“举逸民”与“明养老”——试析刘邦父子“求聘四皓”行为的历史渊源

'Consult Hermit' and'Respect the Aged':An analysis about the Chinese political tradition of the funding emperors of Han Dynasty

《史记》、《汉书》所载"商山四皓",兼具"逸民"与"高年"两种身份特征。汉初刘邦父子"求聘四皓"的行为,与上古"举逸民"、"明养老"政治文化有渊源关系。"举逸民"是笼络人心、获取民众支持的重要手段。《论语·尧日》所言"举逸民"可使"天下之民归心",《说苑·君道》所载武丁通过"举逸民"复兴商政,这些政治理念与政治实践对汉初"求聘四皓"具有一定的影响。在汉代之前的思想观念中,老年人往往是经验与智慧的象征,能够在国家决策及社会管理体系中扮演重要角色。因此刘邦父子"求聘四皓",或许就有向天下臣民宣示新王朝重视敬老养老的政治目的在内。这种"求聘"行为显示了中国古代对人才选拔和敬老养老的重视,实际是上古政治逻辑指导下的追求。

In the old Chinese classics Shi ji and Han shu,four old men known as ' Shang shan Si hao'were considered both hermits and seniors.Liu Bang,the founding emperor of Han dynasty and his successor had sought advice from the ' Shang shan Si hao',which was closely related to ancient political culture of seeking advice from the hermits and taking care of the elderly.Seeking advice from the hermits is an important means to get support from the general public.According to Analects of Confucius(Lun Yu),seeking advice from hermits wins the support of all the people.The Garden of Stories(Shuo Yuan) also described that Wuding,the king of Shang Dynasty,had revived the country by taking advice from hermits.These political idea and practice had certain influence on seeking advice from the ' Shang shan Si hao' in the early of the Han Dynasty.Before the Han Dynasty,the elderly were considered the representatives of wisdom and experience and therefore played a pivotal role in the country's decision making and social management system.Therefore,through seeking advice from the hermits and elderly,Liu Bang and his successor were to make people understand that they would pay respect to and look after the elderly.Seeking advice from the elderly demonstrated that attention was paid to the selection of the talented and the elderly in ancient China,which was the guidance from the political logic in the ancient times.