孟子天下观与战国儒学的思想转换

Mencius' View of Governance and the Changes of Confucianism in the Warring States Period

孟子天下观产生在特定的历史背景中。首先,它体现了春秋与战国两个时代的历史分野;其次,它反映了周王室的衰微和群雄割据的政治现实。孟子天下观也是儒家因应战国时代各种思想挑战的方略之一。它不仅开启了原始儒学的思想转换,不再像孔子那样去倡言"礼乐",在人性已彻底沉沦的时代里,以"性命"之学构建思孟学派的"性善"说,而且以"仁者无敌"的论断来唤醒统治者,要用仁爱之心去一统天下。孟子天下观是儒者之思,仁者之向往,也是那个大时代里唯一的和最为高尚宏远的政治理想。

Mencius＇ view of governance was created against a special historical context. First, it shows the histori- cal division between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. Second, it reveals the fact that royal family in Zhou was weak and the country was divided by local giants. Mencius＇ view of governance is a way for Confu- cianism to respond to the challenges of various ideas in the Warring States Period. It not only started the changes in tradi- tional Confucianism, deviating from Confucius＇ emphasis on ritual and decorum, and establishing Mencius＇ teaching about the benevolence of human nature during a time in which human nature was completely corrupted, but also tried to awaken the rulers in that time to unite and rule the country with benevolence, because ＂the benevolent is indomitable.＂ Mencius＇ view of governance was what Confucianists dreamed about and what the benevolent hankered after. It was al- so the only and the greatest political ideal during that great time of upheavals.