“执中致和”本义考

A Textual Study of "Zhi Zhong Zhi He"

“执中致和”是构建和谐社会的重要思想资源。“和”表示协调不同声音,构成美妙的乐章。当人们认识到“和实生物,同则不继”的事物发展规律后,便逐步向认识、政治法律、伦理道德、心灵审美各领域拓进,要义是将利益不同、政治要求不同的力量协调起来,实现国安民悦的“大和”目标。甲骨文“中”为“王旗”形,表示王法之中道,后伸延为道德之中正,认识之正确,以及人性之至诚、人情之中节。“执中致和”就是执政者以其中直之性和中节之情,实行合乎中道的法律制度,让矛盾中的各方各得其位,使创生中的万众各张其性。但由于“执中”权在君不在民,而原本作为协助君王“执中致和”的士人,在利禄的诱惑下成为官僚机构的一员之后,竟投王所好,使君权失去了稳定的、理性的制约力量,这样,其“中”不中、其“和”不和便成为经常的社会现象。在经过长期的治乱循环之后,人民最终以民主革命的形式推翻了君权专制制度。而今天,当我们运用“执中致和”的思想资源服务于构建“和谐社会”时,一定要忠实地分析这一理论的本义,注意克服其主客观的历史局限性,使它重新焕发出新的活力。

The idea of ＂Zhi Zhong Zhi He（ holding the middle so as to achieve harmony）＂ is an important ideological resource for the construction of a harmonious society. ＂He＂ implies the harmonization of different sounds to generate beautiful music. When men realizes the principle that ＂harmony is conducive to the generation of all things; uniformity will stop the development,＂ they would apply this principle to the field of cognition, law, politics, ethics, and aesthetics to coordinate forces of different interest groups so that the goal of ＂Da He＂ （big harmony） could be achieved. The original seal character for ＂Zhong （the middle）＂ was in the form of a royal flag, denoting the middle way of the law. Later it began to mean the ethic righteousness and the uprightness of personality. ＂Zhi Zhong Zhi He＂ thus implies that the ruler~ should be righteous and upright so that they could position different forces appropriately with the right law. ＂Zhi Zhong （ holding the middle）＂ is a principle for the ruler. Those who help the ruler to realize his aim of achieving harmony, however, might ingratiate themselves with the ruler once they become members of the bureaucracy and disrupt the stability of the ruling power and the constraint of rationality, resulting in social turmoil. After a long cycle of turbulent history, the mass overthrew the monarchy in the democratic revolution. Today when we make use of the idea of ＂Zhi Zhong Zhi He＂ to construct a harmonious society, we must trace the origin of this principle so that we could avoid its historical limitations and revitalize its oower.