晚清天主教徒李问渔之“天演观”初探

近代翻译家严复的《天演论》中所传播的“社会进化”思想，为当时中国的救亡图存提供了理论依据，同时也对当时史学界、思想界产生积极的影响，以致当今学者仅注意到《天演论》所带来的积极影响，却忽略了当时社会中，尤其是基督宗教界对《天演论》的驳斥声音。本文以近代中国天主教神父李问渔（1840－1911）的著作《天演论驳议》、《续理窟》为中心，探讨李问渔的“天演观”。首先探讨“万物始源观”，李问渔认为世间万物皆由造物主创造，元质为万物初态，是组成其他物质的必要条件，元质虽具有原始力量，但不足以促使万物种类纷陈，所以世间形色万物必定由拥有至上神灵的造物主创造。其次，李问渔引用前人的科学实验结论结合哲学逻辑推理证明“化生”和“变类”之妄，以此质疑进化论中由粗到精，由低级到高级，由无生到有生再到有灵的进化规律，认为世间不存在生物由“无生”到“有生”，再到“有灵”的进化过程，为造物主创生万物进行进一步的佐证，形成带有天主教神学色彩的“天演观”。因此，对李问渔“天演观”的研究，有助于丰富学界对近代启蒙思潮“进化论”以及中国天主教史的研究。

關鍵字

李问渔；天演论驳议；元质；化生；变类

並列摘要

Yan Fu (1854-1921) was a significant modern translator. His Chinese version of Evolution and Ethics had greatly promoted the thought of ＂social evolution＂, which not only provided theoretical basis for Chinese salvation, but also has positive impacts on the academic world at that time. Therefore scholars always paid close attentions to the positive influnences of the Chinese edition of Evolution and Ethics, but have little research on the reflection and refutation for Chinese Christians on this book and its thoughts such as evolution. In this paper, with focus on animadversion on Yan Fu's Chinese version of Evolution and Ethics and Xu Liku written by the Catholic priest LI Wenyu (1840-1911), the author investigates LI wenyu's notion of ＂Evolution and Ethics＂. Firstly, this paper investigates the concept of ＂origin of species＂. LI wenyu thought that everything in the world was created by the God, and then primitive material was just initial state of all things and a necessary condition for the composition of other substances. Primitive material was not existed inherently. Although it had raw power, it didn't prompt the biodiversity. Because all kinds of species in the world, each with features, it could carry out their duties and orderly thrive according to law of development, only the God had the power to create everything. Secondly, the people who supported the evolution thought that creature always followed the law that everything is inanimate to animate and no spirituality to having spirituality in the course of biological evolution. That is called ＂Metaplasia ＂ and ＂changes in species＂. Citing Louis Pasteur's experimental results and combining with logical reasoning, LI wenyu thought that all creatures are derived from their own seeds or spawns instead of ＂Metaplasia＂. At the same time, he thought there is strictly distinction between humans and animals. Comparing with external characteristics between humans and monkeys and combining the truth that there's lack of fossil of ＂transitional species＂ in the strata, he manifested monkeys never evolved into humans. Meanwhile he also defined the ＂kind＂ to further refute the＂ changes in species＂. In a word, he proved the God create all creatures through refuting ＂Metaplasia＂ and ＂changes in species＂. At last, the study of LI wenyu's ＂concept of evolution＂ helps to enrich the academic study on ＂Enlightenment Thought＂ as well as the history of the Catholic Church in China.