馬相伯和震旦大學的建立
魏揚波
論文摘要
在十九世紀末和二十世紀的前二十年裏，新教和羅馬天主教的傳教士在中國所做的工作的明顯區別之一就是新教的傳教士更強調在中國發展基督教的高等院校，而天主教的傳教士則對中國的普通大眾而不是對知識分子更感興趣。直到1924年在上海舉行第一屆全國主教會議前後，天主教會的上層才重新開始重視高等教育，但這時候，上升的民族主義使得開辦西方主辦的學校非常困難。1949年，在中國的16所基督教的高等院校中，隻有3所屬於羅馬天主教。有趣的是，在這3所高校中最古老的震旦大學是在20世紀20年代前就已成立的，這表明在當時天主教傳教士對高等教育普遍漠視的情境下，法國耶穌會是一個重要的例外。震旦大學的誕生同三位傑出的中國學者密不可分。他們是梁啟超、蔡元培和馬相伯。梁啟超和蔡元培極力倡導教育改革，認為這是實現中國必需的現代化的關鍵。他們深信，馬相伯具有出眾的資質且與他們誌同道合；於是就找到馬相伯，敦促他完善並具體實現其教育理念。馬相伯最終證明他能擔起這一重任。他不僅設想了一種新型的學校，而且將他的夢想變成了他稱之為震旦的現實。
在馬相伯心中，震旦應該是“一種與中國國情相適應的西式大學”。它將是一所專門翻譯中國現代化所必需的西方書籍並且編寫中國大學所需的文理科教材的高等教育機構。然而，馬相伯心中的震旦並不是那種自19世紀60年代以來隨著新學術精神興起而變得如此流行的那種翻譯書局。對他以及一些像梁啟超、蔡元培、嚴複那樣的知識分子而言，翻譯西方書籍不僅僅意味著引進了新的技術和現代科學。他是要使他們的國家向不同的現實觀，向新的觀念和價值開放。震旦遠遠不止是中法兩種教育體製的結合。同改革和革命環境密切關聯無疑是其顯著特點之一。這反映了馬相伯通過現代化來救國的整體教育哲學理念。
馬相伯渴望將震旦作為站在中國教育改革前沿的優秀樣板，並要求法國耶穌會從中發揮作用。盡管這種嚐試沒有成功，但他仍然是中國現代高等教育發展中的一個重要參與者。馬相伯決不是一個躲避政治和社會環境的象牙塔中的學者，而是一個在重建祖國並使之現代化的過程中的開拓者，他激勵了許多後來者的效仿。
馬相伯是一個新教育體係的推動者和實踐者，這種體係的設計，是為了使中國走向現代化。在這篇論文中，我對馬相伯扮演的這種角色做了一定的闡明。他的教育理念可能太烏托邦化了，但它卻是今天仍然存在的三所高校緣起之火花。在很多方麵來看，馬相伯的一生就是一位開拓者的一生，他那些尤其有關教育領域的理念和努力使他最無愧於這樣的稱號。在他逝世很多年之後，他的理念和努力激勵著後人承擔改革、改善中國教育體製的重任，至今仍給我們以鼓舞。
（原文）
MA XIANGBO AND THE FOUNDING OF AURORA UNIVERSITY
By Jean-Paul Wiest （魏揚波）
During the late nineteenth century and the first two decades of the twentieth century, one of the striking differences between the work of Protestant and Roman Catholic missionaries in China was the greater emphasis placed by Protestants on developing Christian institutions of higher education. Catholic missionaries became mostly interested in the masses of China not in its intelligentsia. It was not until around the time of the First Plenary Council held in Shanghai in 1924 that the hierarchy of the Catholic Church again began to attach importance to higher education, but by then rising nationalism made the opening of colleges under Western auspices very difficult. In 1949, among the sixteen Christian colleges and universities in China only three belonged to the Roman Catholic denomination. Interestingly enough, Aurora (Zhendan) the oldest of the three, came into existence before the 1920s, pointing to the French Jesuits as a major exception within the generalized disregard of Catholic missionaries for higher education. The story of how Aurora came into being is inherently linked to three eminent Chinese scholars Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei, and Ma Xiangbo. Liang Qichao and Cai Yuanpei were strong supporters who view educational reform as the key to the much-needed modernization of China. Convinced that Ma Xiangbo possessed outstanding qualifications and shared their goals, they sought him and urged him to refine and concretize his ideas on schools. Ma proved to be up to the task. He not only envisioned a new type of school but turned his dream into a reality he called Aurora.
In Ma’s mind, Aurora would be "a Western type of academy modified to fit the Chinese situation." It was an establishment for advanced education that would specialize in the translation of Western books necessary for the modernization of China and develop textbooks in sciences and liberal arts needed by Chinese universities. Yet Aurora in Ma's mind was not just another of those translation bureaus that had become so popular since the rise of the New Learning spirit in the 1860s. To him as to a handful of other intellectuals like Liang Qichao, Cai Yuanpei and Yan Fu, translations of Western books meant more than bringing in new technologies and modern sciences, he meant opening up their country to a different vision of reality, new ideas and values. Aurora was much more than the marriage of two educational systems, one French and the other Chinese. A strong connection with reform and revolutionary milieus was certainly one of its salient characteristics. It reflected Ma’s overall educational philosophy of saving the country by modernizing it.
Ma Xiangbo aspired to use Aurora as the showpiece that would spearhead the educational reform of China, and he wanted the French Jesuits to play a role in it. Although he failed in this attempt, he remained an important player in the development of modern higher education in China. Ma, far from being an ivory tower scholar who shunned political and social involvement, became a pioneer in the process of rebuilding and modernizing his country and he inspired many others to follow suit.
In this paper, I shed some light on Ma Xiangbo’s role as a promoter and artisan of a new educational system designed to bring China into the modern age. His ideas on education were probably too utopian but they were the sparks at the origin of three academic institutions still in existence today. In many ways the life of Ma Xiangbo can be considered that of a pioneer and he best deserves this title for his ideas and endeavors, especially in education. Long after he passed away, they motivated others to carry on with the task of reforming and improving the Chinese educational system and they continue to inspire us today.
