张载“性天四句”新解

A new explanation of Zhang Zai’s“Four Sentences of Human Nature and Tian”

在《正蒙》一书中,张载通过四句话对天、道、性、心四个道学基本范畴给出了明晰的定义。“由太虚,有天之名”有二义:一是说天自太虚而来,二是说太虚即天。“由气化,有道之名”也有二义:一是说道由气化而来,二是说气化即道。“合虚与气,有性之名”,是说性是太虚与形气的两合。“合性与知觉,有心之名”,是说心是性与知觉的两合。这四句话中,前两句“由”字的语境是“神化”,后两句“合”字的语境是“一物两体”。

In the book of Zheng Meng,Zhang Zai defined a clear conception of the four basic categories of Neo-Confucianism:Tian,Tao,Heart(Xin)and Human nature(Xing)through four sentences.There are two meanings of“from Tai Xu,there is a name of Tian”.One is that Tian comes from the Tai Xu,the other is that the Tai Xu is just Tian.The sentence of“from Qi,there is a name of Tao”also has two meanings.One is that Tao comes from Qi,the other is that Qi is Tao.The sentence of“from the combination of Tai Xu and Qi,there is the name of Human nature(Xing)”means that human nature is the combination of Tai Xu and Qi.The sentence of“from the combination of Human nature(Xing)and perception,there is the name of Heart(Xin)”means that heart is the combination of Human nature(Xing)and perception.In these four sentences,the context of the word“from”in the first two sentences is“source and process of change”,and the context of the word“combination”in the last two sentences is“two aspects of one thing”.