从《论语》中对管仲的评价看孔子的君臣观

On Confucius’ View about the Relationship between the Monarch and the Courtiers from His Critiques on GUAN Zhong in The Analects of Confucius

《论语》中记载孔子批评管仲不知君臣之礼,而又盛赞管仲帮助齐桓公“九合诸侯”“一匡天下”之仁功。所以在孔子看来,无“礼”未必不“仁”。从对管仲的评价中,可以看出孔子看重君臣之间的名分和角色定位,提倡“君君臣臣”,并认为臣子在尽到自己本分的同时,还要“以道事君”。孔子强调臣子要做到“忠”,从对管仲的评价中可以看出孔子强调的“忠”不只是忠于国君一人,还要忠于国家和天下百姓。臣子对君主的“信”不只是局限于小信小义和小礼小节,而是要着眼于国家和民族之大信大义。

It is recorded that Confucius criticized GUAN Zhong for not showing courtesy to the monarch, but he praised GUAN’s achievements in helping Qihuangong (Duke of the state Qi) preside over the alliance of the states and restore the world order of his time. It can be seen that Confucius believed that people who show no courtesy to the monarch do not necessarily lack of “benevolence”. From the dialectical evaluation for GUAN Zhong, we can see that Confucius valued the status and role orientation of the monarch and the courtiers and advocated that rulers and courtiers should play their proper roles. In addition, he believed that the courtiers should “serve the monarch with rites and courtesy” while doing their duties. In his emphasis on “loyalty”, Confucius meant that courtiers should not be loyal only to the monarch, but to the nation and its people and that courtiers’ integrity to the monarch is not just that of the micro righteousness or courtesy, but that of the macro ones to the country and nation.