“禅让说”思潮何以在战国时代勃兴--兼及中国原始民主思想之盛衰

Why the Trend of "Abdication" Thrives in the Period of Warring States——The Rise and Fall of China's Primitive Idea of Democracy

不论中国历史的远古时代是否存在过禅让制度,"禅让说"在战国时期的盛行则是一个确然的思想事实。这一学说在战国时期的勃然兴起,是与当时的原始民主思潮相联系的,它和"汤武革命论"、"君位可易论"、"择贤立君论"、"立君为民论"等一起,形成了一种原始民主思想的强烈共振,展示了中国文化在其创生期的丰富多彩及其理论深度。该时期贤哲们对中国未来政治模式的有益探索,虽然在秦汉以后的极端专制主义体制之下没有可能发挥其实践价值,但毕竟展示了中华早期文化的丰富性和多样性,并为今天的政治、社会及其文化建设,提供了宝贵的思想资源。

Whether there was a system of abdication in remote antiquity in Chinese history, it was a fact in ideology thriving in the period of the Warring States. The rise of this doctrine at that time was related to the primitive trend of democracy, which exhibited the richness of the Chinese culture in its originating period and its theoretical depth. Though the significant probing to China＇s future mode of politics by the sages of that time did not display its practical value under the absolute monarchy after Qin and Han Dynasties, it, after all, showed the abundance and multiplicity of the ancient Chinese culture, and provides today＇s construction of politics, society and culture with the gems of the sources of mind.