张载“参两”说及其与“太极”之关系

Examination on the Pronunciation and Meaning of"参"in Zhang Zai's"参两"Theory and Its Relationship with太极(Taiji)

《正蒙》中有《参两》篇,先儒与时贤对“参”的音义理解意见不一,或读解为“参”或读解为“叁”。其实,张载“参两”之说先见于《横渠易说》,后备于《正蒙》。从文本疏通和义理阐释两个方面对《横渠易说》中相关条目进行分析可知:“参两”非单以数论,而当合以象言,描述的是现实世界活泼泼的生命,应读为“参”而非“叁”;相应,《正蒙》中应为《参两》而非《叁两》,“参两”在更深层次的内涵上是穷理尽性,与“太极”密不可分。“参”虽包含“叁”之义,实则意蕴更丰富,并具参合之义,生动具体描述了太极之道的一与两合为叁以及参合化生之义。即是说,张载的“太极”一物而兼有乾坤两体,在太虚之气的场域下,本质上“太极”是气化生生流行不息的状态,是一种动态图景。“太极”与“参两”的关系为“参”是“太极”气化生生表现样态的定性,“两”是“太极”气化生生的动因。

There is a texttitled参两(controversially pronounced either as"can liang"or"san liang"in Chinese)in正蒙(pronounced as"zheng meng",a book by Zhang Zai,a thinker,educator and founder of Neo-Confucianism in the Northern Song Dynasty).Former Confucian scholars and sages have different opinions on the pronunciation and meaning of"参",which may be interpreted as"join,participate,together,etc.as in the Chinese phrase"参加",or as the number of three,identical to the ancient Chinese character"叁".In fact,Zhang Zai's theory of"参两"is first seen in横渠易说(pronounced as heng qu yi shuo in Chinese,another book by Zhang Zai),and later in正蒙.Through the analysis of the relevant items in横渠易说from two aspects of text dredging and theoretical interpretation,we can see that"参两"is not based on the theory of number,but on image,describing the lively life in the real world,which should be read as"参"(pronounced as"can"in Chinese)rather than"叁"(pronounced as"san"in Chinese,meaning three).Accordingly,参两in正蒙should be pronounced as"can liang"in Chinese rather than"san liang".参两is exhaustive in a deeper connotation,which is inseparable from"太极"(pronounced as"taiji"in Chinese,an important concept in the history of Chinese Taoist culture,which describes the state of universe).Although"参"contains the meaning of"three",it actually has a richer meaning of"joining"or"participating".It vividly and concretely describes the meaning of the combination of one and two.That is to say,Zhang Zai's"太极"contains乾坤(meaning heaven and earth).In essence,"太极"is a popular state of gasification and a dynamic picture.The relationship between"太极"and"参两"is that"参"is the qualitative nature of the gasification,and"两"is the motivation of the gasification of"太极".