中國(guó)的孔子，世界的孔子

文／王天宇

在聯(lián)合國(guó)教科文組織確認(rèn)的世界十大文化名人之中，孔子與柏拉圖、亞里士多德、哥白尼、牛頓、達(dá)爾文、培根、阿奎那、伏爾泰、康德共同當(dāng)選，其中孔子為世界十大文化名人之首。

孔子，名丘，字仲尼，出生于公元前551年，魯國(guó)陬邑（今山東曲阜）人?？鬃娱_創(chuàng)了私人講學(xué)的風(fēng)氣，是儒家學(xué)派創(chuàng)始人?？鬃釉诠糯蛔鸱顬椤疤炜v之圣”，是當(dāng)時(shí)社會(huì)上的最博學(xué)者之一，其儒家思想對(duì)中國(guó)和世界都有深遠(yuǎn)的影響。

半部論語(yǔ)治天下

孔子曾受業(yè)于老子，帶領(lǐng)部分弟子周游列國(guó)十四年，相傳他有弟子三千，其中七十二賢人?？鬃尤ナ篮?，其弟子及其再傳弟子把孔子及其弟子的言行語(yǔ)錄和思想記錄下來(lái)，整理編成儒家經(jīng)典《論語(yǔ)》。

子曰：己所不欲，勿施于人；在邦無(wú)怨，在家無(wú)怨，這句話出自《論語(yǔ)·顏淵》。大意是如果自己都不希望被人此般對(duì)待，推己及人，自己也不要那般待人。

談及孔子，不得不提《論語(yǔ)》。

○孔子燕居像（明代）A portrait of Confucius painted during the Ming Dynasty

○孔子墓前修學(xué)結(jié)業(yè)的外國(guó)人。圖／張仁玉Foreigners receiving their course completion certificates in front of Confucius’ tomb

《論語(yǔ)》漢代成書，主要記錄孔子及其弟子的言行，較為集中地反映了孔子的思想，是儒家學(xué)派的經(jīng)典著作之一。以語(yǔ)錄體為主，敘事體為輔，集中體現(xiàn)了孔子的政治主張、倫理思想、道德觀念及教育原則等。與《大學(xué)》《中庸》《孟子》并稱“四書”，與《詩(shī)》《書》《禮》《易》《春秋》等“五經(jīng)”，總稱“四書五經(jīng)”。全書共20篇、492章，首創(chuàng)“語(yǔ)錄體”，是中國(guó)現(xiàn)代傳揚(yáng)并學(xué)習(xí)的古代著作之一。

北宋政治家趙普曾有“半部《論語(yǔ)》治天下”之說(shuō)。它從一個(gè)側(cè)面反映出此書在中國(guó)古代社會(huì)所發(fā)揮的作用與影響之大。

○現(xiàn)在仍舊保持著許多關(guān)于孔子的風(fēng)俗習(xí)慣。 圖／馬千里Nowadays, many customs about Confucius have been retained.

和任何的其他中國(guó)傳統(tǒng)文化一樣，作為一部經(jīng)典著作，《論語(yǔ)》有很明顯的時(shí)代特征，有很強(qiáng)烈的遠(yuǎn)古韻味，里面有很多激動(dòng)人心的東西，當(dāng)然也有一些和當(dāng)今時(shí)代相背離的東西。通讀《論語(yǔ)》，再認(rèn)真地思考當(dāng)下，可以發(fā)現(xiàn)《論語(yǔ)》盡管不是治國(guó)方略，不是升職攻略，但是在當(dāng)今中國(guó)仍舊很有教育意義，在一些生活層面上，對(duì)當(dāng)今中國(guó)仍有很大的精神引領(lǐng)與指導(dǎo)作用。

孔子學(xué)院走向世界

如今，孔子學(xué)院在世界各個(gè)國(guó)家越來(lái)越火，作為漢語(yǔ)國(guó)際教育和中國(guó)文化海外推廣的重要平臺(tái)、重要渠道的形象，已經(jīng)日益清晰而穩(wěn)固。根據(jù)孔子學(xué)院總部發(fā)布的最新數(shù)據(jù)，截至2017年12月，全球目前共有525所孔子學(xué)院和1113個(gè)中小學(xué)孔子課堂，分布在全球145個(gè)國(guó)家和地區(qū)。

在孔子學(xué)院面向全球發(fā)展的歷程中，它的多維度功能正日益彰顯出來(lái)，從最初的單純以漢語(yǔ)教學(xué)為核心任務(wù)，已經(jīng)逐漸發(fā)展為以漢語(yǔ)教學(xué)為主、其他文化交流活動(dòng)為輔的運(yùn)行格局。在此發(fā)展歷程中，孔子學(xué)院對(duì)于推動(dòng)中國(guó)文學(xué)在海外的傳播所發(fā)揮的作用日益明顯，所扮演的角色越來(lái)越重要。

介入中國(guó)文學(xué)海外傳播，不僅有效拓展了中國(guó)文學(xué)海外傳播的空間，而且也有效增強(qiáng)了中國(guó)文學(xué)對(duì)海外受眾的吸引力和感染力，使得中國(guó)文學(xué)在海外的傳播以更加生動(dòng)、近距離的方式得以呈現(xiàn)出來(lái)。

由于孔子學(xué)院的介入，明顯增加了中國(guó)文學(xué)海外傳播交流的管道，激發(fā)了中外文學(xué)雙向乃至多向交流溝通的可能性，從而為打造人類命運(yùn)共同體準(zhǔn)備了可資憑借的精神資源。

因地制宜、有所選擇地發(fā)揮孔子學(xué)院在中國(guó)文學(xué)海外傳播中的積極作用，具有值得關(guān)注、值得期待的多重功能與意義，這不僅有助于提升孔子學(xué)院自身的內(nèi)涵式發(fā)展，而且有助于建構(gòu)豐富、立體的中國(guó)國(guó)際形象，有助于展示中國(guó)文化的深沉魅力，在世界范圍內(nèi)，在中華民族同世界其他民族之間，搭建較目前更為豐滿而富有情感且有溫度的民心相通的橋梁。

隨著全球孔子學(xué)院的進(jìn)一步發(fā)展與質(zhì)量提升，隨著世界各國(guó)人民學(xué)習(xí)漢語(yǔ)、了解中國(guó)文化的現(xiàn)實(shí)需要和熱情的進(jìn)一步增長(zhǎng)，中國(guó)文學(xué)必將以更加靈活多樣的方式滲透到孔子學(xué)院的多方面工作中去。

編輯／王雪芃

○現(xiàn)在的孔府基本上是明、清兩代的建筑，是一座典型的中國(guó)貴族門戶之家，有號(hào)稱“天下第一人家”的說(shuō)法。圖／侯賀良The existing Kong Family Mansion was built in the Ming and Qing Dynasties. It is a typical Chinese noble family mansion, known as the “No.1 Family Mansion in the World”.

Among the “Top 10 Cultural Celebrities in the World”identif i ed by UNESCO, Confucius ranks the first, with the others being Plato, Aristotle, Copernicus, Newton,Darwin, Bacon, Aquinas, Voltaire and Kant.

Confucius was born into the family of Kong in Zouyi, the State of Lu, (today’s Qufu, Ji’ning City, Shandong province).His first name was Qiu and courtesy name was Zhongni. As the founder of Confucianism, he initiated private teaching. As one of the greatest savants in the society of that time, Confucius was respectfully addressed as “sage on the earth” in ancient times and his school of thought, Confucianism, has had profound influence on both China and the world.

Half of Confucian Analects Can Govern a Country

Once a student of Lao Zi, Confucius was said to have traveled across different states for 14 years together with some of his students. According to legend, Confucius had 3 000 disciples,72 of which were outstanding. After his death, his words, deeds and thoughts were recorded by disciples and secondgeneration disciples and later compiled as The Analects of Confucius, the classic of Confucianism.

Confucius said: “Not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself.Have no murmuring against you in the country and none in the family.” These words are from “Yan Yuan”, Book 12 of Confucian Analects, meaning that if you do not like others to treat you in such a manner, then you should not treat others in that manner.

To discuss Confucius, mention should be made of Confucian Analects.

Compiled by Confucius’s disciples and second-generation disciples,Confucian Analects developed into book form in the Han Dynasty. As a record of the words and deeds of Confucius and some of his disciples,this book best reflects the thoughts of Confucius and remains one of the classics of Confucianism. Taking the form of quotations and supplemented by narrative, the book focuses on Confucius’s political philosophy,ethical thought, moral ideas and educational principles. Confucian Analects was as one of the “Four Books”, with the others being The Great Learning, Doctrine of the Means, and Mencius. These four books and five classic works, known as “Five Classics”, including Odes,Books, Rituals, Changes, and Spring and Autumn Annals, are called “Four Books and Five Classics” in history.Composed of 20 books, 492 chapters in total, with its 492 chapters in 20 books and using the “quotation style”for the fi rst time, Confucian Analects is one of the ancient classics that is now being widely spread and studied in China.

Zhao Pu, a statesman in the Northern Song Dynasty, once commented that “Half of Confucian Analects can govern a country”, which partly reflects the great function and influence this book had in the ancient societies of China.

As a classic work, Confucian Analects, like any other traditional Chinese culture, takes on distinctive characteristics of the times and has a strong ancient charm, in which there are many things that can offer us insightful ideas as well as some that do not fit into the contemporary era.Having read the book through and then reflecting on the current times,one will find that although it is not about the strategies of governing a state or getting a promotion, Confucian Analects still has great instructive significance in contemporary China,providing great spiritual guidance in many fi elds of life.

Confucius Institute Marches into the World

As Confucius Institutes are getting more and more popular in the world, their image as an important platform and channel for international education in Chinese language and the overseas spreading of Chinese culture has become increasingly clear and firm. According to the latest statistics issued by the Confucius Institute headquarters, as of December, 2017,there are 525 Confucius Institutes and 1113 Confucius Classrooms in primary and secondary schools in 145 countries and regions throughout the world.

○孔子文化節(jié)。圖／劉富國(guó)Confucius Culture Festival

In the process of Confucius Institute’s global development, its multifunctions are becoming increasingly obvious. From the initial core mission of Chinese language teaching, Confucius Institute has gradually developed into an organization with Chinese language teaching as its main focus and other cultural exchanges as its supplements.During this process, the role Confucius Institute plays in promoting the overseas spread of Chinese literature is becoming increasingly evident and important.

Confucius Institute’s involvement in the overseas spread of Chinese literature has not only effectively expanded the space of Chinese literature’s overseas spread, but also effectively enhanced Chinese literature’s attraction and appeal to overseas recipients, enabling Chinese literature to be spread overseas in a more vivid and close-contact manner.

The establishment of Confucius Institutes has clearly added new channels for the overseas spread of Chinese literature and triggered the possibility of the two-way or even multiway exchange of Chinese and foreign literatures, thus providing precious spiritual resources for the building of a community of shared future for mankind.

Appropriately and selectively achieving the positive role that Confucius Institute plays in the overseas spread of Chinese literature has multiple functions and great significance that deserve our attention and expectation. It not only helps improve the connotative development of Confucius Institute itself, but it also helps build the rich and multi-dimensional international image of China, helps display the profound charm of Chinese culture,and helps establish a richer, warmer and more sentimental bridge between the Chinese nation and other nations in the world.

With the further development and increased quality of Confucius Institutes as well as the further increase in the actual need and enthusiasm of people in other countries to learn Chinese and know about Chinese culture, Chinese literature will make its way into the multi-facet work of Confucius Institute in a more varied and flexible way.