论析与评价董仲舒的人性论

Analysis of and Comment on Dong Zhongshu’s Theory of Human Nature

人性论在儒家思想或中国哲学史中具有重要的地位和意义。先秦儒家的人性论思想丰富,从孔子到子思虽未明言性善,但有性善论的倾向,到了孟子明确提出性善论,荀子提出性恶论。董仲舒的人性论继先秦儒家人性论之后,开汉代儒学的人性论之先,他提出性三品说、以中民论性说和性善情恶说。董仲舒的人性论对后世的人性论思想产生了重要的、深远的影响,尤其是“性三品”说在由汉至唐乃至宋初的人性论史上占有主流地位。在先秦儒学与宋明理学人性论之间,董仲舒的人性论是儒学发展中的重要一环。

The theory of human nature has an important position and significance in the history of Confucianism or Chinese philosophy.The pre-Qin Confucianists had rich ideas on human nature.From Confucius to Zi Si,they tended to hold that human nature was good although they did not explicitly state it.Mencius clearly put forward the theory that human nature was good and Xunzi proposed the theory that human nature is evil.Following pre-Qin Confucian theory of human nature,Dong Zhongshu preceded Confucian theory of human nature in the Han Dynasty,putting forward the views of three levels of human nature,good huamn nature and evil human temperament,nature of the people in the middle level.His theory had an important and far-reaching influence on the later theory of human nature,and the view of three levels of human nature had a mainstream position in the history of the theory of human nature from the Han Dynasty to the Tang Dynasty and even the early Song Dynasty.Dong Zhongshu’s theory of human nature was an important part of the development of Confucianism from pre-Qin Confucianism to the Neo-Confucianism of the Song and Ming Dynasties.