《论语》的历史世界

The Historical World of the Analects

文章通过对《论语》与历史关系的考察,展开对它作为经典的意义的论述。《论语》关涉的历史问题包括两个层次,即发生于前《论语》时代而进入《论语》的历史,以及后《论语》时代受《论语》影响的历史。作者认为,《论语》中,孔子的传经与论史是统一的。《论语》虽然不是原始的经,但也不是一般的子书,它由子而传,从传至经,地位不断提升。同时它也具有思想深刻的史著功能,《论语》对历史的评点,就是赋予相关人物、事件以历史意义的经典行动。这部经典同其影响下的以《史》《汉》为代表的史学传统,其文化价值应由此而得到理解。

This paper discusses the meaning of the Confucian Analects by examining its relationship with history.The Analects involves history at two levels:one is the pre-Analects history which constitutes its subject,the other the post-Analects history written under its influence.The author argues that in the Analects,Confucius's teaching of the classics is united with his comments on history.The Analects was not one of the original Confucian classics,but nor was it simply the writings of a contemporary thinker.The Analects underwent a continuous elevation,from being read as an ordinary philosophical work to being a commentary on the classics and then finally to being a classic.In addition,the Analects is a historical work imbued with profound thought;its comments on history assign meaning to the characters and events concerned.It is in this sense that we should understand the cultural value of the Analects and the historical tradition it influenced,as represented by the Shi Ji (Records of the Historian) and the Han Shu (History of the Han Dynasty).