从皇极到无极

From Supreme Ultimate to No-Ultimate

中国哲学的突破,乃是对于三代精神传统的反思。《洪范》的皇极观念,以天命、王权和德为中心,为世界确立一个至高无上的标准,纳万物和万民于其中,是古典时代政治思想的集中表达,对后世的儒家传统发生了深远的影响。老子立足于"无"的原则和"自然"的价值,倡导无名、无为、无知和无心等,通过对道和德的重新理解,肯定万物的独立存在,拒绝以一个明确的标准来裁制万物。"无极"便是这个思想世界的一个重要部分。在思想史的意义上,"皇极"和"无极"显然有着先后影响的关系,并成为两种不同精神的象征。从易学中最早发展出来的"太极"观念,与"皇极"有着密切的关系。后世周敦颐《太极图说》中"无极而太极"的表述,引起了影响深远的无极太极之争论。

The breakthrough of Chinese philosophy was a reflection of the spiritual tradition of the Xia(夏),Shang(商)and Zhou(周)Dynasties(三代).Centered on heavenly mandate(天命),regalia(王权),and virtue(德),the concept of"supreme ultimate"(皇极)in The Fundamental Law of Ruling(《洪范》)set up the highest criterion for the world that encompasses both myriad things and numerous people.Also,itwas a concentrated expression of the classical political thought,thus exerting a profound influence on the laterConfucian tradition.Meanwhile,based on the principle of"freedom from"(无)and the value of nature(自然),Laozi(老子)advocated freedom from vanity(无名),freedom from doing anything without carefulthinking(无为),freedom from the lack of true knowledge(无知),freedom from selfish motive(无心)andso on.Upon a reexamination of Dao(道)and virtue,Laozi affirmed the independent existence of the myriadthings and disapproved of judging them from one specific criterion.The concept of"no-ultimate"(无极)wasa key component of the above-mentioned world of thought.Moreover,from the perspective of the intellectualhistory,"supreme ultimate"evidently had an effect on the concept of"no-ultimate",and they eachsymbolized a distinct principle."Great uhimate"(太极)which appeared in the study of the Book of Changes(《易经》)was closely related to"supreme ultimate".Later,the expression"no-ultimate or great ultimate"(无极而太极)in The Explanation of the Diagram of Great Ultimate(《太极图说》),sparked the far-reaching debate between"no-ultimate"and"great ultimate".