China and the West

Encyclopédie, ou dictonnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers. Mis en ordre et publié par [Denis] Diderot [ID D 20381].
Sekundärliteratur
Die Encyclopédie enthält ca. 548 Eintragungen über China. Ca. 221 Artikel sind von Louis de Jaucourt, ca. 85 von Denis Diderot und ca. 44 von Paul Henri Thiry d'Holbach.
Quellen :
Brucker, Johann Jakob. Historia critica philosophiae [ID D20049].
Chambers, Ephraïm. Cyclopaedia or an Universal dictionary of arts and sciences (1728).
DesBruslons, Jacques Savary. Dictionnaire universel de commerce, d’histoire naturelle, et des arts et métiers (1730).
Du Halde, Jean-Baptiste. Description géographique... de la Chine [ID D1819].
Gaubil, Antoine.
Le Comte, Louis. Nouveaux mémoires sur l'état de la Chine [ID D1771].
Longobardo, Niccolò.
Lettres édifiantes et curieuses [ID D1793].
Martini, Martino. Novus atlas sinensis [ID D1698].
Navarrete, Domingo Fernandez de. Tratados historicos, politicos, y religiosos de la monarchia de China [ID D1747].

Song Shun-ching : Ainsi que Voltaire s'appuie sur l'ancienneté de la civilisation chinoise, Diderot sème le doute sur ce même propos. Diderot présente les 'Cinq classiques' et 'Les quatre livres' avec beaucoup de réserve et dit qu'il y a beaucoup de 'commentaires' sur la valeur et l'autorité de ces livres. Diderot considère que le règne de Fuxi ne peut être considéré 'comme une époque certaine', malgré le témoignage unanime d'une nation. Quant à la religion ou philosophie chinoise, Diderot a bien discerné la complexité du problème ; il décrit uniformément les trois grandes religions ou philosophies de la Chine : confucianisme, bouddhisme et taoîsme comme trois 'sectes'. Il s'est aperçu de la diversité des interprétations philosophiques émises sur la Chine mais, conduit par sa croyance en l'universalité de l'homme, il refuse de croire que les Chinois possèdent une vertu et une morale meilleures que celles des Européens ; il est persuadé que vices et vertus sont partout présent.

Basil Guy : With the publication of his article 'Bibliothèque', we have proof of Diderot's more serious interest in China, when he dealt in an interesting and favourable fashion with that aspect of Chinese civilization. Diderot's appraisal of the examination system, outlining its relation to those in force throughout European universities should not be taken as characteristic of his attitude. He tended to view things in a much more thoroughgoing light, and so, was not content with mere factual reporting. And in as apt a manner as elsewhere, he was not long in attempting to deepen his acquaintance with China, and especially with the morality practiced there.

Huguette Cohen : Diderot is generally considered as a sinophobe. Derogatory remarks about the Chinese are scattered throughout his works, with a mounting degree of criticism after the expulsion of the Jesuits in the 1760s. His attitude is not so surprising, however, if we keep in mind that the Jesuit missionaries to China were the main proponents of the Chinese example, and also happened to be his arch-enemies during the launching of the Encyclopédie.
Diderot showed a decided lack of enthusiasm for Chinese art forms.
Chinese antiquity and religion were bound to come under Diderot's scrutiny in his articles on philosophy and religion for the Encyclopédie. His early orientation can best be described as a shift from deism to Spinozism, ending in atheism.
He is on treacherous ground when he brings up the topic of Chinese chronology, which claims to antedate the Deluge and casts doubts on chronological calculations affecting the Old Testament. In a tongue-in-cheek approach, he throws in a bewildering array of dates and names of Chinese emperoros, concluding with an orthodox views.
In line with the attacks on superstitition, he makes no effort in 'Chinois' to conceal the Chinese cult for idols.
Diderot's treatment of the Chinese code of morals is laudatory, following the practice of the Encyclopédie to state the superiority of humaistic morality over the morality of the Christian religion. Confucius, whose metaphysics were ridiculed by him, is praised for his practical ethics 'plus en action qu'en discours'.
As a way of offsetting his positive judgement, Diderot concludes the article with negative views of Chinese arts and sciences.
He repeatedly deplored the difficulties of the Chinese language as a source of misinterpretation, and complained about the disappearance of records and archives.

Jacques Pereira : L'article 'Chinois (philosophie des)' n'évoque partiquement pas la question politique et s'en tient essentiellement au débat largement dépassé, à l'époque, sur l’antiquité de la Chine, la nature de sa religion, la qualité de sa philosophie. L'article, qui d'un point de vue documentaire et argumentif, n'est pas d’un grand intérêt est très nettement teinté de sinophilie.