儒学民间化:阳明后学“觉民行道”的社会伦理建构

Secularization of Confucianism:the social ethical construction of Jue Min Xing Dao of the late Yangming School

中晚明时期,面对政治腐败和道德沦丧等社会危机,阳明后学积极开展了一场面向普通民众的社会化讲学运动。通过化良知为德行的“致良知”实践,将儒学的“外王之道”深入到“觉民行道”的社会伦理建构中,开启了“士学”向“民学”的儒学民间化发展转向。阳明后学以“良知”为统摄,试图通过讲学明道,树立化民成俗的道德信念以整顿道德人心。阳明后学通过乡约制度的建立,将内涵心学伦理教化的儒家伦理制度和规范呈现出来,使得民众自觉形成对人伦之理、教化之道的伦理认同。而对发展经世致用之实学的提倡,促进了经世济民实用儒学的民间化发展,繁荣了国计民生。阳明后学自觉进行“传学脉”“觉民众”的儒学民间化社会伦理实践,对重建晚明社会伦理秩序,重拾道德人心具有积极的时代意义。

In the middle and late Ming Dynasty,Late Yangming School gave public lectures in an effort to combat the political and moral corruption,thus starting the process of secularization of Confucianism.The School taught Liang Zhi(conscience),the thread running through all lectures,to foster moral values,presented the Confucianism ethical values through village autonomy system to help people develop their identity as an ethical community,and advocated the practical thoughts in Confucianism to develop the national economy.Their effort was considered very important for the restoration of social ethics in the late Ming Dynasty.