“诗可以兴”:孟子诗教的人性教育方法及其现代意义

“The Odes Serve to Stimulate”:Mencius’s Method for the Cultivation of Human Nature in His Teachings of the Odes and Its Modern Significance

《诗》的主要功能是兴发、激励人的情志。儒家自孔子以来就非常重视诗教。孟子"长于《诗》《书》",不仅在论说过程中大量引用《诗》,且将诗教的根本精神运用到其"性善"的论证、启发、指点当中。通过生动的类比、比喻、形象的故事、人格的典范等方法,孟子努力激发人们对性善的确信和坚守,进而努力践行道德。在修辞方法上,《孟子》也发现大量运用了"赋""比""兴"的手法,增强了其雄辩性和感发力。孟子的诗教精神和方法在王阳明和梁漱溟那里都可以找到共鸣,对我们今天的儿童和青少年教育也同样具有启发意义。

The primary function of the Odes(Shi诗)is to stimulate and encourage people’s disposition and volition.Ever since Confucius,Confucians have greatly emphasized the teachings of the Odes.Mencius was“an expert in the Odes and Documents(Shu书).”Not only did he cite a large amount of passages from the Odes in the course of his arguments,but he also applied the basic spirit of the teachings of the Odes into his argumentation,inspiration and instruction related to his thesis that“human nature is good”(xing shan性善).Through vivid analogies,metaphors,as well as imaginative stories and ideal character models,Mencius tries his best to encourage people to maintain a steadfast conviction in the goodness of human nature and work hard on putting morality into practice.As for rhetorical methods,in the Mencius we also see the application of a large amount of“poetic prose”(fu赋),“analogy”(bi比)and“affective imagery”(xing兴),contributing to its eloquence and inspirational force.This kind of spirit and method found in Mencius’s teachings of the Odes resonates in Wang Yangming’s and Liang Shuming’s thought also,and holds a similar enlightening significance for the education of today’s children and adolescents.