道不远人:早期儒家礼仪之道的形成

Human-centered“Tao”:On the Formation of Humane Ethics of Early Confucianism

"道"作为儒家的核心概念,指涉以礼仪文明为特征的人道秩序。殷商时期,统治者通过"率民事神"获得神的指导而取得王道。周代"敬鬼神而远之",以层级制的礼仪使社会秩序井然。春秋霸政时代,王权衰微,礼坏乐崩,霸主承载指导天下的王道职责。诸夏贵族诵诗书、知礼仪。霸政以后,陪臣"执国命",贵族普遍缺乏礼的教养。孔子以仁入礼,给礼注入了真诚与向善的精神动力,以诗书礼乐教弟子,把贵族的礼仪文化转移到有志于君子道的士人身上。早期儒家远承古代王道引领天下之责,近接春秋霸政贵族礼文化,"以道自任",开创了以修身为根本,以礼的教养引导社会风尚的礼仪之道。

Tao( morality) is the essence of Confucianism,centering on the ideas of li( propriety) and wenming( civility). During the early period of the Shang Dynasty( c. 1600- c. 1050 B. C.),rulers reigned with the Mandate of Heaven,proclaiming that their power to rule was bestowed by divinities,asking their subjects to serve the Heaven. However,kings of the Zhou Dynasty( c.1046- 256 B. C.) relied on the hierarchical system of propriety to maintain the social order but stay away from the divinities,worshipping them though. In the Spring and Autumn Period( 770- 476 B. C.),the social order was established by various rising hegemonies( lords indeed)while the central government lost its authority. The lords of the Xia Dynasty( c. 2070- c. 1600B. C.) believed the role of art in self-cultivation,and had a good understanding of propriety.However,the lords of the Spring and Autumn Period lost morality when they took over the power to rule. Against this background,Confucius enriched his concept of li by putting forward the concept of ren( benevolence),infusing sincerity and motivation of goodness into his thought on humane order. He disseminated the ideas of Book of Poetry,The Four Great Books,and The Etiquette to his disciples,expecting to transfer the ethics which was originally respected and followed by the noble lords to ordinary scholars,who were interested in the way of becoming junzi( gentlemen). He emphasized the importance of cultivation of morality and devoted himself to inculcating his disciples with his doctrines of li,cherishing the ideal of moralizing the society as a whole by realizing Tao with humanity.