本文析論馬若瑟的《經傳眾說》如何引述歷代儒者的經說，利用「以子之矛，攻子之盾」的手法，說明「符象論」(Figurism) 的觀點：唯有古經可信，而諸儒之說不可盡信。但是對於中國讀者而言，他的天主教訊息完全埋在經學和理學的文字之下，難以看出他在傳遞天主教的教義。雖然他的書寫策略合理化了傳教士的存在，卻也使傳教士看來更似當時一般的中國學者。馬若瑟即使從來未曾質疑自己的信仰，但他的書寫策略，以及對於異文化的包容，或許讓教會感受到他的危險性，甚至要將他召回。馬若瑟的案例或許能讓我們更加同情地理解遠人在文化夾縫中的尷尬。

This paper studies Joseph de Prémare’s Jingzhuan zhongshuo (Discourses on the Classics), a manuscript housed in the oriental manuscripts section of the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. I examine how de Prémare employed the textual strategy of quotation to point out the contradictions among Confucians in order to prove that only the Classics bequeathed by Confucius were trustworthy. From a Figurist’s point of view, these Classics conveyed messages from the Bible and proved that the Chinese had once been believers of Christianity. However, the Chinese had long lost the key to decipher these Classics, the meaning of which had been confused by later commentaries. Joseph de Prémare argued that since these Christian messages lay hidden in the Confucian texts, the Chinese needed the help of the missionaries to understand the Biblical messages in their Classics. This logic legitimated the presence of the missionaries. Nevertheless, de Prémare’s appeal to cultural commensurability could also have damaged the ecclesiastical enterprise since the Chinese did not necessarily need the missionaries if they themselves had previous knowledge of Christianity. The dilemma of de Prémare, and that of the Figurists in general, expose the precarious predicament of some missionaries who, in trying to be receptive to cultural differences, were often looked upon with distrust by ecclesiastical authorities back in the West. The missionaries’ complex position as cultural and religious intermediaries is an intriguing area of study awaiting more in-depth research.