Montesquieu and Confucianism by Tang Zhuo, 134x165cm，Oil on Canvas, 2019

      查理·路易·孟德斯鸠（1689—1755），法国启蒙时期思想家、与伏尔泰、卢梭合称“法兰西启蒙运动三剑侠”。孟德斯鸠所在的法国正值“中国文化热”高峰期，他对中国倾注极大的关心，阅读大量中国的书籍。孟德斯鸠提出的三权分立和建立法制的注明理论，对后世产生来巨大的、深远的影响。他对于东方专制政体的批判并未影响其肯定儒家的“伟大的天才”的智慧，这对于今天正确认识儒学与现代化的关系问题仍具有启发意义。

    Charles-Louis Montesquieu (1689-1755) was a French Enlightenment thinker who, together with Voltaire and Rousseau, was known as the "Three Key Figures Of The French Enlightenment". Montesquieu was living in a period at the height of the “Chinese Culture Craze” in France and he took a great interest in China by read a great deal of Chinese books. Montesquieu’s theory of the separation of powers and the establishment of the rule of law had a great and far-reaching impact on future generations. His critique of Eastern autocracies did not detract from his affirmation of the wisdom of the “great genius” of Confucianism, which remains instructive for today’s proper understanding of the relationship between Confucianism and modernity.

      孟德斯鸠非常赞赏中国封建政府鼓励农耕的政策，他认为中国政府历代都重视农事，特别指出：“有关中国的记述谈到了中国皇帝每年有一次亲耕的仪式。这种公开而隆重的仪式的目的是要鼓励人民从事耕耘”，称赞中国的良好风俗和勤劳简约的精神。他向往建立政治宽和、法律制度完备、人民道德高尚的社会，而孔子倡导“仁政”、“礼治”的思想是孟德斯鸠极力颂扬的。他认为，以“仁”“礼”为核心的孔子学说是中国社会的立法准则。

    Montesquieu greatly appreciated the Chinese feudal government’s policy of encouraging farming, and he believed that the Chinese government had valued farming throughout the ages, noting in particular that “accounts of China speak of an annual ritual of ploughing by the Chinese emperors. The purpose of this public and solemn ceremony was to encourage the people to engage in ploughing”. He praised China for its good customs and the spirit of hard-working and simplicity. He aspired to a society in which there was political peace, a sound legal system and a high moral standard among the people. Confucius’ ideas of “benevolent government” and “rule of rites” were strongly celebrated by Montesquieu. In his view, the Confucian doctrine of benevolence and propriety is the legislative code of Chinese society.

“文化互译，沟通世界”