试论孟子文章之气从何来

Where the qi of Mencius’ Articles is Coming from

孟子的文章向来以其文中之气为人称赞,究其气之来源,历代学者多将其归结为文章的句式多变、长于辩论、善用修辞等外在形式。实不尽然,孟子文中之气是由其独特的精神品格所决定的。这种气主要来自于两个方面:一是包含着理论自信、社会责任、忧患意识、个人品格和追求真理的阳刚之气;二是面临政治、文化、社会危机,孟子开出一系列的治国良方得不到推行而形成的一腔磊落不平之气。仕途不顺与理想碰壁的悲惨命运交织在一起,点燃了孟子心中的怒火,形成了孟子的文章之气。

Mencius’ articles have always been praised by the "qi" in his articles. The source of "qi" has been attributed to the external forms of the articles’ sentence patterns, full of debate, and good use of rhetoric. It is not entirely true what kind of article will be written by a person with a spiritual character. Therefore, the "qi" in Mengzi is determined by its unique spiritual character. This kind of "qi" comes mainly from two aspects: First, it contains theoretical self-confidence, social responsibility,sense of urgency, personal character and masculinity in pursuit of truth;second, facing political, cultural and social crisis, Mencius launched a series of methods of ruling the country that were not implemented and the ideal society he built could not be realized. His spiritual independence was high but in reality he had to rely on the ups and downs of the ruler. The career path was intertwined with the tragic fate,which ignited the anger of Mencius’ s heart and forms the "qi" in Mencius’ texts.