明代儒学气学传统的回归及走向——以“太虚”诠释为中心

Returning to the Qi Tradition: A Discussion Based on Ming Dynasty Interpretations of Taixu

明代学者对“太虚”的诠释,整体上呈现出一种气学的风格取向。具体而言,在“后理学”视野下,明代儒者批判性地继承了“太虚”概念,对太虚进行了本体论建构,表现出回归气学的倾向。在此基础上,又将“太虚”与“心”并论,呈现出以气论心性的学术路径,并最终将“太虚”作为伦理价值的归宿。从中可以看出,“太虚”内涵是一个逐渐深化丰富的过程,而这一过程正反映了明代儒学演进历程中对以往气学传统的继承。梳理这一过程,不仅为理解明代学术变迁及宋明儒学转承的内在理路提供一个视角,也可为解读儒学内部的气学传统及儒学史的演进开辟新的面向。

The interpretation of Taixu by scholars in the Ming dynasty presents a particular orientation of Qi studies. Specifically, Ming Neo-Confucian scholars critically inherited the concept of Taixu with a corresponding ontological construction that presents an understanding of Taixu and Xin in which Taixu is regarded as the destination of ethical values. The connotation of Taixu is a gradually deepening and enriching process ,reflecting the inheritance of the Qi tradition in the evolution of Confucianism in the Ming dynasty. The study of this process can not only provide a perspective for understanding the intellectual changes of the Ming Dynasty and the internal logic of Confucianism in the Song and Ming dynasties, but also open up a new direction for interpreting the Qi tradition of, as well as the evolution of, Confucianism in history.