“柔远能迩”解

Interpreting “rou yuan neng er”

"柔远能迩"一词不仅见于《尚书·尧典》、《诗·民劳》、《左传·昭公二十年》等传世文献,还出现在金文《大克鼎》和《番生簋》中,刚刚公布的清华简《説命下》也有它。可见此语是先秦古人很常用的成语。历代学者对"柔远能迩"多有解释,其中"柔"训安,"迩"训近,皆是常训,见于《诗》传笺及《书》传,所以解释"柔远能迩"的关键是"能"字应如何理解。目前学者对它的解释多达五种,但都有问题。从研究的结论看,"柔远能迩"应该读作"柔远暱迩",意思是安抚远者,亲昵近者。

This paper mainly discusses rou yuan neng er 柔远能迩, an apparently popular set phrase that can be found in numerous traditional documents such as the Shangshu, the Shijing, and the Zuozbuan. After analyzing different interpretations of the phrase from previous studies, this paper concludes that none of the previous explications were satisfactory and proposes its own version of exegesis. The author believes that ＂rou yuan neng er 柔远能迩” should be construed as rou yuan ni er 柔远暱迩”, which means rulers should placate their suhiects from distant lands and please those that are close by.