永嘉礼学研究的制度儒学面向及其现代意义

The Ritual and Institutional Studies by Yongjia School and Their Modern Significance

时至今日,"永嘉之学"作为极具特色的区域性儒学传统,已因太多的历史与现实因素的遮蔽而失其本来面目。准确地讲,永嘉之学既不单纯是一种"功利之学",更非现代意义上的"功利主义",而是一种"即经以求其制度器数之等"的"制度新学"和"经制之学"。作为一种重视制度规范与对策研究的儒学,从历史经验中研究总结各种礼法制度的演变逻辑与实践策略是永嘉学者自觉选择的一门绝学,亦为历代士林所认可和推重。他们前赴后继,依据"三礼"、《春秋》等经典参与议礼,阐发儒家宗法与社会政治制度之精义,注重实际问题的研究与解决,在制度儒学和政治儒学的道路上做出了诸多可贵的探索。其重视制度、不悖人情、务实变通的区域文化性格,是儒学参与当代中国本土政治文明重建的宝贵精神资源。

Today,Yongjia school is viewed as a distinctive regional Confucian tradition,which unfortunately has lost its original spirit due to many historical and contemporary factors.Precisely speaking,Yongjia school’s work is not simply a theory of utilitarianism,far away from a type of utilitarianism in modern sense as well;it is a kind of political Confucianism or institutional Confucianism based on three classics,Zhouli,Yili,and Liji.Since the Southern Song Dynasty,scholars of Yongjia school have been working hard in studying these classics,with a focus on institutional norms,attaching importance to an understanding of the evolutionary logic and the praxis of various ritual and political systems.Their achievements have been recognized and valued by contemporaries and scholars of later generations.Their explorations are quite different from the moral philosophy in Song and Ming neo-Confucianism,reflecting a shift towards institutional Confucianism and political Confucianism.How present-day Confucianism could participate in the reconstruction of the political civilization in contemporary China can be inspired by Yongjia school and its regional characteristics.