秦至西汉社会的“承天之明”与“尊贤重士”——从“圣”“贤”观念的角度出发

The Ideas of “Monarch Inherits the Merits of the Saints” and “Respect the Honorable Scholars” in the Qin and Western Han Dynasties——From the Perspectives of “Saints” and “Virtue”

"承天之明"和"尊贤重士"是取自《新语》和《汉书》的两句话,分别代表了君主承圣人之业以及要尊重属下两个维度。它们的背后,是秦至西汉社会对"圣""贤"观念理解的差别。不同帝王对于二者的诠释,使得国家朝着迥异的方向发展。秦的"以王为圣"、汉的"以圣为王"乃至"以圣贤为杖"等,是构建君臣关系的重要内容。儒学背景下的"以儒术缘饰吏事""圣人受命"与"自圣"等行为,都是"圣""贤"观念在各阶段演变的过程。梳理秦至西汉百余年间对相关问题的认知,有助于今人理解当时政治与思想文化间的相互关系。

The ideas of"monarch inherits the merits of the saints"and"respect the honorable scholars"are derived from the classic books of the Qin and Han Dynasties,each represents one of the two dimensions about how a monarch should behave and conduct himself.Behind them lays the different understandings on the concepts of"saint"and"virtue"between the Qin and the Western Han societies.The interpretations of the two concepts by different emperors lead the country into quite different directions.Qin’s idea of"only the king can become saints",Han’s idea of"only the saints can be called king",and even the idea of"the saint and the virtue can only help the monarch",are all important elements to build the relationship between the monarch and his ministers.Sorting out these hundreds-year-old issues in the Qin and the Western Han dynasties would help people nowadays to understand the interrelationship between politics and ideology at that time.