王天下——殷周之际对中国文化的奠基意义

A Virtue-based Government——the Foundational Significance of the Transition from the Yin to the Zhou Dynasty to Chinese Culture

中国文化奠基于殷周之际,它的基本精神集中体现在"王天下"的理想之中。这一伟大的文化理想,是周人取得克商战争胜利后,在王权受到挑战的严峻形势下,在接受并应对挑战的努力中,在不得不面对历史和现实时,不得不面对被征服的异姓部落并进而面对"天下"的考验中,创造性地提出并打造出来的。它是周人留传给后世的一份厚重的历史文化遗产,也是压在中国人身上的一个沉重的负担。站在今天的立场上,对它进行批判和反省,以一种面向世界和未来的人类情怀重塑人的理想,是我们的历史责任。

Chinese culture was founded at the transition from the Yin to the Zhou Dynasty, whose primary values lay in the ideal of a virtue- based government. This great ideal was developed creatively by the people of Zhou, who, after successfully overthrowing the Shang Dynasty, had to face grave challenge to the monarchy, to make every attempt to cope with challenges, to deal with both history and reality, to cope with those conquered tribes of different families and to stand the contest of ＂ruling the nation＂. The virtue - based government was both a significant legacy the people of Zhou left to the later generations and a heavy burden upon the shoulder of the Chinese people. From a contemporary perspective, our historical duty is to criticize and reflect this key character of Chinese culture so as to re - shape our human ideal with a humanistic mind.