“Using History to Explain Religion”

Historical materialism, as an important component of Marxist philosophy, is both the ideological foundation of the Marxist theoretical system and a concentrated embodiment of the positions, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism. Historical materialism provides a scientific worldview and methodology for the study of religion. Ren Jiyu’s study of historical materialism began after the founding of the People’s Republic. He actively participated in ideological remolding campaigns [1]1 A series of political campaigns in the early 1950s aimed at reorienting intellectuals and other social groups toward Marxism-Leninism and the leadership of the CPC., was enlightened by early Marxist theorists such as Ai Siqi [2]2 Ai Siqi (1910–1966) was a prominent Chinese Marxist philosopher and popularizer of dialectical materialism., and gained a preliminary understanding of historical materialism. Through systematic reading of Marxist classic works and related reference books, he laid a solid theoretical foundation: “After liberation, the conditions for study changed; we had ample time and could also read the important works of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin. At that time, the complete works had not yet been translated, but some foreign-language editions (such as English, German, and Russian editions) could still be obtained.” While consolidating his theoretical foundation, Ren Jiyu enthusiastically threw himself into the land reform movement [3]3 A large-scale redistribution of land from landlords to peasants carried out by the CPC from 1947 to 1952, which fundamentally transformed rural class relations. and attempted to use historical materialism to observe social phenomena. After a period of “revolutionary” practice, he became more convinced that academic research must be grounded in China’s social problems. His genuine understanding of Chinese society and the peasantry gradually led Ren Jiyu to doubt Confucian belief: “I was formerly a follower of Confucianism. Comparing the old and new China, I gradually came to doubt the Confucian doctrines of investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, and rectifying the mind, as well as the ways of cultivating the self, regulating the family, ordering the state, and pacifying the world. My understanding of Marxism-Leninism gradually became clear. In 1956, I wrote to Mr. Xiong [4]4 Xiong Shili (1885–1968), a major modern Confucian philosopher and Ren Jiyu’s former teacher. to inform him that I had abandoned Confucianism and believed that the Marxist-Leninist doctrine is the truth.” Ren Jiyu “abandoned Confucianism for Marxism,” completed an ideological “thorough remolding,” and consciously applied historical materialism to analyze China’s religious problems concretely and historically. He put forward the viewpoint of “using history to explain religion,” emphasizing that religious phenomena must be analyzed and observed under specific social and historical conditions, penetrating various mists to see their essence. Ren Jiyu’s understanding of historical materialism and its application in religious research laid a solid foundation for the establishment and development of Marxist religious studies in China.

唯物史观作为马克思主义哲学的重要组成部分，既是马克思主义理论体系的思想基础，又集中体现了马克思主义的立场、观点和方法。唯物史观为宗教研究提供了科学的世界观和方法论。任继愈对唯物史观的学习是从建国后开始的，他积极参加了思想改造活动，受艾思奇等早期马克思主义理论家启蒙，对唯物史观有了初步的了解，通过系统地阅读马克思主义经典著作及有关参考书籍，打下了坚实的理论基础，“解放后，学习条件变了，我们有充分的时间，也能够读到马、恩、列、斯的重要著作。那时全集还没有译出来，但也可以读到一些外文本(如英、德、俄文本)。”在夯实理论基础的同时，任继愈踊跃投入到土地改革运动中，并尝试用历史唯物主义来观察社会现象。经过一番“革命”实践，他更加坚定学术研究要立足于中国社会问题，对中国社会、农民的真切了解使得任继愈逐渐对儒家信仰产生怀疑，“我过去一直是儒家的信奉者。新旧中国相比较，逐渐对儒家的格、致、诚、正之学，修、齐、治、平之道，发生了怀疑，对马列主义的认识，逐渐明确。在1956年，我与熊先生写信说明，我已放弃儒学，相信马列主义学说是真理。”任继愈“弃儒从马”，完成了思想上的“脱胎换骨”，并自觉地运用历史唯物主义具体地、历史地分析中国宗教问题，提出“用历史说明宗教”的观点，强调要把宗教现象放在一定的社会历史条件之下来分析、观察，透过种种迷雾看清它的本质。任继愈对唯物史观的理解及其在宗教研究中的运用为中国马克思主义宗教学的建立及发展奠定了坚实的基础。

I. The Integration of Historical Materialism with the Study of Buddhism

一、唯物史观与佛教研究相结合

“Historical materialism explains all historical events and ideas, all political, philosophical, and religious ones, in terms of the material and economic conditions of life in a given historical period.” Ren Jiyu deeply understood this: “Philosophy and religion may seem to soar into the clouds, as if they are detached from worldly affairs, but in reality they are still reflections of a given society’s economic and political life—sometimes direct reflections, sometimes indirect reflections, and sometimes circuitous reflections. Social and economic life and political life are constantly developing and changing, so philosophy and religion, which reflect economic and political life, change accordingly. We should examine the entire process of Buddhism’s initial transmission, growth, flourishing, and decline on Chinese soil, and from this, identify patterns.” In his religious research, Ren Jiyu first integrated historical materialism with the study of Buddhism. His main achievements include *Collected Essays on Han-Tang Buddhist Thought*, *A History of Chinese Buddhism*, and related papers and writings. *Collected Essays on Han-Tang Buddhist Thought* brings together seven essays by Ren Jiyu on Han-Tang Buddhist thought from the 1950s to the 1970s. These seven essays all shine with the light of historical materialism. Ren Jiyu consciously integrated the basic principles of Marxism with the study of Buddhism, delineating the contours of the development of Buddhist thought from the Han to the Tang dynasties, clarifying the developmental threads of Buddhist thought during this period and the ideological characteristics of each school. They contain both overarching overviews and meticulous analyses. Guided by Marxist principles and using historical materialism to study religious issues, he blazed a new path for Marxist religious studies in China, laying the foundation for the establishment and development of Marxist religious studies in China. *A History of Chinese Buddhism* (three volumes) examines Buddhism within the social environments of successive Chinese dynasties, thoroughly implementing a Marxist perspective in observing religious issues. It is a classic work of studying Buddhist history under the guidance of historical materialism. Due to space limitations, this article will only elaborate on the following points.

“唯物史观是以一定历史时期的物质经济生活条件来说明一切历史事件和观念，一切政治、哲学的和宗教的。”任继愈对此深有体悟，“哲学和宗教看起来高入云霄，好像不食人间烟火，实际上它们仍然是一定的社会的经济生活和政治生活的反映，只是有时是直接的反映，有时是间接的反映，有时是曲折的反映罢了。社会经济生活和政治生活总在不断地发展变化，从而反映经济生活和政治生活的哲学、宗教也相应地改变。我们应当通过考察佛教在中国这块土地上初传、滋长、兴盛、衰微的全部过程，从中找出规律性的东西。”在宗教研究中，任继愈首先是将唯物史观与佛教研究相结合。其主要成果有《汉唐佛教思想论集》《中国佛教史》及相关论文著述。《汉唐佛教思想论集》集结了RENXIANSHENG从20世纪50年代到70年代七篇关于汉唐佛教思想的论文。这七篇文章无不闪烁着历史唯物主义的光辉，任继愈自觉将马克思主义基本原理与佛教研究相结合，描绘了佛教思想从汉到唐发展的轮廓，厘定出这段时期佛教思想的发展脉络及各宗派的思想特征，既有纵观全局的概述，又有细致入微的分析。以马克思主义为指导原则，运用历史唯物主义研究宗教问题，开创了中国马克思主义宗教研究的新道路，为中国马克思主义宗教学的创立和发展奠定了基础。《中国佛教史》（三卷）将佛教置于中国历代社会环境中进行考察，深入贯彻用马克思主义视野观察宗教问题，是以唯物史观为指导研究佛教史的经典之作。因篇幅有限，本文仅从以下几点展开具体论述。

(A) New Principles and New Directions in Buddhist Studies

（一）佛教研究的新原则与新方向

By the 1980s, Ren Jiyu, reflecting on his experience in Buddhist studies, concluded: “Although I have studied Buddhism for several decades, it was only by relying on historical materialism that I could adopt scientific methods and reach conclusions that are relatively consistent with reality. With the weapon of historical materialism, one can avoid losing one’s way in the vast sea of sources. Although I have studied Buddhism for several decades, it was only after national liberation, when I studied Marxism-Leninism, that I truly began to study Buddhism with scientific methods.” In 1955, Zhonghua Book Company planned to reprint Tang Yongtong’s *A History of Buddhism in the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties* [5]5 Tang Yongtong (1893–1964) was a pioneering Chinese scholar of Buddhist history.. Having studied and accepted Marxism, Tang Yongtong underwent an ideological transformation and felt uneasy about presenting the book to readers unchanged. However, due to illness, he was unable to revise it and entrusted Ren Jiyu to write an afterword to be appended to the book. After accepting Marxism, Ren Jiyu’s thinking was also thoroughly renewed. He had already begun to consciously use Marxism to guide his academic research. Rereading *A History of Buddhism in the Han, Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties*, he felt “deeply alarmed” and offered three suggestions regarding the book: First, the development of Buddhist thought is inseparable from the social conditions of its time; “only by placing religious and theological issues on the foundation of real problems can they be correctly understood.” Second, one cannot discuss ideas in isolation from ideas, or beliefs in isolation from beliefs; one must correctly understand the role Buddhism played in Chinese society. Third, this book “overemphasizes the role of individual historical figures in Buddhist history while completely ignoring the decisive constraints that the entire historical development process exerted on the development of Buddhism.” These three points closely revolve around historical materialism, emphasizing the need to examine religious and theological issues within the context of real problems, to pay attention to the role Buddhism played in Chinese society, and to the influence of the historical development process on Buddhism. The above three points represent the new principles and new directions of Ren Jiyu’s Buddhist studies, marking his successful academic transformation after studying Marxism. All of his subsequent works and articles on Buddhist studies followed these three principles.

到20世纪80年代，任继愈回顾自己的佛教研究经历总结道：“我研究佛学，虽然也有几十年的经历，但采用科学方法，做出比较符合实际的结论，还得靠历史唯物主义，有了历史唯物主义这个武器才不致掉进浩如烟海的资料中迷失方向。研究佛学虽说有几十年之久，但真正用科学方法对佛学进行研究，那是全国解放，学习了马列主义以后的事。”1955年，中华书局要再版汤用彤先生的《汉魏两晋南北朝佛教史》，汤先生学习接受了马克思主义，思想上发生了转变，觉得此书若原封不动地拿出交给读者，于心不安，但当时汤老身处病中无力修改，就委托任继愈写了一个《后记》附在书后。任继愈接受马克思主义之后，思想上也焕然一新，已开始自觉运用马克思主义指导学术研究，再读《汉魏两晋南北朝佛教史》感到非常“惶悚”，对此书提出了三点建议：第一，佛教思想的发展和当时的社会条件是密不可分的，“只有把宗教、神学的问题安放在现实问题的基础上，才可能正确地理解它”；第二，不能孤立地就思想论思想，就信仰论信仰，要正确认识佛教在中国社会所起到的作用；第三，这部书“过分强调了佛教史中个别历史人物所起的作用，而完全忽视了当时历史发展的全部过程对佛教的发展的决定性的制约”。这三点意见紧密围绕唯物史观而谈，强调要把宗教、神学问题安放在现实问题中去考察，注重把握佛教在中国社会所起到的作用以及历史发展过程对佛教的影响。以上三点代表着任继愈佛教研究的新原则和新方向，标志着任继愈在学习马克思主义后，在学术研究上的成功转型，他此后发表的佛教研究著作和文章都是遵循这三条原则而展开。

(B) Examining Buddhist Development Based on the Social Foundation

（二）立足于社会基础来考察佛教发展

“Studying historical materialism further clarifies the relationship between the superstructure and the base. It not only enables us to understand that the base determines the superstructure, but also reveals the superstructure’s reaction upon the base. From the introduction and spread of Buddhism, we can see that external ideas alone cannot exert a major effect on a society; only when they (ideas) combine with the specific historical conditions of that society can they produce profound and extensive influence.” Ren Jiyu examined the development of Buddhism over nearly a thousand years from the Eastern Han to the Sui and Tang dynasties. He pointed out that from the very day Buddhism was transmitted to China, it propagated its religious doctrines in accordance with the needs of China’s feudal society at the time, fully embodying the historical materialist law that the economic base determines the superstructure. In the Han dynasty, Buddhism combined with Chinese techniques of Daoist magic and alchemy [6]6 Daoist magic and alchemy (道术方士): Practitioners of esoteric arts, alchemy, and divination in early China, often associated with seeking immortality. and was understood as a form of such techniques; Buddhism had only a slight influence among a few members of the imperial clan and the upper aristocracy, attracting no attention among the broad masses. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, Buddhism combined with Neo-Daoism [7]7 Neo-Daoism (玄学): A philosophical movement during the Wei-Jin period that reinterpreted Daoist classics, often blending them with Confucian concerns. and was understood as a school of Wei-Jin Neo-Daoism; Ren Jiyu called it “a Buddhist philosophy Neo-Daoist in character.” Chinese society began to attach importance to the Prajñā [8]8 Prajñā (般若学): A Mahayana Buddhist concept of transcendent wisdom, central to certain sutras and schools. teachings within Buddhism. In the Sui and Tang dynasties, Buddhism entered its peak stage; monastery economies [9]9 Monastery economies (寺院经济): Economic systems based on landholdings, donations, and commercial activities controlled by Buddhist monasteries, which became powerful in medieval China. formed, providing an economic base for the emergence of schools. The Tiantai, Huayan, Dharmalakṣaṇa [10]10 Dharmalakṣaṇa (法相宗): Also known as the Yogācāra or Consciousness-Only school, emphasizing detailed analysis of mental phenomena., and Chan schools were the most influential. “Whatever suited the economic base developed; what did not suit it stagnated; what was transplanted rawly withered. This fact also illustrates the historical materialist principle of the relationship between the economic base and the superstructure.” The Tiantai, Huayan, and Chan schools were all able to adapt to China’s social conditions and enjoyed long-term development. The Dharmalakṣaṇa school, which mechanically transplanted Indian scholastic philosophy, flourished for a time thanks to the support of the rulers of the day, but this unmodified imported good could not adapt to the social base of Tang society and failed to take root on Chinese soil; it soon withered. “The fact that Xuanzang [11]11 Xuanzang (玄奘): A famous Tang dynasty monk (602–664) who traveled to India, brought back Buddhist scriptures, and founded the Dharmalakṣaṇa school in China. established the Dharmalakṣaṇa school and that it soon met with failure shows that the superstructure, even something as distant from the economic base as religion, must after all suit its economic base.” During the Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, feudal society entered a stage of stagnation and decline; the religious spirit of Buddhism merged into traditional Confucian culture, Confucian religion [12]12 Confucian religion (儒教): A term used by some scholars to describe a state-sanctioned, ritualized form of Confucianism that functioned as a religion in imperial China. took shape, and Buddhist power declined. Buddhism rose by relying on the growth of China’s feudal society and declined along with the decline of that feudal society.

“学习历史唯物主义，进一步明确上层建筑与基础的关系。不但可以认识基础决定上层建筑，也可看出上层建筑对基础的反作用。我们从佛教的输入和传播，可以看到光靠外来思想本身不会对当时的社会发生重大的作用，只有当它（思想）与当时社会的历史具体情况相结合，才能引起深刻而广泛的影响。”任继愈考察了东汉至隋唐将近一千年间的佛教发展状况，他指出佛教从传到中国那一天起，一直按照中国当时封建社会需要来传播其宗教学说，充分体现了历史唯物主义的经济基础决定上层建筑的规律。汉代，佛教与中国道术方士思想相结合，被理解为道术的一种，佛教仅在皇族及上层贵族少数人物有些许影响，在广大群众中还没有引起注意。魏晋南北朝时期，佛教与玄学相结合，佛教被理解为魏晋玄学的一派，任继愈称为“玄学化的佛教哲学”，中国社会开始重视佛教中的般若学。隋唐时期，佛教发展进入鼎盛阶段，寺院经济形成，为宗派的产生提供了经济基础，以天台宗、华严宗、法相宗和禅宗最具影响力，“凡是对经济基础适合的，就得到发展；不适合的，就停滞；生硬移植的就会枯萎。这一事实也说明了历史唯物主义关于经济基础和上层建筑的关系的原理。”天台宗、华严宗和禅宗都能适应中国的社会条件，得到长久的发展，法相宗原封不动地搬来印度的经院哲学，虽靠着当时统治者的支持，盛极一时，但不加改装的舶来品不能适应当时唐朝的社会基础，在中华大地上扎不下根，很快就枯萎了，“玄奘的建立法相宗及其不久即遭失败这一事实，说明上层建筑，即使与经济基础离得较远的，像宗教，它毕竟要适合它的经济基础。”宋元明清时，封建社会也进入到了停滞和衰退发展阶段，佛教宗教精神融入儒家传统文化，儒教形成，佛教势力已趋于衰微，佛教是依靠中国封建社会的成长而起家的，也随着封建社会的没落而没落。

(3) Emphasizing the Grasping of Buddhism’s Role in Chinese Society

（三）注重把握佛教对中国社会的作用

Chinese Buddhism is not merely a religion; it has become an organic component of Chinese thought and culture. This is the starting point of Ren Jiyu’s study of Buddhism. Taking Ren Jiyu’s analysis of the “Nirvāṇa” [13]13 Nirvāṇa (涅槃): In Buddhism, the state of liberation from suffering and rebirth; here referring to a specific doctrine about Buddha-nature and universal salvation. doctrine prevalent in Buddhism during the Jin and Liu-Song [14]14 Jin and Liu-Song (晋宋): The Eastern Jin dynasty (317–420) and the Liu-Song dynasty (420–479), part of the Southern Dynasties period. periods of the Southern Dynasties as an example, he attached great importance to the reaction of Buddhism as a superstructure upon social existence. In the late Eastern Jin, the boundaries of the aristocratic clans [15]15 Aristocratic clans (门阀): Powerful hereditary families that dominated politics and society during the Six Dynasties period. tended toward absolutization. On the one hand, reality was one of strict hierarchy and extreme inequality; on the other hand, Buddhism preached that everyone possessed “Buddha-nature.” Buddhism wanted people to believe that in another world there was a justice unattainable in the present world. This view of Buddhism was a useful ideological weapon for the ruling class in the late Jin and early Song, and a painkiller for the broad oppressed masses. “To blur the people’s will to oppose oppression, Buddhism distortedly explained for the feudal rulers the fact of human oppression of humans, which was unequal. They declared that true equality and happiness simply did not exist on earth.” Based on the unequal social reality of the time, Ren Jiyu pointed out directly that the Buddhist Nirvāṇa doctrine played the negative roles of blurring the people’s will to oppose oppression and distortedly explaining for the feudal rulers the unequal fact of human oppression of humans. “Buddhism cheaply pre-sold people the entry ticket to the paradise of the Pure Land. This was the actual significance of the Southern Dynasties’ Buddhist ‘Nirvāṇa’ Buddha-nature doctrine.” Buddhism dismissed the suffering and happiness that could occur in real society as insignificant, portrayed the happiness of the Western “Pure Land” as a hundred or a thousand times greater than that of the real world, and exaggerated the suffering of “hell” a hundred or a thousand times beyond any suffering that might be encountered in the real world. It told people that the suffering they currently endured was nothing compared to the long-term suffering of countless kalpas [16]16 Kalpas (劫): In Buddhist cosmology, immensely long cycles of time.; if they could peacefully endure all suffering, they could exchange it for a hundred times the happiness in the future.

中国佛教不只是一种宗教，已成为中国思想文化的有机组成部分，这是任继愈研究佛教的出发点。以任继愈对南朝晋宋间佛教盛行的“涅槃”学说剖析为例，他十分重视佛教作为上层建筑对社会存在的反作用。东晋末年，门阀界限趋于绝对化，一面是等级森严、极不平等的现实，一面又宣传人人皆有“佛性”，佛教要人们相信，在另一个世界里有着现在得不到的公道，佛教这一看法对于晋末宋初的统治阶级是一件有利的思想武器，对于广大受压迫的群众则是一副止痛的良药，“佛教为了模糊人民反压迫的意志，它替封建统治者歪曲地解答了当时人压迫人这一不平等的事实。他们宣称真正的平等和幸福在地上根本不存在。”任继愈立足于当时不平等的社会现状，一针见血地指出了佛教涅槃学说起到了模糊人民反压迫意志、替封建统治者歪曲解答人压迫人这一不平等的事实等消极作用。“佛教廉价地预售给人们走进极乐世界的入门券。这就是南朝佛教的‘涅槃’佛性学说的实际意义。”佛教把现实社会上所能发生的痛苦和幸福说成无足轻重，把西方“极乐世界”的幸福渲染得千百倍于现实世界的幸福，又把“地狱”的痛苦描绘得比现实世界可能遭到的痛苦夸大到千百倍。他们告诉人们，当前所受的苦难和无数旷劫的长期苦难相比，根本算不了什么，能安心忍受一切苦，就可以换取将来百倍的幸福。

Through the above analysis of the negative role of the “Nirvāṇa” doctrine, Ren Jiyu fully realized that religion reflects social existence in an illusory way, is a protest against real suffering, and is the soundless sigh of the oppressed. Ren Jiyu became even more convinced that, from the standpoint of historical materialism, “religion is not isolated from society; it is a mirror of the political and economic conditions of real society. Religion does not only speak of the heavenly kingdom without touching on real life. It is a distorted reflection of real life. We do not use religion to explain history; we use history to explain religion.”

通过以上对“涅槃”学说消极作用的剖析，任继愈充分意识到宗教是用虚幻的方式来反映社会存在，是对现实苦难的抗议，是被压迫者的无声的叹息。任继愈更加坚信从历史唯物主义的立场看宗教，“宗教并非孤立于社会之外，它是现实社会政治、经济现状的一面镜子，宗教并非只讲天国，不涉及现实生活。它是现实生活曲折的反映。我们不是用宗教说明历史，而是用历史说明宗教。”

II. The Application of Historical Materialism in the Theoretical Study of Daoism

二、唯物史观在道教理论研究中的运用

Ren Jiyu once pointed out, “The greatest contribution of Marxist philosophy is its part on historical materialism. This part is still in the process of growth, from its categories to its system. For example, ‘base and superstructure’ was borrowed as a metaphor and later elevated to a category; some are expressed in propositional form but have not yet been fixed as categories, such as ‘the masses of the people are the masters of history’; some are shared with other disciplines, such as ‘productive forces and relations of production.’” Although the principles of Marxist historical materialism are only a few simple ones, how to correctly apply them to the study of Chinese religion and philosophy is a difficult process of continuous exploration. In this process of scientific research practice, it is inevitable that detours will be taken. Ren Jiyu’s study of Laozi is a case in point.

任继愈曾指出，“马克思主义哲学最大的贡献是它的历史唯物主义部分，这一部分从范畴到体系都在成长过程中。如‘基础与上层建筑’是借用的比喻，后来上升为范畴的；有的用命题表达的方式尚未固定为范畴的，如‘人民群众是历史的主人’；有的是与其它学科共用的，如‘生产力与生产关系’。”马克思主义的历史唯物主义的原理虽只有简单的几条，但如何正确运用于中国的宗教及哲学研究，却是一个不断探索的艰难过程。在这一科研实践过程中，难免就会走弯路，任继愈的老子研究就是一个实例。

Ren Jiyu attached great importance to the study of Laozi’s thought. He believed that in the history of Chinese philosophy, Laozi’s thought has extraordinary importance. However, Ren Jiyu’s study of Laozi went through twists and turns. In the last century, influenced by the Soviet Union, Chinese academic circles engaged in a heated debate over whether Laozi was a materialist or an idealist. In 1959, Ren Jiyu published the article “A Study of Laozi,” arguing that Laozi’s Dao could not be explained as a conceptual “thing” that is so great it has no exterior. “Laozi’s ‘Dao’ is merely a material category; a category is not material in nature. It cannot be said that the world is composed of an empty ‘matter’; it is a generalization of material existence, not that there is such a ‘matter’ between heaven and earth.” Ren Jiyu judged Laozi to be a materialist, focusing on how Laozi explained the beginning of the myriad things between heaven and earth. He believed that Laozi replaced God with “Dao,” philosophized God, and struck a blow at the religious-theological thought of the time. In 1963, the *History of Chinese Philosophy* edited by Ren Jiyu continued the view that Laozi was a materialist.

RENXIANSHENG十分重视对老子思想的研究，他认为在中国哲学史中，老子的思想有着非同寻常的重要性，但任继愈的老子研究却是一波三折。上世纪中国受苏联影响，学界曾经对老子是唯物主义还是唯心主义展开过激烈讨论，1959年，任继愈发表《老子的研究》一文认为，老子的道不能解释成一个观念性的其大无外的“东西”，“老子的‘道’不过是物质范畴，范畴并不是物质性的，不能说世界是由个空洞的‘物质’构成的，它是对物质存在的概括，并不是说天地间有这么一个‘物质’。”任继愈判断老子是唯物主义着重把握老子是如何说明天地万物开始的状况，他认为老子用“道”代替了上帝，把上帝哲学化，打击了当时的宗教神学思想。1963年，任继愈主编的《中国哲学史》延续了老子是唯物主义的观点。

After more than a decade of exploration, Ren Jiyu believed that it was also plausible to say that Laozi’s philosophy was idealist. “Laozi’s doctrine of the ‘Dao’ is a kind of objective idealist philosophy. On the surface, it differs from the traditional religious idealist ‘God’ creation theory, but it is more refined and has greater deceptiveness. This objective idealist ‘Dao,’ viewed from the schema of the world’s composition, has no essential difference from religious idealism; both attempt to prove that the material world is produced by some spiritual force. The so-called ‘Dao’ is merely a more exquisitely carved religion.” During this period, Ren Jiyu abandoned the view that Laozi’s “Dao” was material existence and instead accepted the view that Laozi’s “Dao” was something like absolute spirit.

此后经过十几年的探索，任继愈认为老子哲学是唯心主义也说得通，“老子的‘道’的学说，是一种客观唯心主义哲学，表面上它和传统的宗教唯心主义的‘上帝’创世说有所不同，但它更精致了，具有更大的欺骗性。这种客观唯心主义的‘道’，从世界的构成图式看，与宗教唯心主义并无本质的区别，都是在力图证明物质世界是某种精神力量产生的。所谓‘道’不过是雕琢得更加精致的宗教而已。”这一时期，任继愈放弃老子的“道”是物质存在的观点，转而接受老子的“道”是绝对精神之类的东西。

After reform and opening up, ideological liberation occurred. In 1983, in *The History of Chinese Philosophy Development: Pre-Qin Volume*, Ren Jiyu developed a more mature reflection on Laozi: “Is Laozi’s philosophy materialism or idealism? This question can still be debated. But it must be recognized that Laozi’s philosophy itself indeed has unclear aspects. One of our tasks is to clearly explain the philosophical ideas of the ancients (including Laozi) that were indeed unclear, pointing out where and why the lack of clarity lies. This is a necessary prerequisite for studying the thought of ancient philosophers.” In the essay “My Changed Understanding of the *Laozi*,” he also comprehensively reviewed past research on Laozi, ultimately breaking free from the judgment of Laozi’s philosophy as materialism or idealism: “To define it as either materialism or idealism is wrong. Laozi himself did not have this question; it was later people who forcibly imposed it. I wanted to clarify things for Laozi, but in the end, I only made them more unclear.”

改革开放后，思想上得以解放，1983年在《中国哲学发展史·先秦卷》中，任继愈对老子有了更加成熟的思考，“老子哲学到底是唯物主义还是唯心主义？这个问题还可以继续争论。但必须看到老子的哲学本身确有不清楚的地方。我们的任务之一就是要把古人（老子也在内）确实不清楚的哲学思想，清清楚楚地解说明白，指出不清楚的所在和原因，这是研究古代哲学家思想的必要前提。”在《我对<老子>认识的转变》一文也全面地审视了以往的老子研究，最终跳出对老子哲学唯物主义和唯心主义的判定，“定性为唯物主义和唯心主义都不对。老子当时没有这个问题，是后来人硬要强加上去的。我想替老子说清楚，结果反而弄得不清楚了。”

The above tortuous experience in studying Laozi gave Ren Jiyu a more comprehensive and profound understanding of historical materialism: “Historical materialists should truthfully and accurately explain the unclear concepts and categories of the ancients, precisely where they were ‘not very clear.’ In the past, we often lost our sense of proportion; by trying to clarify things for the ancients, we instead created confusion. Subjectively we sought scientificity, but objectively we produced unscientific results. This fault is not limited to the study of Laozi, but the problems exposed in the study of Laozi are the most obvious.” Adhering to historical materialism requires understanding the person and the world, placing the research question within a specific historical scope, and striving to restore its original historical appearance. As Zhang Qizhi said, “The study of Chinese culture from the perspective of historical materialism can be summed up in one sentence: conducting concrete analysis of specific historical and cultural issues. This may be the core of historical materialism.” Only by grasping the core of historical materialism can one respond to all changes with constancy. In the process of persistently exploring Laozi’s thought, Ren Jiyu fully comprehended the scientific spirit of seeking truth from facts and proceeding from reality that underlies historical materialism. Adhering to historical materialism requires concrete, dialectical, and historical analysis of a given research problem, rather than sticking to old rules and rigidly adhering to dogma and texts.

以上对老子研究的曲折经历使任继愈对唯物史观有了更加全面而深刻地体认，“历史唯物主义者要把古人所不大清楚的观念、范畴，如实地、准确地把他们的‘不太清楚’的地方讲出来就对了。我们过去，往往失去了分寸，替古人讲清楚，反而造成了混乱，主观上要求有科学性，客观上造成不科学的结果。这个毛病不止表现在老子的研究方面，而在老子研究中所暴露的问题则最明显。”坚持历史唯物主义，就要知人论世，把研究的问题提到一定的历史范围，努力还原其本来的历史面貌。正如张岂之所说，“对于中华文化进行唯物史观的研究，可以归结为一句话，这就是：对具体的历史文化问题进行具体的分析，这也许才是唯物史观的核心。”只有抓住唯物史观的核心，才能以不变应万变。在对老子思想锲而不舍的探索过程中，任继愈充分领悟到历史唯物主义背后的实事求是，从实际出发的科学精神，坚持历史唯物主义必须具体地、辩证地、历史地对某一研究问题展开分析，而不是墨守成规，拘泥于教条和书本。

Second, attention should be paid to grasping the regional characteristics of thought and culture. In his past research, Ren Jiyu believed he had made a greater oversight: failing to note the regional differences in cultural development. Adhering to historical materialism requires focusing on the regional nature of thought and culture and the characteristics of multi-cultural integration. China’s religious and philosophical schools of thought often emerged in specific social environments and frequently bear the imprint of their own ethnic style and region. Ren Jiyu pointed out that Laozi’s thought has distinct Jing-Chu cultural characteristics. First, the learning of Laozi originated in Jing-Chu; Laozi inherited the characteristics of Jing-Chu culture, valuing simplicity and naturalness while opposing artifice and ornamentation. Second, in the watery region of Jing-Chu, water nourishes all things; Laozi praised “water” extensively, such as “the highest good is like water” and “water benefits all things without contending.”

其次，注重把握思想文化的地域性特征。在以往的研究中任继愈认为自己有一个更大的疏忽，那就是没有注意文化发展的地域差别。坚持历史唯物主义，就要注重把握思想文化具有的地区性和多种文化融合的特性，中国的宗教和哲学思想流派往往是在特定的社会环境中产生的，它们常常带有本民族的风格和地域印记。任继愈指出老子思想具有鲜明的荆楚文化特征，首先，老子之学是发轫于荆楚，老子继承了荆楚文化的特点，贵淳朴自然，反雕琢文饰；其次，荆楚水乡，以水滋养万物，老子对“水”的歌颂很多，如“上善若水”“水善利万物而不争”等。

III. Combining Historical Materialism with the Study of Confucianism as a Religion

三、唯物史观与儒教研究相结合

Ren Jiyu’s theory of Confucianism as a religion takes China’s reform and opening up as its background, uses historical materialism as its standard and basis, examines the emergence of Confucianism as a religion based on the history and overall characteristics of China’s feudal society, reflects on and traces back the characteristics of Confucianism as a religion and its historical evolution, repositions Confucian thought, and concludes that Confucianism is essentially a religion.

任继愈的儒教宗教思想是以中国改革开放为背景，以唯物史观为审视标准和依据，立足于中国封建社会的历史和整体特点来考察儒教的产生，并对儒教特征及其历史演变进程进行反思和回溯，对儒家思想进行重新定位，得出儒教本质上是宗教的结论。

(1) Examining the Emergence of Confucianism as a Religion Based on the History and Overall Characteristics of China’s Feudal Society

（一）立足于中国封建社会的历史和整体特点来考察儒教的产生

Religion has a distinct national character; the nature and features of Confucianism as a religion were determined by the historical conditions of China’s feudal society. China has nearly four thousand years of recorded history, over two thousand of which were spent in feudal society. The development of Chinese philosophy primarily took place within feudal society. Ren Jiyu summarized the historical characteristics of China’s feudal society into five points: (1) China’s feudal society lasted a long time and was stable; (2) the feudal patriarchal system was relatively well-developed; (3) the unified multi-ethnic state structure under centralized autocratic monarchy [17]17 Centralized autocratic monarchy (ZYJQ): A term used in Chinese Marxist historiography to describe the political system of imperial China, characterized by a strong central government and absolute power concentrated in the emperor. was formed early, and division could not be sustained; (4) peasant uprisings were numerous and large in scale; (5) under China’s feudal system, capitalism did not develop well. He divided the development of feudal society into six periods: from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods to the unification under Qin, China was under a period of decentralized feudal lords’ rule; the centralized autocratic feudal system was established in the Qin and Han dynasties; the Wei, Jin, Southern and Northern Dynasties entered a period of aristocratic clan autocracy; the Sui, Tang, and Five Dynasties saw the reconstruction, flourishing, and local division of a unified feudal state; by the Song, Yuan, and Ming dynasties, the centralized autocratic system of the feudal state became increasingly complete, and feudal society stagnated in development; in the Qing dynasty, feudal society began to stiffen and decline. “The above historical characteristics and historical process of feudal society created a feudal ideology centered on Confucianism as a religion. This ideology, adapted to the feudal patriarchal system and the unified autocratic monarchy, had a great narcotic and deceptive effect on the laboring people, thus effectively stabilizing the feudal social order.” Successive feudal rulers and their thinkers continuously processed and transformed Confucianism to better serve the consolidation of the feudal economic and political system. This transformation included a series of religious activities such as idolizing Confucius, sanctifying Confucian classics, and absorbing and borrowing from Buddhist and Taoist thought. Through continuous transformation, Confucianism gradually became complete and meticulous, forming a vast system of Confucianism as a religion that integrated politics, philosophy, and ethics into one. Confucianism as a religion adapted to the feudal patriarchal system and the unified autocratic monarchy, playing a role in consolidating the feudal system and stabilizing the feudal social order. Therefore, successive feudal rulers and their thinkers tirelessly processed and transformed Confucianism, and Confucianism as a religion always occupied an orthodox position in the ideological sphere.

宗教具有鲜明的民族性，儒教的性质和面貌是由中国封建社会历史条件决定的。中国有文字记载的历史近四千年，其中两千多年是在封建社会度过的，中国哲学史的发展主要是在封建社会中进行的。任继愈把中国的封建社会历史特点归为五个：（1）中国封建社会维持的时间长久而稳定；（2）封建宗法制度发展得比较完备；（3）ＺＹＪＱ下的多民族的大一统国家结构形成得早，分裂不能持久；（4）农民起义次数多、规模大；（5）在中国的封建制度下，资本主义没有得到很好的发展。他将封建社会发展划分为六个时期：春秋战国到秦统一前，中国属于分散割据的封建诸侯统治时期；ＺＹＪＱ的封建专制制度在秦汉时期建立；魏晋南北朝进入了门阀士族专制时期；隋唐五代中国属于统一的封建国家重建、兴盛与地方割据时期；到了宋元明，封建国家ＺＹＪＱ制日趋完备，封建社会停滞发展；清代，封建社会开始僵化没落。“封建社会的上述历史特点和历史过程，造成了以儒教为中心的封建意识形态，这种同封建宗法制度和君主专制的统一政权相适应的意识形态，对劳动人民起着极大的麻醉欺骗作用，因而它有效地稳定着封建社会秩序。”历代封建统治者及其思想家们为了使儒家更好地发挥巩固封建经济和政治制度的作用，不断地对儒学加工改造。这种改造包括将孔子偶象化，把儒家经典神圣化，吸收借鉴佛教和道教的思想等一系列ZＳ活动，儒学在不断改造中逐渐完备细密，形成了政治、哲学和伦理三者融合为一体的一个庞大的儒教体系。儒教适应封建宗法制度和君主专制的统一政权，起到了巩固封建制度和稳定封建社会秩序的作用，所以历代封建统治者及其思想家们乐此不疲地不断对儒学加工改造，儒教一直在意识形态领域占据着正统地位。

(2) Tracing Back the Historical Process of Confucianism Gradually Evolving into a Religion

（二）回溯儒家逐渐演变为儒教的历史过程

During the Spring and Autumn period, the Confucian school founded by Confucius was a political and ethical theory, not yet a religion. However, Confucius directly inherited the religious thought of the mandate of heaven and ancestor worship from the Yin and Zhou slave system, and his thought contained religious elements. The precepts of “revering heaven and following the ancestors,” “honoring the honored and亲近 the亲,” and “respecting virtue and protecting the people” in the Confucian classics all bore traces of primitive religion and a strong religious tradition. Later, Confucians continuously gave new interpretations to the Six Classics they transmitted, injecting new content. The core of Confucian doctrine always emphasized honoring the honored and亲近 the亲, always maintaining the absolute ruling position of the ruler and father, serving to consolidate the hierarchical system of patriarchal autocracy. With slight modification, Confucian doctrine could meet the needs of feudal rulers. Ren Jiyu believed that Confucianism underwent two transformations to develop into Confucianism as a religion.

春秋时期，孔子创立的儒家学说是一种政治伦理学说，还不是宗教，但孔子直接继承了殷周奴隶制时期的天命神学和祖宗崇拜的宗教思想，其思想中含有宗教因素。儒家经典中的“敬天法祖”“尊尊亲亲”和“敬德保民”的遗训都带着原始宗教的遗迹和浓重的宗教传统，后来儒家对所传的六经不断给予新解释，注入新内容，儒家学说的核心始终强调尊尊、亲亲，始终维护君父的绝对统治地位，为巩固宗法专制的等级制度服务，儒家学说稍加改造就可以适应封建统治者的需要。任继愈认为儒学经过两次改造发展成为儒教。

The first transformation of Confucianism occurred in the Han dynasty. Han dynasty Confucianism adapted to the needs of the unified centralized autocratic feudal patriarchal state of the Han dynasty. Emperor Wu of Han adopted Dong Zhongshu’s measure of “dismissing the hundred schools, respecting only Confucianism.” [18]18 “Dismissing the hundred schools, respecting only Confucianism”: A policy adopted by Emperor Wu of Han (r. 141–87 BCE) that elevated Confucianism to the official state ideology and suppressed other philosophical schools. Han dynasty Confucianism began to closely integrate with the unified autocratic monarchy and divine authority. Confucius was elevated to the status of a religious founder. “Confucius was both a noble uncrowned king and a manipulated idol; he became a composite of god and man.” Ren Jiyu pointed out the essence of the theological teleology from Dong Zhongshu to the White Tiger Hall Conference [19]19 White Tiger Hall Conference: A 79 CE imperial conference that codified the Han dynasty’s official interpretation of Confucian classics, reinforcing their religious and political authority. in the Han dynasty: “The Han dynasty Confucians first modeled the heavenly kingdom on the earthly kingdom, then used the divine will of the heavenly kingdom to issue instructions for all activities of the earthly kingdom.” The order of heaven, earth, and nature represented the social order on earth. Heaven was yang, ruler, father, husband; earth was yin, minister, son, wife. Nature was endowed with the attributes of feudal ethics and morality. Han dynasty Confucianism already had the embryonic form of Confucianism as a religion, but certain religious characteristics still needed to be perfected.

儒学的第一次改造是在汉代，汉代的儒家适应了汉代大一统的ＺＹＪＱ封建宗法专制国家的需要，汉武帝采纳了董仲舒推行的“罢黜百家，独尊儒术”的措施。汉代儒家开始与封建大一统的王权和神权紧密结合，孔子被抬上了宗教教主的地位，“孔子既是高贵的素王，又是任人摆布的偶像，他成了神和人的复合体。”任继愈指出，汉代从董仲舒到白虎观会议的神学目的论的实质：“汉代的儒家，先按照地上王国的模特儿塑造了天上王国，然后又假借天上王国的神意来对地上王国的一切活动发指示。”天地自然界的秩序代表着地上的社会秩序，天为阳、为君、为父、为夫，地为阴、为臣、为子、为妇，自然界被赋予封建伦理道德的属性。汉代儒家已具有儒教的宗教雏型，但宗教的某些特征尚有待于完善。

The Yellow Turban Uprising at the end of the Han dynasty shook the political foundation of Han rule, and Chinese society entered a local era of fragmentation and separation. The orthodox Confucian ideology of the unity of royal power and divine power, along with its teleological theory of divine will, also suffered a fatal blow. During the Wei, Jin, and Southern and Northern Dynasties, although Confucianism remained the orthodox feudal ideology, its exclusive status was challenged by Buddhism and Daoism. By the Sui and Tang dynasties, the three teachings—Confucianism, Buddhism, and Daoism—shifted from a tripartite standoff to integration. “Having undergone the continuous blending and mutual influence of Sui and Tang Buddhism and Daoism, and with the conscious promotion of feudal emperors, the conditions for the integration of the three teachings had matured. Centered on Confucian feudal ethics and absorbing some religious cultivation methods from Buddhism and Daoism, the establishment of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism marked the completion of Chinese Confucian religion.” [20]20 Ren Jiyu, “On Confucian Religion,” in *Collected Works of Ren Jiyu*, vol. 4 (Beijing: National Library of China Publishing House, 2014), p. 91.

汉末的黄巾大起义动摇了汉王朝的政治统治基础，中国社会进入了分散割据的地方时代，以王权、神权相结合的儒家正统思想神学目的论也随之受到了致命的冲击。魏晋南北朝时期，儒家虽然仍是封建思想的正统，但其独尊的地位受到了佛教和道教挑战。至隋唐时期，儒释道三教鼎立到三教融合，“经历了隋唐佛教和道教的不断交融、互相影响，又加上封建帝王的有意识地推动，三教合一的条件已经成熟，以儒家封建伦理为中心，吸取了佛教、道教一些宗教修行方法，宋明理学的建立，标志着中国儒教的完成。”

In the Song dynasty, Confucian religion had already taken on a mature religious form, marking the completion of the second transformation of Confucianism. Confucian religion “worships ‘Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, Ancestors, and Teachers,’ organically combining the feudal patriarchal system with a mystical religious worldview. Among these, the sovereign and ancestors are the core of China’s feudal patriarchal system. Heaven is the theological basis for the divine right of kings, Earth serves as a foil to Heaven, and Teachers are the clergy who speak on behalf of Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, and Ancestors, holding the highest power of interpretation. Just as Buddhism regards the Buddha, the Dharma, and the Sangha as the Three Jewels—without the Sangha, the Buddha and the Dharma cannot be propagated—when Song-dynasty Neo-Confucianism arose, it coincided precisely with the decline of Buddhism and Daoism. Buddhism, which had swept across the country and spread overseas, formally declined but did not actually disappear, because Confucian religion successfully absorbed Buddhism.” [21]21 Ren Jiyu, “On Confucian Religion,” p. 91. Ren Jiyu believed that “what makes religion religion has both its essential part and its shell part.” The so-called shell part refers to the organizational form, objects of worship, scriptures recited, ritual activities, and similar elements of religion—such as religious precepts, founders, doctrines, and classics—which often vary from one religion to another. “The founder of Confucian religion is Confucius; its doctrines and objects of worship are ‘Heaven, Earth, the Sovereign, Ancestors, and Teachers’; its classics are the Six Confucian Classics; its sect and lineage of transmission constitute the Confucian doctrine of the orthodox succession, with the so-called ‘sixteen-character true transmission.’” [22]22 The “sixteen-character true transmission” refers to a passage in the *Book of Documents* (“The human mind is precarious; the Dao mind is subtle. Be refined, be single-minded, and hold fast to the Mean”), which Neo-Confucians regarded as the secret essence of the Confucian orthodox succession. The “essential part” is “the realm of belief and pursuit concerning the relationship or interaction between humans and gods.” What is referred to as “the relationship or interaction between humans and gods” is what ancient Chinese often called the “relationship between Heaven and humanity.” In Ren Jiyu’s view, this is the fundamental criterion for determining what makes religion religion. The scope of religion must both be grounded in actual social life, dealing with issues of good and bad fortune in real life, and, when addressing specific practical problems, inevitably rely on supernatural external forces for explanation. “‘The relationship between Heaven and humanity’ involves two objects: ‘Heaven’ and ‘humanity.’ Of these two, one is fictitious—Heaven; the other is real—humanity. This necessarily creates a peculiar connection between its fictitiousness and practice.” Ren Jiyu pointed out that Neo-Confucianism is called Confucian religion because it possesses both the shell part and the essential part of religion, using rationalism as a means to ultimately lead people to fideism.

宋代，儒教已经具备了成熟的宗教形态，标志着儒学的第二次改造得以完成。儒教“它信奉的是‘天地君亲师’，把封建宗法制度与神秘的宗教世界观有机地结合起来。其中君亲是中国封建宗法制的核心。天是君权神授的神学依据，地是作为天的陪衬，师是代天地君亲立言的神职人员，拥有最高的解释权，正如佛教奉佛、法、僧为三宝，离开了僧，佛与法就无从传播。宋朝理学兴起的时候，恰恰是释道两教衰微的时候。风靡全国，远播海外的佛教，形式上衰微了，实际上并没有消亡，因为儒教成功地吸收了佛教。”任继愈认为，“宗教之所以为宗教，有它的本质部分和外壳部分。”所谓的外壳部分，即宗教的组织形式、信奉对象、诵读经典、活动仪式等方面，类似教规、教主、教义、经典等，外壳部分往往因教而异。“儒教的教主是孔子，其教义和崇奉的对象为‘天地君亲师’，其经典为儒家六经，教派及传法世系即儒家的道统论，有所谓十六字真传。”“本质部分”即“所信仰、追求的领域是人和神的关系或交涉”，所谓的“人和神的关系或交涉”即中国古人常讲的“天人关系”，在任继愈看来，这是判定宗教之所以为宗教的根本准则。宗教涉及的范围既要立足于现实的社会生活，处理现实生活中的吉凶祸福问题，但在处理具体现实问题时又不得不借助超现实的外在力量加以解释，“‘天人关系’涉及两个对象，‘天’和‘人’，两者之中，有一头是虚设的——天；有一头是实在的——人。这必然造成它的虚构性与实践两者的奇特的联系。”任继愈指出理学之所以被称为儒教，因为它既有外壳部分，也有宗教的本质部分，以一种以理性主义为手段，最终把人引向信仰主义。

Combining the above division of China’s feudal society into six periods, Mr. Ren Jiyu divided the history of Confucian religion’s development into “six stages,” as shown in Table 1.

结合以上对中国封建社会的六个时期划分，任继愈先生将儒教发展历史划分为“六个阶段”，见表1。

Ren Jiyu pointed out that Confucian religion shares the common characteristics of medieval world religions in general while also possessing its own unique individuality. The unity of its commonality and individuality fully reflects the historical conditions of China’s feudal society. From the perspective of historical materialism, Ren Jiyu, grounded in the historical reality of China’s feudal society, expounded the emergence of Confucian religion, traced the evolution from Confucianism to Confucian religion, and revealed the role Confucian religion played in China’s historical development. As Xiao Yan stated: “By introducing the philosophical method of historical materialism and examining the emergence of Confucian religion and its role in China’s historical development within the historical and cultural ecological environment of Chinese society, this undoubtedly opens a new path for the study of Confucian religion, liberates it from the confusion of cultural identity, and gives it confidence, freeing it from isolated academic hesitation.” [23]23 Xiao Yan, “A Study of Ren Jiyu’s View of Confucian Religion,” *Journal of Tsinghua University (Philosophy and Social Sciences)*, 2001, no. 3, p. 24.

任继愈指出，儒教既具有中世纪世界的一般宗教的共性，也有自己独特的个性，其共性和个性的统一，充分反映了中国封建社会的历史条件。从历史唯物主义的视角出发，任继愈立足于中国封建社会的历史现状阐述了儒教的产生，回溯了儒学到儒教的演变，揭露了儒教在中国历史发展中所起到的作用，如肖雁所说：“通过导入历史唯物主义的哲学方法，在中国社会的历史文化生态环境中，审视儒教的产生和儒教在中国历史发展过程中的作用，无疑为儒教研究开辟了一条全新的道路，使儒教从文化身份认定的困惑中解放出来，使儒教研究从孤立的学术彷徨中自信起来。”

IV. Conclusion

四、 结语

Historical materialism provided Ren Jiyu with a scientific theory and method for his study of religion. Using historical materialism as the fundamental guide for religious studies, Ren Jiyu was able to penetrate the layers of religious mist and discover the essence of religion. Ren Jiyu’s understanding of historical materialism also underwent continuous sublimation in its concrete application. From his early understanding of historical materialism to its specific application in the study of Buddhism, Daoism, and Confucian religion, his cognition showed a trend of continuous broadening and deepening. In the repeated exploration of how to use historical materialism to guide China’s religious studies, Ren Jiyu ultimately distilled it into the viewpoint of “explaining religion through history,” emphasizing the use of history to explain religion, rather than using religion to explain history. He stressed that religious issues and phenomena must be analyzed and examined within specific social and historical conditions, and that the national, historical, social, cultural-traditional, and regional characteristics of religion cannot be ignored. Ren Jiyu’s understanding of historical materialism and its concrete application in religious studies provide a successful example of scientific research and set a model for us in the New Era to further integrate the basic principles of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture and promote the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context. [24]24 This refers to the “Second Integration,” i.e., the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture, as emphasized by Xi Jinping. Guided by the Marxist view of religion and using historical materialism to study China’s religious issues, Ren Jiyu pioneered a new path for Marxist religious studies in China, laying a solid theoretical foundation for the establishment and development of Marxist religious studies in China. The basic theory and research method of “explaining religion through history” points the direction and plays a leading role in the current construction of a Marxist religious studies disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner.

唯物史观为任继愈的宗教研究提供了科学的理论和方法，以唯物史观为宗教研究的根本指南，任继愈得以透过层层宗教迷雾，发现宗教的本质。任继愈对唯物史观的理解也在具体运用中得到不断升华，从早期对唯物史观理解到在佛教、道教及儒教的具体研究中，在认识上呈现不断拓宽和加深的趋向。如何运用唯物史观指导中国的宗教研究，在不断反复探索中，任继愈最终归结为“用历史说明宗教”这一观点，凸显用历史说明宗教，而非用宗教说明历史，强调要把宗教问题及现象放在一定的社会历史条件下来分析、考察，不能忽视宗教带有民族的、历史的、社会的、文化传统的以及地域特色。任继愈对唯物史观的理解及其在宗教研究中的具体运用，为我们在新时代进一步将马克思主义基本原理与中华优秀传统文化相结合，推动马克思主义中国化，提供了科学研究的成功范例，做出了表率。以马克思主义宗教观为指导原则，运用历史唯物主义研究中国宗教问题，任继愈开创了中国马克思主义宗教学研究的新道路，为中国马克思主义宗教学的创建和发展奠定了坚实的理论基础。“用历史说明宗教”的基本理论和研究方法，为当下构建中国特色、中国风格、中国气派的马克思主义宗教学学科体系、学术体系和话语体系指明了方向，起到了引领作用。

Online editor: Tongxin

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