明末清初是中國歷史上一個重要的轉變時期，在政治、社會、文化各方面都起了劇烈的變動。而西方傳教士的來華在其中佔了相當重要的因素。這些傳教士所傳入的西方文明智識，對文化上起了一定的衝擊。但傳教士的主要目的在於傳教，如何在受儒家及佛道宗教影響甚深的中國社會環境中傳播其教義，是耶穌會士必須思考的主要問題。明末清初的耶穌會士試圖從中國經典中，找出與天主教教義互相發明之處並加以詮釋，欲以此尋求士大夫階級的認同。從表面的文辭到事件的內容，都是他們努力鑽研尋找憑藉之處，而《四書》、《易經》尤為所重。基本土，耶穌會士認為中國古典中原本就包括了基督教的體系，記載了上帝、天主的教義訓示，只是中國人已經忘記書中的真正意涵，故須由教士們重新解讀出經典中的真意。本文所討論的範圍，是從利瑪竇以降到馬若瑟、孫璋，即從《天主實義》到清初索隱派的耶穌會士，他們對中國經典的觀點巳自成一家之言。而耶穌會士同時也翻譯了不少中國古典傳至西方，一方面顯示其對中國古典的掌握，一方面對文化的交流具有一定貢獻。本文欲從這些傳教士對中國古典的選擇，選擇的背景、依據，如何詮釋、詮釋的結果及其衝擊加以分析討論，並探討明末清初耶穌會士詮釋中國古典的歷史意義。

The era of the Late Ming and Early Qing was a crucial one in the history of China. Important changes occurred in many aspects of society and government. These changes were driven partly by the introduction of Western knowledge by Christian missionaries. However, the missionaries aimed primarily to promote their religion; their basic concern was how best to introduce Christianity to China. Surrounded by a Chinese populace deeply influenced by Buddhism, Daoism, and Neo-Confucianism, the Jesuits had to find a way to spread the message of Christianity. Having decided to accommodate their teachings to the upper echelon of society, the missionaries assiduously searched the ancient Chinese classics--especially the Four Books and the Book of Changes-to find statements and texts compatible with Christian doctrine. Fundamentally, they attempted to find “evidence” in the classics that the Chinese people in fact recognized one true God and that all the main Christian doctrines were present in the classics, though they may have been lost or forgotten in later ages. Some “Figurists” even believed that the Chinese classics contained messages from God that were lost even to the Western world. In this essay, we attempt to trace the thought and actions of the Jesuits of the late Ming and Early Qing, such as M. Ricci, J. Bouvet, and J. Premare, in the hope of better understanding the historical significance of their efforts.