封禅礼的经学意旨

The Confucian Philosophy of the Feng and Shan Sacrifices

封禅典礼遭到"非古""不经"的斥责由来已久,由检讨可知,此二说均难以成立,自阮元、孙星衍以来已有多位学者就封禅之渊源进行过探索。在学界已取得的成绩基础上,有必要对封禅的经学依据进行系统的梳理。汉代谶纬之学已对封禅进行过主动的理论建设,就残存的纬书来看,封禅的功能在于考绩,封禅的现实依据在于天下治平已得到一定的彰显,这在《白虎通》中更有较成规模的理论建构。更早的《诗》《书》等六经经文则显示,聚土为封,除地为坛即禅,于山顶祀天告成是封禅的古义,此义与天子巡狩检视天下,最终以太平功成而告天的仪节相汇合,明堂的起源亦与之密切相关。司马迁在《史记》"八书"中设置《封禅书》,与封禅在六经中的古义一脉相承,并且他又接受了以《管子》为代表的齐地泰山封禅说,将两者糅合起来构筑其政治哲学。从礼治模式上看,封禅是治国臻于最高理想的仪式标志,是国家祭礼系统的顶点,应当处于无限延宕的状态,其背后蕴入了国家治理的最高目标。秦始皇、汉武帝将封禅强行拉回现实中去实行它,自然要遭到司马迁的斥讽。而现实封禅实践中所蕴入的封禅者的私心,则逐渐使封禅典礼徒有其壳,从而表现出了"礼仪的蝉蜕化"这一制度史变迁的典型特征。

The Feng and Shan Sacrifices had received varieties of criticism for thousand years.Critics argued that these sacrifices failed to follow the traditional principles required in Confucian classics or even to be recorded in them. However,the exploration of origin of the Feng and Shan by Ruan Yuan,Sun Xingyan in the Qing Dynasty and later researchers had determined that these arguments are invalid.This paper attempts to present an observation in the philosophy of Feng and Shan in Confucian classics based on the products produced by previous scholars. The original meaning of Feng and Shan inferred from the Book of Documents and Classic of Poetryinvolved building altars at the top of the mountain(Feng),and clearing land at the foot of it(Shan)to pay homage to heaven and earth.This meaning is similar as the ritual proclaiming the peace to heaven after emperor’s inspection tour,and also relevant to the origin of Mingtang.Sima Qian documented Feng and Shan as one chapter in Shih chi based on both original meaning in Confucian classics and the explanation at Ch’i in Kuan tzu, so the political philosophy of Sima Qian was constructed from the mixture of these two theories.On this subject, Feng and Shan became a ritual symbol of the idealist vision of humane governance as well as the top of sacrifice system,so it should be prolonged into an unlimited postponement.However,Qin Shi Huang and Emperor Wu of Han forced to fulfill their ambitions by Feng and Shan in reality that definitely incurred criticism from Sima Qian.Moreover,these selfish motives eventually encroached upon the essence of Feng and Shan showing a typical characteristic of vicissitude in the history of state and court ritual.