《论语》“亲亲相隐”章新释

New Explanation of the Chapter “Relatives Cover Facts for Each Other” in <Analects>

《论语》的"直"既指率真、率直,也指公正、正直,兼及情与理,代表了由情及理的实践超越过程,亦称直道。"直在其中矣"中的"直",是真实、率直之直,而不是公正、正直之直。是说面对亲人的过错,子女或父母本能、自然的反应往往是为其隐匿,而不是去控告、揭发。它只是对"而子证之"的回应,不等于默认了"其父攘羊"的合理性。根据地下出土文献,早期儒家主张谏诤以制止父母的不善之行,当谏诤不能生效时,则主张"隐而任之",即为父母隐匿而自己将责任担当下来。

The notion of ＂upright＂ in the Analects has different connotations in different places. It refers to being genuine and authentic as well as being just and fair. Uprightness brings together sentiment and reason in acting as a kind of virtue. In practice, uprightness represents a process that starts with sentiment and moves to reason—a process known as the Way of Uprightness. The phrase“uprightness is found in the midst of this,”which appears in the Analects, means to be authentic or sincere; it does not mean to be just or upright. According to recently unearthed documents, early Confucians emphasized a method of preventing the bad acts of parents by means of remonstrance. When remonstrance did not work, they advocated“covering and taking responsibility for their faults”; in other words one should cover and conceal the crimes of one’s father by taking the responsibility on oneself.