在不平等中追求正义——儒家“礼治”的另一种解读

To Pursue Justice in Inequality——Another Interpretation of "Rule by Ceremony" of Confucianism

儒家"礼治"对平等、正义的理解与构想,可为解决当前中国平等理念与实践之间的脱节提供一种思路。儒家"礼治"精义一在于别,二在于仁,别指区分等级,仁指以他人为同类,推自爱之心以爱人。儒家认为不平等是人类社会的必然现象,也是必要的存在,但不平等必须合理,不能过分,故儒家又"以仁和别",意图将不平等控制在"仁"的范围内,也即,儒家认可合乎正义的不平等,但反对不正义的不平等。当前中国社会两极对立问题的症由,不在于不平等太多,而在于不正义的不平等太多,儒家"以仁和别"的"礼治"构想,可为解决此一问题提供思路。

＂Rule by ceremony＂ of the Confucianism advanced its theory of equality and justice,which is useful for solving the problem of divorcing between the concept and practice of equality.Its essence lies in two respects——inequality and benevolence,the former means grades,while the latter refers to treating and loving others as the same as oneself.In Confucianists＇ opinion,inequality is inevitable and essential to human,but it must be controlled to some proper extent.In other words,Confucianists admitted a just inequality,but opposed an unjust inequality.The problem of polarization in China implies too much unjust inequality instead of inequality.Therefore,＂rule by ceremony＂ of Confucianism is likely to provide a useful perspective for problem resolution.