试析子思学派的修身论

A Preliminary Investigation on Body-improvement Theory by Zi Si-school

子思学派是战国时介于孔孟之间的重要儒家派别。其修身理论非常丰富,有向内求和向外求两种路向。向内求是"修己",向外求是"治人",而"修己"是"治人"的前提与基础,因而显得更为重要。具体地说,"明明德"是其修身论的起点,"止于至善"是其终点;"慎独"是属于"求己"的自我教育的范畴;"八条目"则是修身的具体内容和方法。子思学派的修身论在今天仍有很高的借鉴价值。

Zi Si-school is one of the most important schools between Confucius and Mencius in researching Confucianism of the Warring State. The self-improvement theory by Zi Si-school is so prolific that it consists of two means, including inner-exploration and outer-exploration. The former refers to ＂self-improvement＂, while the latter denotes ＂other-governed＂. It＇s obvious that ＂self-improvement＂ is much more important because it is the precondition and basis of the ＂other-governed＂ theory. Basically speaking, it starts with the theory of ＂body-morality enhancement＂ and ends up with the theory of ＂to-the-utmost-kindness.The eight clauses are the basic content and methods of his self-improvement and this theory still has great value in modern society.