄子·内篇》第二，重点在于“道”与“物”之间和“物”与“我”之间的关系，其内容既涉及价值观与认识论等重大命题，形式亦复构思精巧而结撰新警，极具思想性与艺术特色，故历代治《庄子》者，于此篇尤加意焉。一代儒宗章炳麟，学问湛深，著述丰赡，于《齐物论》亦颇究心，于辛亥革命前完成《齐物论释》。谢林德说，《齐物论释》约为一百年前所撰作，当时许多学者积极涉入政治活动，舍生忘死，以笔为剑，而章炳麟为其中用力最深者之一，他的著作对现代思想史影响巨大。虽然《齐物论释》带有强烈的意识形态战争色彩，但其中的论据仍然极具哲学意义，尤其引人注目的是《齐物论释》的论辩结构，将《庄子》、佛家唯识学和康德哲学三种传统视为不一致的、脉络不相同的思维方式及观念，细腻结合、互相解释、连接一贯。

For many years, Dennis Schilling has held positions at the University of Munich, Marburg University, Kainan University (Taoyuan), and Chengchi University (Taipei). Since 2016, he has held the Xin’ao International Distinguished Chair Professor in the School of Philosophy at the Renmin University of China. He supervises Ph.D. and M.A. students and offers courses in Chinese metaphysics studies, the Chinese philosophy of life studies, Taoist philosophy, and changes-related philosophy studies.

“Naming by Name”, Blending Sound and Appearance

“Language is a precursor to thinking and research.” These words welled in my mind after I learned that Dennis Schilling was proficient in German, Chinese, English, Sanskrit, and Manchu and was fluent in Latin,Japanese, French, Russian, and other languages. I believe his ability and accomplishment in multiple languages are a prerequisite for integrating different cultures and an important reason for his mastery of multiculturalism. After introducing his doctoral dissertation, Dennis Schilling went on to talk about his academic thesis. He said that the dissertation discussed the reasons for the revival of Buddhist monastic thoughts in the late Qing and early Republican periods, focusing on the political views of Tan Sitong and Zhang Taiyan (later renamed Zhang Binglin) to illustrate the revolutionary background of the revival of Buddhist idealism in the late Qing.

During the exchange, Dennis Schilling mainly explained his new comments on Zhang Binglin’sis a piece of, known for gathering hundreds of schools’strengths, and is ranked second in. The focus is on the relationship between the “Tao” and the “objects” and between the “objects” and the “self”. The book’s content not only involves the values, epistemology, and other significant propositions but is also wellconceived and innovative, with outstanding ideological and artistic characteristics. Therefore, those who have studiedthrough the ages are particularly interested in this article. Zhang Binglin, a great Confucian scholar, is a profound scholar and author. He’s also attentive toand completed thebefore the Revolution of 1911. Dennis Schilling said thatwas written about a hundred years ago, when many scholars were actively involved in political activities, sacrificing their lives and awakening the masses with articles. Zhang Binglin exerted the most effort, and his works greatly influenced modern intellectual history. Although theis strongly tinged with ideological warfare, its arguments are still highly philosophical. What is particularly striking is the controversial structure, which delicately combines, interprets, and connects the three traditions of, Buddhist Vaisnavism, and Kantian Philosophy as inconsistent and disparate ways of thinking and concepts.

Liang Qichao, a contemporary of Zhang’s, said in, “Binglin’s interpretation of Laozi classics and Zhuangzi classics with Buddhism is extremely rational. His bookcan open up new land for those who study Zhuangzi’s philosophy, although there are some unlikely places.” Thus,the academic and intellectual values ofare self-explanatory.

与章氏同时代的梁启超在其《清代学术概论》中评价《齐物论释》，谓“炳麟用佛学解老庄，极有理致，所著《齐物论释》，虽间有牵合处，然确能为研究‘庄子哲学’者开一新国土”。由此可见，《齐物论释》的学术价值、思想价值不言而喻。

谢林德在他的论文《“以名遣名”——章太炎〈齐物论释〉新议》中认为，《齐物论释》的思路发展是以语言为入手处，提出语言与思维的关系，同时用“以名遣名”等命题及论述来解构语言与主体的关系。语言是章氏《齐物论释》的核心问题。在庄子《齐物论》中语言与认识不是独立分开的事物，而是彼此交错连接，语言的批判掀起认识的批判；然而章氏却将语言与认识能力分成两件事，并用佛学术语“名相”（即耳可闻者曰名，眼可见者曰相）来讨论这两者彼此之间的关系。章炳麟一开始就将“名相”带进对《齐物论》的解释，提到“‘齐物’本以观察名相会之一心”，意即观察“名相”的目标在于“会之一心”，将“名相”虚构境界归溯到其产生的机制。庄子《齐物论》中的“地籁”“天籁”都表达了“名相”的形成方式及过程。

谢林德认为，对章炳麟而言，语言制定人类思维形式的事实，对人的世界观和文化都有影响。思维进程缓慢的人感觉到时间过得很快，“惜分阴而近死地”，所以展望死亡之后的另一个存在，在社会文化里产生出强烈的彼岸希望和救世信仰希望；思维进程快速的人则相反，享受今世的存在，救世欲望不强。总而言之，语言对思维的制定，是人精神状态、社会组织、文化形成中最主要的部分。另一方面，如果更仔细分析章氏的语言认知理论，也可以看到，语言有不同的角色及地位；语言有先验功能，以此形成人的心理想象；语言也有根据经验而成的后天功能，制定人的思维形式及其精神态度，但是如果从佛教“真际”或康德所谓“物自身”来看，“名”与“相”都是虚构的事物。“名”为“相”的基础，而且语言的虚构性造成现象的虚构性。他强调，章氏重视语言、以语言为认识的基础，其原因在于以此说明人思维方式的虚构性，同时也说明了人的思维不能脱离其语言，也无法抵达语言之外的真实。语言在章氏《齐物论释》逻辑中占有关键性位置，并形成其认识论的观念基础。

In his paper,, Dennis Schilling argues that the development of the idea ofis to take language as the starting point, proposing the relationship between language and thinking. It also uses such propositions and discourses as “naming by the name” to deconstruct the relationship between language and subject. Language is the core issue of. In Zhuangzi’s, language and cognition are intertwined with each other rather than separated, and the critique of language sets off that of awareness. However, Zhang separates language and cognition into two things and discusses the relationship between them using the Buddhist term “sound and appearance” (transliteration of “Ming Xiang”; i.e., those that the ear can hear are called sound and those that can be seen by the eye are called appearance). At the very beginning,Zhang Binglin brings “sound and appearance” into his interpretation of, mentioning that leveling things is originally based on the observation of sound and appearance and aiming at blending and tracing the fictional realm of “sound and appearance” to the mechanism of its creation. In Zhuangzi’s, the “earthly sound” and“heavenly sound” both express the way and process of the formation of“sound and appearance.”

Dennis Schilling believes that, for Zhang Binglin, the fact that language formulates the form of human thoughts impacts both human worldview and culture. People with slow thinking feel that time passes quickly and cherish every second, so they look ahead to another form of existence after death, generate solid hopes for the form, and hope for salvation beliefs in their society and culture. On the contrary, people with fast thinking processes enjoy the existence of the present life and have little desire for salvation. In short, the enactment of language on thinking is the most significant part of the human mental state, social organization,and cultural formation. On the other hand, if we analyze Zhang’s cognitive theory of language more carefully, we can also see that language has different roles and statuses; language has an a priori function, which forms the mental imagination of man; language also has an acquired function based on experience, which formulates the form of man’s thinking and the mental attitude. However, from the view of the Buddhist “real world” or Kant’s so-called “subjects,” “sound” and “appearance” are fictitious things. Both “sound” and “appearance” are fictional things, but the former is also the basis of the latter, and the fictionality of language causes the fictionality of phenomena. He emphasizes that the reason for Zhang’s emphasis on speech and language as the basis of understanding is that it illustrates the fictional nature of human thinking and that human thought cannot be separated from its language, nor can it reach reality beyond language. Language occupies a key position in the logic of Zhang’sand forms the conceptual basis of his epistemology.

Dennis Schilling’s research is significant in forming people’s outlook on life, values, and worldview. It reminds us to pay attention to the role of language, which is the basis of cognition, and that thinking cannot be separated from language. According to thepublished in Germany, there are 5,651 identified languages worldwide, and language is one of the crucial characteristics of a nation. Therefore, I think that the Chinese language must be well-popularized for sinology to develop. Since 1909, when the first department of sinology was established in Hamburg, Germany, the study of sinology in Germany has been going on for more than a hundred years. Still, there has been a brain drain in sinology studies. According to Dennis Schilling, Chinese scholarship lacks internationalization in many aspects, and the issues discussed are related to China or talked about from a Chinese perspective. For example, if a German scholar studies French, he can read many helpful books on the theoretical aspects of the discipline. French is an important “international academic language” in addition to English.At the same time, the Chinese have not been given such a position,except for disciplines related to China (Chinese society, Chinese literature, history, etc.).

谢林德的研究对于今人的人生观、价值观和世界观的形成是有着重要意义的，也提醒我们要重视语言的作用，语言是认识的基础，思维不能脱离语言。据德国出版的《语言学及语言交际工具问题手册》，世界上查明的有5651种语言，语言是民族的重要特征之一。因此，我想汉学要发展，必须很好地普及汉语。从1909年德国汉堡成立了第一个汉学系至今，德国汉学研究也走过了百余年历史，但是汉学研究的人才流失现象一直存在着。谢林德认为，目前中国学术活动多方面缺乏国际化，所讨论的问题基本上都只与中国有关或者从中国的观点而谈。比如，如果一个德国的学者学习法语，他就能看到许多学科理论方面重要的书，法语是英语之外一个重要的“国际学术语言”，除了与中国相关的学科之外（中国社会、中国文学、历史等），中文还没得到这样的一个位置。另外，现在语言教学重视社会交际，重视会话和听力，不重视写作和阅读。对欧洲人来说，得到良好的中文阅读能力非常困难，需要费很多时间和心力，所以很少有人能得到。这些都不利于汉学研究的发展。因此，谢林德很喜欢现在的工作环境，“我和我的学生们一起做研究很愉快。他们都能有机会也能读懂中国文化的各种典籍。”面对像谢林德一样的很多汉学家，我想说：我们每个中国人对汉学研究应该有一份主动担当和积极作为。首先，因为我们会汉语呀！

从“生命论”说起，观照社会

“死亡论”和“生命论”，也是谢林德教授的重要研究课题。他从先秦哲学中“生命”概念的研究说起。

“我的研究目的在于试图讨论先秦道德观如何‘评价’有生之物的生命功能。就是说，道德观如何‘影响’人之对于‘生命功能’的理解。我的论点之一，就是古代对有生之物及生命作用的观点受到当时道德观的限制。先人怎么看生物、对‘生命功能’造出什么理解等这类的知识，——都是一个只有部分地通过实现观察或实现经验而形成的。然而，形上学信仰及道德价值成为早期生命功能的基本组织，就是进行控制以及限制经验知识的解释。”谢林德在他的论文《“天生”与“人生”：探究先秦哲学中的生命观》中这样写道，虽然在中西古代伦理学中，“生命”形成了一个核心概念。但是对古人来说，“生命”是什么？“生命”包括什么功能？“生命”有什么价值？——两个传统之中存在众说纷纭、学说不一的现象；而且两者的研究方式及观点也有许多差别。随着科学的发展，我们现在看生命，都是从生物学、医学、生命学等看，但是，古代对于生命的思考有一个共同点，在于道德观的影响。

Moreover, language teaching now emphasizes social communication,conversation, and listening, not writing or reading. For Europeans, getting good Chinese reading skills is tricky and requires a lot of time and effort, so few people can master it.

These are not conducive to the development of sinology research. As a result, Dennis Schilling enjoys the current working environment, “I enjoy doing research with my students. They all have the opportunity to read the various texts of Chinese culture as well.” I want to tell Chinese scholars like Dennis Schilling that each of us Chinese should play a proactive role in Chinese studies. After all, we all know the Chinese language!

Observing the Society from the Perspective of the Theory of Life

The Theory of Death and the Theory of Life are important research topics for Prof. Dennis Schilling. He begins with the study of the concept of“life” in pre-Qin philosophy.

“The purpose of my study is to discuss how pre-Qin moralism ‘evaluates’ the life functions of living beings, that is, how morality ‘influences’a man’s understanding of the ‘function of life’. One of my arguments is that the ancient view of living beings and the function of life is limited by the moral views of the time. How the ancestors treated living beings and what understanding of the ‘life function’ they created were all formed only partially through observation or experience. However,metaphysical beliefs and moral values became the basic organization of the early life functions, that is, the interpretation of controlling and limiting empirical knowledge. In his paper, Dennis Schilling writes that“life” forms a central concept in ancient Chinese and Western ethics.But for the ancients, what is “life”? What is the function of “”? What is the value of “life”? The two traditions have divergent opinions and doctrines. There are many differences in the ways of research and perspectives between the two traditions. With the development of science,we now consider life from biology, medicine, vitalism, etc. However,one common denominator in ancient thinking about life is the influence of moral values.

谢林德认为，我们怎么理解生命，与我们怎么想生活，这两个问题也有关系，所以生命观与社会观密切相关。自古以来，“功能”概念与“生命”概念密切有关。古代学者常常从有生之物所特有的几种“功能”出发归纳“生命”的原则，例如根据柏拉图的理论，有生之物具有“动性”，而且他们是自己行动的发动者，发动的主体是有生之物的灵魂。宇宙又有这种“动性”，又有灵魂，所以可视为一种有生之物。他强调，与传统思想不同，现在伦理学与生物学的生命概念的范围不一。伦理学的对象基本上是人生，而生命是生物学的对象。所以生命与人生有别。人生是“人的一生”，人生也可解为“人活在世上”，焦点在于人的行为与人伦意义，在于人的社会存在。最近几十年，要离开以人为中心的伦理学理论一直在发展，将人生与生命重新结合，但是理论基础还是生物学或医学的生命观，与古代传统社会中“人生”与“天生”还未区分的生命观不同。

那么，讨论生命的伦理意义对于现代社会有什么作用呢？谢林德认为，生命的伦理意义涉及伦理学与生命学。现代社会面临着现代医学的机械化、生物学新科学技术的发展等，这两种学科彼此之间的问题受到较多的关注，例如堕胎流产、安乐死、保护动物等。在现代社会伦理学中有相当大的争议性。但是，为什么不从另一个角度看生命？这个问题引起他研究中国传统的生命观。他说，虽然古代先秦哲学并不能代表中华传统的全部思想，分析先秦哲学家们所提出生命具有何种作用，并确定它们如何定义生命概念中伦理学的意义，可以提供一种新的方法来了解生命观若干特点。比如，以孟子所谓“人之所以异于禽兽者几希”为出发点，他试图讨论孟子眼中有生命之物的异同，和他们的异同对人生的道德有什么意义，并用这个分析来探讨孟子眼中生命的意义。总之，由人与动物差别的问题出发，分析出生命的伦理学价值。

后来学者将“人与禽兽”的差异归于他们含有不同的气质，《孟子集注》曰：“人物之生，同得天地之理以为性，同得天地之气以为形；其不同者，独人于其闻得形气之正，而能有以全其性，为少异耳。”朱熹认为，人与动物本体论的差异，在于形气之正与不正的区别。形气如正，具有“全其性”的能力，然而“闻得”还不是实现，君子能履行他所“闻得”的知识与能力。形气如不正，这种能力似乎不存在。但是孟子不讨论气质，他讨论“本心”或“不认人之心”，人与禽兽不同在于人的同情，从本心来看，人不能接受看他类之困，但是人的本心易于减弱，常常遇到残酷无情的事情，会习惯暴戾，所以孟子说：“君子之于禽兽也，见其生，不忍见其死；闻其声，不忍食其肉。是以君子远庖厨也。”

Dennis Schilling believes that how we understand life and how we think about life are also related, so the view of life is closely associated with the idea of society. The concept of “function” has been closely associated with “life” long ago. Ancient scholars have often considered several “functions” specific to living beings to generalize the principle of “life”. For example, according to Plato’s theory, living beings are“dynamic” and are the initiators of their actions. The subject of the initiation is the soul of the living beings. The universe also has this“dynamic nature” and a soul so that it can be considered a living thing.He emphasizes that, unlike traditional thoughts, the scope of the concept of life in ethics and biology is now different. The object of ethics is life, while life is the object of biology. Therefore, there is a difference between living and life. Life is “the life of a human being”. Life can also be interpreted as “human living in the world”, focusing on human behavior, ethical significance and the social existence of human beings. In recent decades, ethical theories have developed that reunite life with living and have nothing to do with human-centeredness. But the theoretical basis is still the biological or medical view of life, which is different from the ancient traditional view of life in which “life” and“nature” were not yet distinguished.

What is the significance of discussing the ethical implication of life for modern society? According to Dennis Schilling, the moral importance of life involves ethics and vitalism. In contemporary society, the mechanization of modern medicine and the development of new science and technology in biology, etc., are disciplines that receive more attention from each other, such as abortion, euthanasia, protection of animals, etc.As a result, there is considerable controversy in modern social ethics.But why not look at life from another perspective? This question caused him to study the traditional Chinese view of life. He said that although ancient pre-Qin philosophy did not represent the totality of thoughts in the Chinese tradition, analyzing what role pre-Qin philosophers proposed for life and determining how they defined the ethical implications of the concept of life could provide a new way of understanding several features of the view of life—for example, taking Mencius’ claim that “few differences existing between human beings and animals” as a starting point, he attempted to discuss the differences and similarities of living beings in Mencius’ eyes and what those mean for the morality of life.Based on this, he explored the meaning of life for Mencius. In short, the ethical value of life is analyzed from the question of the differences between human beings and animals.

Later scholars attributed the differences between “human beings and animals” to their different temperaments.said,“There is little difference between humans and animals, which is caused by heaven. The similarity is that both of them get the mechanism of heaven and earth to achieve their character, and both get the breath of heaven and earth to perfect their image. But the difference is that heaven gives people a unique physical talent, so they can do whatever they want with this talent.” Zhu Xi believed that the difference between human beings and animals is whether the mechanism and breath manifest up-rightness. If upright, the character and image would be evolved into a perfect state. However, it is not a casual remark, and the ruler can put the knowledge and ability that he acquires into practice. If non-upright, the power doesn’t seem to exist. At the same time, Mencius does not discuss temperament. Instead, he discusses conscience and empathy. The difference between human beings and animals lies in sympathy. From the perspective of conscience, human beings can’t accept seeing other living beings in trouble, but the conscience is apt to weaken. When they encounter something cruel, they will get used to being violent. Therefore,Mencius said that compared with animals, a gentleman couldn’t accept seeing living beings’ death when he saw their vitality or eating their flesh when he heard their voices. This is the most significant difference between a gentleman and a villain.

《荀子·王制篇》则这样说：“水火有气而无生，草木有生而无知，禽兽有知而无义，人有气、有生、有知，亦且有义，故最为天下贵也。”人作为动物之灵，使人肩负着责任。人独有的本质是“义”。“义”所包含的作用是“分”。基于这种作用，人才能“群”。人不“分”，人所独有的本质就无法实现，而且人无法实行高级社会组织的功能。人有“义”，所以可以保住其卓越突出的地位。如果人不“分”不“群”，一直不让其独有的特质体现，人就变成一种普通的动物，完全靠身体功能而活。

但是，谢林德认为，要理解荀子“人有义”的意义，要理解“有气”“有生”“有知”和“有义”彼此之间的关系，换言之，要理解生命内在结构。他说：“荀子对于生命的基本观点是，生命具有生长能力及自卫本能。”其实，四种本质与生命功能有关，水、火的气有动性、温度保持能力等，但是缺乏植物与动物的繁殖能力“生”（“生”不指“生命”）。植物有繁殖能力，就是在这种生命状态已经出现个体化，生有死的个体出现。与其他类彼此互动的动物有“知”的基本沟通本能，所以野兽有欲望等，要饮食要滋生。但是，生命并没有组织，节制野兽的食色的欲望，所以各种物种彼此之间可能互相伤害、互相摧残，一种生物会夺取其他生物的生命条件。根据荀子来说，因为人有“义”，人能落实一个对所有有生之物有利益的制度，保持万物各种各类的永续性，和它们生命循环。

谢林德从“‘生命’为道德与生物学的对象”“孟子讨论人与禽兽的差异”“荀子的四种本质说”“‘由仁义行’与‘行仁义’的差别”“列子为什么‘三年不出，为其妻爨，食豕如食人’”等方面阐释了生命观。他认为，庄子评论生命功能的结论，与孟子和荀子的相反。对于庄子而言，生命的功能不只在于延续后代，应该更普及于生命当中，所以认为生命“未始出宗”。庄子指点生命的一致性，取消人与动物的优劣之差，都显示出庄子的政治思想。以社会作为一种诠释模式，将之作为解释人与动物的生命功能，庄子、孟子以及荀子以社会观确定万物与一物之间的关系。在这方面，庄子与孟子、荀子的生命观又是相同的。

says water and fire have their temperament,but no vitality; grass and trees have the vitality but no understanding;animals have the understanding, but no righteousness; human beings have temperament, vitality, understanding and righteousness. Thus it is the most valuable in the world.” As advanced animals, human beings shoulder the responsibility. The unique essence of human beings is “righteousness”. The role contained is “separation”, which is the basis of “gathering”. Without “separation”, the unique essence of human beings cannot be realized. They cannot perform the functions of higher social organization. With “righteousness”, the outstanding position of prominence can be retained. If there is no “separation” or “gathering” or unique qualities, human beings will degenerate into an ordinary animal,living entirely by his body functions.

However, Dennis Schilling believes that to understand all of the significance of Xunzi’s “human beings owning righteousness”, the relationship of temperament, vitality, understanding, righteousness, and the inner structure of life should be understood. He said, “Xunzi’s basic view of life is that life can grow and to defend itself.” The four essences are related to the function of life. The temperament of water and fire can move and maintain the temperature, but it lacks the reproductive ability of animals and plants. Plants can reproduce. That is, there has been individuation in this state of life, and birth has the appearance of death. Animals that interact with others have the basic communication instinct of “understanding”, so the animals have the desire, and they want to eat, drink, and nourish. However, life is not organized to moderate the animals’ wishes so that various species may harm and destroy each other, and one creature will take the life conditions of another creature. According to Xunzi, humans are righteous, implement a system that benefits all living beings, and maintain the infinity of all kinds of things and their life cycle.

Dennis Schilling expounds the view of life from the aspects of “life as an object of morality and biology” “Mencius’ discussion of the difference between human beings and animals” “Xunzi’s explanation on four essences” “the difference between behaving benevolent and righteous by out of intention and nature” “the reason of Liezi staying home to help his wife cook and to feed pigs like serving people for three years”, etc.He argues that the conclusions of Zhuangzi’s commentary on the func-tion of life are contrary to those of Mencius and Xunzi. For Zhuangzi,the procedure is to continue the offspring and be universal in life so that life is life itself. Zhuangzi’s pointing out the consistency of life and the abolition of the superiority and inferiority between humans and animals show his political thoughts. Using society as an interpretive model to explain the life functions of humans and animals, Zhuangzi, Mencius, and Xunzi determine the relationship between all things and one thing with a social view. In this respect, Zhuangzi’s view of life is the same as that of Mencius and Xunzi.

2014年10月15日，习近平总书记在文艺工作座谈会上的讲话中指出，“求木之长者，必固其根本；欲流之远者，必浚其泉源。”中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的精神命脉，是涵养社会主义核心价值观的重要源泉，也是我们在世界文化激荡中站稳脚跟的坚实根基。同时习近平总书记多次强调，文明交流互鉴是推动人类文明进步和世界和平发展的重要动力。每一种文明都延续着一个国家和民族的精神血脉，既需要薪火相传、代代守护，更需要与时俱进、勇于创新。

因为，了解一个国家和民族，首先要了解它的语言、历史和文化。今天我们说讲好中国故事、传播好中国声音，向世界展现一个真实、立体、全面的中国，展现可信、可爱、可敬的中国形象，首先要讲好中国语言、历史和文化的故事。

我从谢林德等一大批汉学家身上看到这份热爱、希望还有榜样。作为中国人，我对汉学、中国学的了解实在是匮乏得很。当然这种匮乏的认识也许是不准确的。因为，汉学、中国学就是我身体里汩汩流淌的血脉、深深滋养我的文脉，是我之为我的基因，那是我的“天生”也是我的“人生”。

中国人民大学是我的母校，谢林德教授的办公室就在我毕业学院的楼下。那天是9月1日，由于疫情，校园里还很安静。谢林德教授在学校门口接我，来到会议室，我一眼就望到桌上摆着两盘水果。秋日的阳光温暖得刚刚好，还带水珠的水果在夕阳里熠熠生辉。“万物各类的生命意义不限于保护自己的生命，同时也在于满足人或其他生物的生命需求。”桌椅和板凳，太阳和水果，花草和道路，我和谢林德教授，我们都是有意义的，这种意义超越了生命本身也超越了万物存在。

那么，这种意义到底是什么呢？我想，从汉学研究开始，一定是一个好办法。

On October 15, 2014, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his speech at the symposium on the work of literature and art that “stabilizing the root is the best prescription for the trees’ growing; unblocking the source is the best prescription for the water’s flowing.” The excellent Chinese traditional culture is the spiritual lifeblood of the Chinese nation, an essential source for nurturing the core values of socialism, and a solid foundation for China to stand firm in the world’s cultural turmoil.Xi Jinping has also repeatedly stressed that the exchange and mutual appreciation of civilizations is a significant driving force for human civilization’s progress and the world’s peaceful development. Each culture continues the spiritual bloodline of each country or each nation, which needs to be passed down and guarded from generation to generation but also needs to keep pace with the times and be innovative.

Language, history and culture are the top priorities in understanding a country and nation. We always talk about the popular phrases of telling China’s stories well, spreading China’s voices well, showing an accurate,three-dimensional, and comprehensive China to the world, and presenting a credible, lovely, and respectable image of China. Communicating China’s messages of language, history, and culture to the rest of the world is the first thing.

I feel the passion, hope, and role model in many sinologists, such as Dennis Schilling. Yet, as a Chinese, my knowledge of sinology and Chinese studies is feeble. This self-awareness may be inaccurate since sinology and Chinese studies are the bloodlines that flow in my body, the cultural lineage that deeply nourishes me, and the genes that make me who I am.That is my “nature” as well as my “life”.

The Renmin University of China is my alma mater, and Prof. Dennis Schilling’s office is located downstairs from my graduate school. It was September 1, and the campus was immersed in silence due to the epidemic. Prof. Dennis Schilling met me at the entrance of the campus.When I arrived at the conference room, I saw two fruit plates on the table. In the warm sunshine in the autumn, the fruits with water droplets glowed in the setting sun. “The meaning of life in all kinds of beings is not limited to self-protection, but also to meet the life needs of human beings or other creatures.” Tables, benches, sun, fruits, flowers, roads,Prof. Dennis Schilling and I all have our meaning, the meaning that transcends life itself and the existence of all things.

So what exactly is this meaning? First, I believe it must be an excellent way to start studying sinology.