文明的宇宙观形态:方位、季节与他性

The Cosmological Foundations of a Civilisation: The Relevance of Directions, Seasons, and Alterities

本文原题为《Directions,Seasons,and Alterities:Notes on the Early History of Chinese Political Cosmology》,发表于英国《传统宇宙观研究会会刊》(The Journal of the Traditional Cosmology Society,Volume 29,2031,pp.25-58)。文章旨在通过探讨中国上古时期的政治宇宙观转型史来阐述文明宇宙论形成的历史概貌。作者认为,"天圆地方"的宇宙观并不像通常认为的那样,产生于公元前2世纪汉帝国时期,而是早已作为一种"石器时代的宇宙观"而在此之前很久就存在。在周代的时候,已经从一种"王权宇宙观"(政治和宗教上具有绝对主义和务实主义特质的商制)演变为一种"文明宇宙观"(政治上和宗教上具有联盟主义和礼教主义性质的周制)。这种古老的世界观图式,在战国时期(约公元前6世纪至公元前3世纪)

The article is a treatment of the cosmological configurations of civilisation in early China. It argues that the'civilizationalcosmos'ofZhou, which hasbeen taken by many as the 'originalshape'ofthe Chinese world was created out of a reformation of pre-exisiting models, in particular, the 'stone age cosmos', of pre-historical times, and the kingly cosmos(the absolute and pragmatic Shang rule).