论黄帝之“德”与周朝之“德”的关系问题

On the Relation between “Virtue” of Yellow Emperor and “Virtue” of Zhou Dynasty

“德”与帝王及其王朝一直具有对应性,并且成为中国历史上政权继承理论的重要表述工具。《史记》记载表明黄帝之“德”既具备包罗万象的特征,又有主要特点“土德之瑞”。黄帝嫡长子玄嚣之后即帝喾,恰是周人始祖后稷之父,因此周朝天子正是黄帝最为嫡系的继承人。黄帝生长、活动的主要之地,在黄河流域;周王朝兴起、发展也主要在此区域。因此,周之“德”与黄帝之“德”,与其他朝代相比,具有最大的相似性。周代国祚最长,被视为德行最为深厚的一个朝代,并对中国后世影响至巨,绝非偶然。从黄帝之“德”的角度审视,后世“道统论”固然有合理性,但是进入道统的各“圣王”之“德”不能像黄帝之“德”那样无所不包,这与黄帝及后世圣王的地位正相契合,绝非偶然。

“Virtue”has always corresponded with emperors and their dynasties,and has become an important expression tool in the theory of Chinese historical political power’s inheritance.The Historical Records shows that the“virtue”of Yellow Emperor has not only the characteristic of all-embracing,but also the main characteristic of“the omen of soli’s virtue”.Xuanxiao,the eldest son of the Yellow Emperor,had a grandson Emperor Ku,who was father of Hou Ji,the earliest ancestor of people in Zhou dynasty.Therefore,the emperors in Zhou dynasty were just the direct line of descent of Yellow Emperor.Yellow Emperor grew up and acted mainly in the Yellow River valley,which was also the place where Zhou dynasty rose and developed.So,the“virtue”of Zhou dynasty,compared with other dynasties,had the greatest similarity with the“virtue”of Yellow Emperor.The throne of Zhou dynasty lasted a longest time in Chinese history,and it was regarded as a dynasty with the most profound“virtue”,which had great influence to later generations in China.This is not by accident at all.From the perspective of the“virtue”of the Yellow Emperor,although the“orthodox morality”of later dynasties had its own rationality,the“virtue”of various“imperious kings”that entered into the orthodox morality can’t be all-embracing as what the“virtue”of Yellow Emperor was like.This is corresponding to the respective position of Yellow Emperor and the imperious kings in later dynasties,which is also by no accident at all.