论蔡清“气质之性斯即谓之性”的人性论思想

Cai Qing's Theory on Human Nature

蔡清作为明代理学向气学转化时期的重要人物,在人性问题上也有非常重要的创见。蔡清以阴阳互根为理,认为理是气化流行中之条理,将本体之理转化为气质之理。他认为天地之性只是阴阳五行之理,"阴阳五行之理即便有清浊厚薄",因此天地之性即不是统一的至善之性。阴阳相对而类分,在天也有阴浊之气,也不全是至善,阴浊之气下落到人便是恶。而人性之所以以善为主,盖因阳全阴半,阳为主宰,可以统摄阴。善之不足即是恶,人性中的恶也是善中之恶。每个人由于禀赋天性(气质)之不同,所具有的善性是有高下之分的。但蔡清并未走向彻底的气本论,而是在理本与气本之间出现了一些摇摆,然依然不废其价值。

As an important figure whose academic center of gravity turned from li （lit., principle） to qi （material force） in the Ming dynasty （1368-1644）, Cai Qing （1453-1508） also had significant creative points of view on the issue of human nature. He regarded the mutual dependence of yin and yang as the principle and contended that li is the vein and order of the flowing of qi, and in this way he transformed ontological li into material li. From his perspective, the nature of heaven and earth is nothing but the principle of yin-yang and Five Agents （wu xing）. Since yin-yang and Five Agents contain both pure and turbid elements, the nature of Heaven and Earth should not be of a unified nature of utmost good （zhi shah）. Because yin and yang things are relatively classified, things in Heaven also have yin and turbid qualities, the state of which is not of utmost good. The yin and turbid force is manifested as evil in man, but good still dominates in human nature. As yang is the whole and yin is the half, yang can dominate and control yin. As insufficiency of good is manifested as evil, the evil in human nature is in the midst of good. Because people differ in endowment, they possess different degrees of goodness. In spite of the fact that Cai Qing did not thoroughly move towards qi-based ontology but vacillated between qi-based ontology and li- based ontology, his views are still valuable.