隨著晚清的社會劇變和西學的持續傳入,中國學術也在發生著深刻的變化。其中,晚清時期的易學家,本著救亡圖存的宗旨,以其宏大的學術視野和淵博的文化知識,建立了飽含現實關切的易學體系。他們在檢討漢宋易學尤其是歷代象數學和吸納西學知識的基礎上,提出了"以世界之眼光觀其象"的易象論;從象數、義理和道器關系的角度論證了象數在易學和科技發展中的地位,力圖從《周易》象數中開顯出物質文明;又用西方進化論學說比附《周易》,以此宣揚變法革命等先進思想。這些新方法、新內容,深刻改變了易學研究的舊有形態,實現了易學范式轉換,開啟了新語境下易學系統的重建。尤其是晚清以杭辛齋為代表的易學實為古代易學向現代易學過渡的標志性成果。既宣告了晚清易學的終結,也標志著現代新易學的開端。然而,他們為了達到救亡圖存目標而急于求成,缺乏嚴密論證,用《周易》簡單地比附西學,故其研究成果仍然存有不嚴謹或牽強之嫌,這不得不令人深省之。反思晚清易學有重要的現實意義。同時應當指出,當時仍有相當一部分易學家,漠不關心現實,仍然堅持傳統的研究理路治《易》。

Accompanying the late Qing social upheaval and the continuous inroads of Western learning were profound changes in Chinese scholarship.In particular,yixue researchers(studying the Book of Changes and its derivatives)used their broad scholarly vision and profound cultural knowledge to build a systemic yixue charged with immediate concerns and directed toward achieving national salvation.On the basis of their acceptance of Western learning and study of Han and Song yixue,especially the image-numerology handed down through the generations,they put forward the theory of"yi images"i.e.,"observing phenomena from the standpoint of the world."They argued for the role of image-numerology in both yixue and scientific and technological development from the perspective of righteousness and principles and of the Way and concrete entities.In doing so,they endeavored to open up material civilization through the image-numerology approach of the Zhou Yi(Book of Changes)by using analogies between the Western theory of evolution and theZhou Yi to promote progressive ideas such as reform and revolution.The new methods and new contents wrought a profound change in the form of previous studies of the Zhou Yi,transformed the yixue paradigm,and started the reconstruction of the yixue system in the new setting.In particular,the yixue scholarship represented by Hang Xinzhai in the late Qing was indeed a landmark achievement in the transition from ancient to modern yixue;it not only proclaimed the end of late Qing yixue,but also marked the beginning of the new yixue of modern times.However,these scholars were so eager to achieve success and thereby attain the goal of national salvation that they did not put forward rigorous arguments,but simply mined the Zhou Yi for analogies to Western learning.Consequently,their research results were far-fetched and lacked rigor,which cannot but give one cause to think.Reflection on late Qing yixue has great practical significance,but at the same time,it should be noted that not a few of these researchers were out of touch with reality,and preserved the traditional way of studying the Zhou Yi.