“使由使知”新诠与宋代庶民教化理念的发展

The New Explanation of“Rather Enabling Civilians to Follow than be Known”and the Development of the Civilians Education's Concept in the Song Dynasty

“民可使由之,不可使知之”是孔子表达的治理庶民的方式。在汉唐的阐释中,这是基于“民不能知”的判断而采取的具有政教实效性的治民方式,它和儒家所提倡的王道政治理想以及人性论思想存在理论冲突。对此,宋儒一方面从教化者施行仁爱的角度出发,认为“使由使知”是为政者不将高要求施予民众,是对于庶民的体恤和仁爱,从而力图建立此种庶民治理方式与儒家德治仁政思想的契合性;另一方面,宋儒依据其性理思想,对“民”和“知”的关系重新进行界定,从而超越了汉唐关于“民不能知”的判断,指出庶民有觉知的潜能,至于“不可使知之”,是由于圣人教化的有限性而不是庶民认知能力的有限性。从此种有限性出发,宋儒缩小了庶民教化的范围,认为“知之”不是圣人教化庶民的任务,这有待于庶民自觉自知。宋儒对“民可使由之,不可使知之”的新阐释,不仅为此种庶民治理方式确立了王道依据,而且为其确立了合理的边界,并且为明代心学“觉民行道”的教化实践铺垫了理论基础。

“Rather Enabling Civilians to Follow than be Known”is the way of governance for the civilians expressed by Confucius.In the interpretation of the Han and Tang Dynasties,it was a method of governing the people based on the judgment of“civilians cannot know”and had the actual effect of political governance.Among them,there were theoretical conflicts between the political ideals and the theory of human nature.In view of this,from the perspective of the instructor,Song Confucianism believed that“Rather Enabling Civilians to Follow than be Known”was for the politicians not to impose high demands on civilians,but also for the compassion and love of civilians,to establish this way of governance of civilians'consistency with Confucian ideal political thoughts of virtue and benevolence.On the other hand,Song Confucianism redefined the relationship between“civilian”and“cognition”based on their philosophy ideas,thus surpassing the judgment of the Han and Tang Dynasty about“civilians can't know”and pointed out that civilians have the potential to be known.As for the“can't make civilians known”,it is due to the limitation of the sage's education and not the limitation of the cognitive ability of civilians.Starting from this limitation,Song Confucianism narrowed the scope of the education of civilians,and believed that“make civilians known”was not the task of the saints to educate the people,which required the people to consciously realize it.Therefore,Song Confucianism's new interpretation of“Rather Enabling Civilians to Follow than be Known”not only established an ideal political basis for this kind of governance of civilians,but also established a reasonable boundary for it,as well as a theoretical foundation to cultivation practice in Ming Dynasty.