三是多元文化并存
宋是一个尊崇儒学的时代，同时也是一个重佛尚道的时代。统治者的治国理念，始终是在儒家思想主导下实行儒、释、道三教同存并举、相互促进的政策。这不仅使中国古代的传统儒学发生了重大的变革，使宋代士人不同于以往的终信一家、死守一经，而是“自百家诸子之书，至于《难经》《素问》《本草》诸小说，无所不读;农夫女工，无所不问，然后于经为能知其大体而无疑”（王安石《答曾子固书》），从而使得宋代文化在各个领域都有所发展和突破，呈现出多元文化并存合流的局面，直接推动和影响了理学的形成。
由于宋代统治者为文人士大夫提供了一个相对宽松、自由的政治思想环境，在此背景下，文人士大夫敢于说话、敢于思考、敢于创造。
“为天地立心，为生民立命，为往圣继绝学，为万世开太平”，便是北宋儒学大家张载的名言，此语言简意宏，一直被后人传颂至今。这一时期，各种学派蓬勃兴起，从而形成了中国历史上继春秋战国之后的第二次流派纷呈、百家争鸣的繁荣景象。清代大儒全祖望在所撰《宋元学案·士刘诸儒学案序》中就记述了“庆历之际”各地学派及代表人物纷起的局面：“庆历之际，学统四起。齐、鲁则有士建中、刘颜夹辅泰山而兴;浙东则有明州杨、杜五子，永嘉之儒志、经行二子;浙西则有杭之吴存仁，皆与安定（引者注：胡瑗）湖学相应;闽中又有章望之、黄唏，亦古灵一辈人也;关中之申、侯二子，实开横渠张载之先;蜀有宇文止止，实开范正献公之先。”标举齐鲁、浙东、永嘉、浙西、闽中、关中、蜀七个具有重要影响的区域，并指出各自的代表性学者。他们的功绩可以说是“筚路蓝缕，以启山林”，不仅给学术界注入了新鲜的空气，带来了勃勃生机和前所未有的活跃局面，而且推动了学术思想的发展和创新。仁宗庆历以后，在儒学复兴思潮的激荡下，尤其是在鼓励直言、自由议论的政策下，各种学派更是得到了迅猛发展，史载“自安定、泰山诸先生以及濂、洛、关、闽相继而起者”，凡几百十家，主要有新学、濂学、象数学、关学、洛学、朔学、蜀学、闽学、婺学、心学、事功学等学派，并造就了一大批颇有影响的哲学家和思想家。各学派都十分注重笃学博识，发明经旨，别开生面。学者治学追求客观真理，不是一味地盲從古人，或者说绝不轻易认同前人，而是有着自己独到的见解和看法，几乎对所有流传下来的经学，都持一种怀疑和批判的态度，形成了一种强大的思想解放运动。陆游就对当时盛行的疑古思潮概括地说：“唐及国初，学者不敢议孔安国、郑康成，况圣人乎！自庆历后，诸儒发明经旨，非前人所及;然排《系辞》，毁《周礼》，疑《孟子》，讥《书》之《胤征》《顾命》，黜《诗》之序，不难于议经，况传注乎！”各学派之间围绕对宇宙本源的探索和经世致用等问题，展开自由的、激烈的交流辩论，砥砺切磋，虽然各执师说，相互辩难，互不相让，互争雄长，所持学术观点各不相同，但彼此从未停止互相交流与借鉴，互相摄取和完善自己的理论，共同构筑起中国儒学发展史上一个新的阶段。这种严谨的治学态度和相互敬重的良好学风，促使两宋思想文化呈现出理性化的色彩。正式形成于南宋绍兴、乾道间的新儒学——理学，以朱熹、张栻、吕祖谦、陆九渊四大理学家为代表。新儒学顺应历史发展的需要，注重义理，强调笃实，富有思辨性和哲理性。其理论之丰富、体系之完整、内容之深刻、概念之明晰，都达到了相当高的水平。他们的学术思想对后世产生了极其深远且重大的影响，并直接支配元明清思想界。明代阳明学和清代浙东学派等的产生，就与其密不可分。著名华裔学者刘子健就认为：“此后中国近八百年来的文化，是以南宋文化为模式，以江浙一带为重点，形成了更加富有中国气派、中国风格的文化。”
四是重视对外交流
在我国古代，国际间的商业与文化交流，唐代已经达于兴盛，开辟了由中国经印度洋到达非洲的“陶瓷之路”。到了宋代，统治者对中华文化高度自信，其时对外交流不论是在贸易往来，还是在文化互通上，更是达到了空前的高度。通过海上“丝绸之路”，与其有外贸关系的国家和地区，从宋代之前约20余处增多到了60个以上，范围也从南洋（今南海）、西洋（今印度洋）扩大到了波斯湾、地中海和非洲东海岸诸国。陶瓷、茶叶、丝绸、图书等物品大量外销，故此又有“海上陶瓷之路”“茶叶之路”“书籍之路”等名称。是时和日本、高丽、占城、三佛齐、真腊、阿拉伯等国家或地区，都有日益频繁的互通使者的友好往来关系和非常密切的文化交流。特别是拥有100多万人口的北宋首都东京和南宋都城临安，均是当时最大的国际大都市。穿“胡服”，品“胡食”，说“胡声”，听“胡乐”，拨“胡琴”，作“胡舞”，“所在而然……道路聚观，便同夷落……”毫无疑义，两宋文化的繁荣与海内外密切交流有很大的关系。反过来说，处于更高水平的两宋文化，其对海外文化的影响更是厥功至伟，让中国文化更多地泽被东西方世界。在东亚地区，宋代儒学文化与高丽、日本、越南等国的学术思想和民族文化相融合，产生了朝鲜儒学、日本儒学、越南儒学等东亚儒学，形成了东亚“儒学文化圈”。宋代的文学艺术、科学技术、以及饮食等风俗习惯也曾推广到东亚各国，进一步促进了这些国家和地区文化的发展。而对西方的影响上，宋代文化则影响了世界文明的进程。培根指出：“（两宋的活字印刷术、火药、指南针）这三种发明已经在世界范围内把事物的全部面貌和情况都改变了：第一种是在学术方面，第二种是在战事方面，第三种在航行方面;由此产生了无数的变化，这种变化是这样大，以至没有一个帝国，没有一个教派，没有一个赫赫有名的人物，能比得上这三种机械发明。”（培根《新工具》，商务印书馆1984年版，第103页）马克思的评价则更高：“火药、指南针、印刷术——这是预告资产阶级到来的三大发明。火药把骑士阶层炸得粉碎，指南针打开了世界市场并建立了殖民地，而印刷术则变成了新教的工具和科学复兴的手段，变成对精神发展创造必要前提的强大杠杆。”（马克思《机械、自然力和科学应用》，人民出版社1978年版，第67页。）（待续）
（作者系浙江省社科院历史所所长）
Cultural Splendor of the Song Dynasty （II）
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Cultural Diversity and Prosperity. The Song Dynasty promoted Confucianism and worshipped Buddhist and Taoist gods. Ideologically the empire emphasized the juxtaposition of Confucianism， Buddhism and Taoism with Confucianism playing the central role. This special policy brought fundamental changes to the traditional Confucianism. Scholars in the Song Dynasty no longer confined themselves to classics of Confucianism only. They studied works of other ancient thought schools and even ancient works concerning medical diagnosis and pharmacy. As scholars broadened their perspectives and pushed back their horizons， they began to seek answers to questions concerning manufacturing and agriculture. Eventually scholars of the Song attained an encyclopedic range of knowledge. The cultural diversity and multiplicity of the Song Dynasty gave birth to the idealist philosophy， a new branch of Confucianism， whose influence is widespread even today.
The relatively liberal atmosphere of the Song Dynasty gave scholars rooms to explore a great range of subjects and topics. They dared to speak， they dared to think and dared to explore. Zhang Zai （1020-1077）， a philosopher of the Northern Song， is best remembered for a mission statement he proposed for and embraced by all the scholars in his time and in subsequent centuries：
to identify the essence of Heaven and Earth， to build up good life for the populace， to carry on past sages endangered scholarship， and to open up eternal peace. It was in the Song that over 100 schools of Confucianism emerged and flourished across the country， not only inputting dynamism into academic circles， but also bringing prosperity to studies; they questioned the ancient classics， they debated vigorously， and they respected different schools; they learned from each other to make their own system sound， solid and complete. The previous academic flourishing period in ancient China occurred during the Warring States （403-221BC）. From numerous scholars of more than 100 schools of the Song Dynasty emerged four masters：
Zhu Xi， Zhang Shi， Lyu Zuqian， and Lu Jiuyuan.
The Idealist Philosophy they created and promoted is characterized by theoretical depth， systematic soundness， content profundity， and conceptual clarification. Their thoughts had profound impacts on scholars in the following Yuan （1279-1368）， Ming （1368-1644）， and Qing （1644-1911） dynasties. It is said that the scholars of the Song Dynasty contributed to the rise of Wang Yangming and his followers in the Ming and the East Zhejiang School in the Qing. Liu Zijian， a scholar of modern times， points out that the Chinese culture in the following eight hundred years in the wake of the Southern Song was patterned after the legacy of the Southern Song and was essentially based in Jiangsu and Zhejiang， shaping and conditioning the national culture as we see today.
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International Cultural Exchanges. The Tang Dynasty （618-907） witnessed the flourishing of trade and cultural exchanges between China and the neighboring countries and regions. Whats known as the Porcelain Road started from China and reached Africa via the Indian Ocean. In the Song Dynasty， the Maritime Silk Road branched out and reached more than 60 countries and regions， forty more than in the previous centuries. Large quantities of porcelain， tea， silk and books made in China reached the Persian Gulf， the Mediterranean Sea， and the coast of East Africa. Dongjing （present-day Kaifeng in central Chinas Henan Province）， the capital of the Northern Song， and Linan （present-day Hangzhou in eastern Chinas Zhejiang Province）， the capital of the Southern Song， were the worlds biggest metropolises respectively， where international influences could be seen in fashion， cuisine， languages， entertainment. As international exchanges boomed， Confucianism in China gave birth to nationalized variations of Confucianism in Japan， Korea and Vietnam， forming a sphere of Confucianism in East Asia. Chinese culture spread to these Eastern Asian countries in the form of cuisine， literature， art， science and technology.
Science and technology from China impacted the west during the Song Dynasty. Gun powder， printing and the compass from the Song changed European countries and then changed the course of the world history.
Marx wrote in The Use of Machinery， Natural Forces and Science：
"Gunpowder， Compass， Printing - these are the three great inventions predicting the arrival of bourgeois society. Gunpowder shattered the knight class， the compass opened up the world market and established colonies， and printing became a tool of Protestantism， a means of scientific Renaissance in general， and the strongest lever to create the necessary prerequisites for spiritual development.”
