漢學在歐洲的建立與傳教士關係密切。早期漢學的發展由傳教士以遊記的方式書寫中國形象，其後推演到十七世紀以適儒策略作爲理解中國，傳遞基督信仰教義的取向。這樣的發展基本上雖然皆表達了傳教士理解中國的可能方式，內涵與深度卻有著相當大的差異，其基本上可說是一種由風土民情走向深度理解中國文化的過程。特別是到了十七世紀，傳教士透過理解儒家思想來作爲了解中國，並進行傳教的階段更是清晰可見。在這樣的情況下，他們如何看待其他思想流派或多或少得受到儒家思想的牽制。例如，當時的傳教士因受到儒家的影響，以負面的角度看待道家與道教。而談論到西方與道家與道教的接觸，最早可溯源到十六世紀。在當時，多數耶穌會會士諸如奇爾舍(Athanasius Kircher, 1601-1680)等人基本上並未區分道家與道教的差異，而多視老子脈絡的道家思想即等同於道教所傳遞的邪教思想。他們認爲道家思想與基督宗教的教義相去甚遠，甚至多所抵觸。因此，道家思想在當時傳教士利瑪竇(Matteo Ricci, 1552-1610)所重視的主流－儒家思想的擠壓之下退居到無關緊要的地位。這樣的狀況到了柏應理(Philipp Couplet, 1622-1693)等耶穌會傳教士所書寫的《中國聖人孔子》Confucius Sinarum Philosophus一書之後產生了不同的轉變。儘管此書主要以西方基督宗教教義爲基礎，理解並論述儒家思想與孔子論說的博大精深，不過，於其中柏氏卻不以宗教的角度理解道家，而以哲學的層面理解道家，並認爲道家當中的第四十二章隱含著基督宗教「三位一體」的思想；道家思想中的「道」與《易經》中的「太極」：世界的起源有著重大的關係。柏氏等傳教士對於道家思想的詮釋引發了白晉(Joachim Bouvet, 1656-1730)等後來的西方傳教士繼續研究道家思想的興趣，並在二十世紀的歐洲造成了重大的影響。本文擬在界定十七世紀傳教士漢學的發展脈絡中，探究傳教士於此時期在推崇儒家思想之餘，與道家與道教思想初步的接觸狀況。
The introduction of concept of ”Dao” into the Western world can be traced back to the missionary's accounts about Daoism and the Dao folk religion in the 16(superscript th) century. Back then, most of the missionaries, such as Athanasius Kircher, SJ (1601-1680), did not mark the distinction between Daoism and Dao as a religion, and they tended to equate philosophy of Lao-Zi with the heresy of the Dao religion. For them, Daoism and Christianity were completely unrelated or even contrary in their teachings. When Matteo Ricci, SJ (1552-1610) upheld the values and thoughts of the then mainstream Confucianism, Daoism was very much marginalized and neglected by Western scholars. Yet, the situation is reversed after the publication of Confucius Sinarum Philosophus edited by Philipp Couplet, SJ (1622-1693) and his confrères. Though the book could not break the tradition of introducing and discussing the profoundness of Confucianism and Confucius' writings within the theological framework of Christianity, it did provide a brand new way to look at Daoism. Instead of treating it as a religious system, Couplet investigated the philosophical aspect of Daoism and argued that the concept of trinity in Christian thought is embedded in Chapter 42 of Tao Te Ching. The writings of Couplet inspired Joachim Bouvet (1656-1730) and other missionaries in the west to further their studies, which greatly influenced the research of Daoism in the 20(superscript th) Century Europe. This article reconstructs the rise of the missionary sinology in Europe, and discusses the missionaries' interest in Confucianism as well as their understanding of Daoism.