孔子與天命

Confucius and TianMing(Mandate of Heaven)天命

《論語》中孔子對“命”舆“天命”的使用大體上是有分别的,前者指人力不可達抗的命運,後者指體現儒家道德法則(即合乎“仁義”)的“人生一切當然之道義與職責”(錢穆語)。孔子在不同場合所説的“天命”,都有其具體所指。如君子“畏天命”、“小人不知天命而不畏”的“天命”,可從劉寶楠説解爲“知有仁義禮智之道,奉而行之”。孔子自述“五十而知天命”,結合其一生行事和《上海博物館藏戰國楚竹書(二)》所收《子羔》篇等有關材料來看,當指孔子五十五歲左右在魯國從政失敗出逃、體悟到上天所賦予他的真正使命是“傳斯文”——整理傳承記載着古代聖賢之道的典章文獻、禮樂文化。孔子爲了推行他的“仁義”,赋予傳統“天命”以新的内涵;但他對傳統的“天命”説和“天”的觀念,雖有所懷疑或否定,卻並不明確反對,甚至仍有相當大的繼承。孔子對於“性與天道”的態度也與此相近。

Confucius used Ming(Fate)命and TianMing(Mandate of Heaven)天命differently in The Analects of Confucius論語.Ming means the fate can not be defied by manpower.TianMing means moral principles and duties emboding confurian kindheartedness and justice in丨he life.Confucius refered specifically to TianMing in different occasions.TianMing,from this sentence,that Gentlemen fear TianMing but villains do not fear it because of ignorance,means that the way of kindheartedness and justice can be understood and pursued according to the explanation of Liu Baonan劉寳楠.Confucius said I knew TianMing at the age of fifty.This TianMing means real mission realized by Confucius when he escaped from Lu魯for failure in politics at the age of fifty-five,that is collecting and inheriting the documents and culture of ancient sages’virtues,in accordance with Confucius’life experience and a text which is entitled ZiGao子羔copied in the Warring States Period in bamboo slips and collected by Shanghai Museum.Confucius gave the traditional TianMing a new connotation in order to carry out his ideas of kindheartedness and justice,however,lie not only didn’t explicitly oppose the traditional sense of TianMing and Heaven or God,but also inherited it considerably,although he had doubted or denied it to some extent.Confucius,attitude toward Xing and TianDao性舆天道was similar to this situation.