宋代儒者与宗族重建之关系探微

Reconstruction of Family Lineage System by Confucian Scholar in the Song Dynasty

宋代的宗族重建不仅是随着经济变迁而自然发生的历史现象,而且在很大程度上是儒家学者主动设计的结果。儒家知识分子的理论探索与实践创制在宋代宗族重建中起了关键作用。在理论方面,张载、程颐最早对宗法制度进行系统研究,提倡复兴宗族;在实践方面,欧阳修、苏洵、司马光、朱熹、陆九渊等儒者通过家谱、家规、家礼、祠堂、义门等方式使宋代宗族治理制度化。宋代儒者的宗族治理是回应社会变迁而重建基层秩序的政治方案,展现出儒家思想与社会互动的内在逻辑,一方面儒家的宗法观念与治理实践造就了宋以后近世宗族制度的主要特征;另一方面宗族重建亦使儒学的经世取向凸显了平民化、世俗化的下行趋势,乡治由此成为宋代以后儒学经世实践的主要方向。

The reconstruction of family lineages in the Song Dynasty came not only as a result of the economic changes that had taken place,but also,to a large extent,the result of elaborate designs by the Confucian scholars then.The theoretical and practical explorations by these scholars played a critical role in such reconstruction.Theoretically,Zhang Zai and Cheng Yi took the lead in researches on the lineage system and advocated for its revival.Practically,scholars like Ouyang Xiu,Su Xun,Sima Guang,Zhu Xi and Lu Jiuyuan made efforts to institutionalize the lineage system by restoring family genealogies,family rules,family etiquette,family shrines and family-based communities.The efforts represented the political solution these scholars proposed for restoring order at grassroots level in response to the social changes that were taking place and embodied an intrinsic logic in the interaction between Confucian thought and society.On the one hand,the patriarchal ideas and practices advocated by these scholars gave rise to the main features of China’s lineage system in post-Song periods.On the other,the reconstruction of the lineage system gave the Confucian way of social governance a downward turn by making it more people-oriented and secularized,and made family-based local governance a main trend in the post-Song Confucian way of governance in Chinese society.