孟子对早期儒家禅让学说的反思与重构

Mencius’ Reflection and Reconstruction of the Early Confucian Theory on Demising the Monarchical Power

早期儒家禅让学说以传贤反对传子,固然有其反对世袭的意义,不过自身也有诸多理论困难。孟子通过对政治权力授权逻辑的反思,指出天子能够以天下与人这一早期儒家禅让学说的理论前提违背了基本的政治授权逻辑,从而重构出天子荐人于天、天与之、民与之这样综合三者的天子权位授予主体。其中,天是虚悬的至高主体,民是实质的授权主体。由此孟子构想了摄政、三年之丧、避让、民众讴歌等天子权位授予程序,重新解释了尧舜相继为王的正当性。孟子的重构,仍然继承了早期儒家禅让学说中尊贤尚德的精神,并通过精心的程序设计,肯定除了代表天意的民意广泛认同以外,任何个体的权、位授予或自主宣告都不具有正当性。

Early Confucianism advocated the idea of demising the monarchical power to the man of virtue instead of the son of the emperor;it had the anti-hereditary significance,but it also had many theoretical difficulties.Mencius pointed out that the premise of early Confucianism,which held the idea that the emperor could pass land under Heaven to another violated the logic of political authorization.Thus,Mencius reconstructed the early Confucianism and took Heaven,the emperor and people together as a whole as the authorizer,in which Heaven is the supreme one and the people are the substantive one.Mencius also reconstructed the procedures for authorization to the emperor,such as regency,three-year funeral,retreat,and popular eulogy,and reinterpreted the legitimacy of Yao and Shun.Mencius'reconstruction inherited the spirit of respecting the virtuous from early Confucianism,and it assured through careful design that,apart from the broad recognition of the public opinion which represents the will of Heaven,any individually conferred power and position or independent ruling-power declaration does not own legitimacy.