荀子名学管窥

On the Study of Names by Xunzi

三代以还,我国就有统一名号、制定语文标准的传统。至春秋战国,礼崩乐坏,名号变乱,孔子循名责实于前,墨子取实予名于后,引发了诸子旷日持久的名实之辨。荀子后出,折中儒墨,综合百家,顺应时势,提出"制名以指实"、"循旧作新"、"约定俗成"正名主张,将名学纳入礼学的范畴,成为其帝王之学的有机构成,并对此后中国社会的语文规范发生了久远的影响。

Since the Dynasties of xia, Shang and Zhou, China formed the tradition of unifying the courtesy names and standardizing the Chinese. Until the period of Spring and Autumn Warring States, the propriety was disintegrated and the courtesy names were not unified any more. Confucius and Mo Zi＇ s different standard about it aroused the dispute for quite a long time. Conforming to the Current Situation, Mo Zi compromised the Confucians School and Mohist School, comprehensived the advantages of other schools and proposed the principles such as ＂ creating names to refer to the reality＂, ＂adapting the old name in creating the new＂ and ＂establishing by popular usage＂. Therefore, the Study of Names was brought into the catalogue of the Ritual Study, which became a part of the theory of monarchy, and exerted the great influence over the Chinese standard in China.