王阳明“四民异业而同道”新解——兼论《节庵方公墓表》问世的一段因缘

Wang Yangming’s Doctrine of the “People of the Four Classes Engaging in Different Professions yet Sharing the Same Way” Revisited

王阳明《节庵方公墓表》因提供了所谓"弃儒就贾"的典型以及"四民异业而同道"论而被视为"新儒家社会思想史上一篇划时代的文献",然而《墓表》实则是一"乌龙"之作,墓表主人公"未尝一日从商"。《墓表》的写作时间既非传统所系的嘉靖四年,亦非当今学者认定的正德五年,而是正德十一年,故称其为"晚年定见"并不确切。实际上,斥许衡"学者以治生为先"之说为"误人",这是阳明一以贯之的立场。阳明"四民异业而同道"论固然是以儒学宗师身份对商人社会价值给予了明确肯定,却未放弃"士阶层"的精英意识,他对纵欲逐利与攀比嫉妒现象的批判未尝不是对"工商精神气质"(所谓"资本主义人之心性")蔓延化现象的不满。要之,以"生人之道"贞定工商文化是《墓表》的宗旨所在。

It has been widely accepted that Wang Yangming’s doctrine of the"people of four classes engaging in different professions yet sharing the same way"is well documented in the epitaph written for Fang Lin,the father of Fang Peng and Fang Feng(namely"Epitaph for the Revered Fang Jiean").Nonetheless this view is open to question for two reasons.First,it lacks historical context insofar as Fang Lin had never engaged in any commercial activity throughout his life.Second,the previous dating is wrong,because it was actually written in 1510 rather than in the traditionally supposed 1525 or,as supposed by modern scholars,1516;hence it cannot be deemed one of Wang’s late works.As for the interpretation of this text,it is essential to take into account Wang Yangming’s perennial emphasis on the privilege of promulgating Confucian moral ideals and teaching the public,which was for him the mission of the Confucian literati.Therefore,the core message of this epitaph still concerns the way of teaching and nourishing the people.