中国古代专制说的知识考古

19世纪末以来，秦至清的帝制时代的中国政体为专制政体、皇帝为专制皇帝的论断影响广泛，流行不衰，并成为中国史研究的基本观点之一。本文从思想史的角度对这一说法产生、传播的历史及其后果加以分析，指出此一论断并非科学研究的结果，而是亚里斯多德以来的西方人对东方的偏见。18世纪时个别西方思想家开始以此来描述中国，19世纪末以后经由日本广为不同立场的中国知识分子所接受，并通过辞书与历史教科书渗透到大众中，罕有质疑者。这一说法实际未经充分的事实论证，不加反思地用它来认识帝制时代中国的统治机制只会妨碍研究的深入。

An Intellectual History of the Ancient Chinese Despotism Thesis

Since late 19th century, the thesis that the imperial Chinese polity from Qin to Qing was despotic and that Chinese emperors were despots has been popular and influential. Indeed, it has constituted one of the basic theses employed in studies of Chinese history. This paper looks at this thesis from the angle of intellectual history, analyzing its emergence, its spread and its consequences. The paper points out that this thesis was not a result of scientific research, but a Western bias towards the Orient da...