道学话语的生生性启发语管窥——以杨时为例

Glimpses of the Generative Heuristic Language of Neo-Comfucianism Discourse:Take Yang Shi for Example

生生性启发语体现着道学在“变易”世界捕捉事物意义的语言传统。从语言功能看,杨时承继前人摹状、表情(达意)、指行、存道(明道)等功能,理论化明确道学语言启发一贯之道;从表达内容看,指示个体生命与社会历史、时空、万物浑然一体地在世方式,激发求道者世界生生不已浑然一体的生命自觉;从表达特点言,因形下启发形上,无法用明确语言表述出来,只好含蓄委婉地表达,即“微言”;因启发形上需间接指引多用比喻、类比、举例等;由具体通达整体,故采多层次详说,即“详喻曲譬”。这种生生性启发语呈现出启发性、生机性等的语义特点,既与概念语语义稳固性明显不同,又与过程语言、形式显示有别,当代中国哲学开展应直面这一言说传统。

The generative heuristic language embodies the linguistic tradition of Taoism to capture the meaning of things in the"changing"world.From the perspective of language functions,Yang Shi inherited his predecessors’functions of description,expression(conveying one’s ideas),guiding and practicing(clarifying Taoism),and theoretically clarified the persistent way of Taoist language to enlighten students vividly;as for the expression contents,it indicates that individual life is integrated with social history,time and space,and all things in the world,thus stimulating the Tao-seeker’s life consciousness of complete integration with the world;as for the expression features,it uses concrete things to trigger abstract thinking,and uses the near to indicate the far(pointing to the great by referring to the ordinary),namely,“subtle sayings”;as it is necessary to use metaphors,analogies and examples to indicate abstract ideas,it often adopts the multi-level expounding method to achieve the entirety from the concrete,namely,“expounding through metaphors”.This vivid enlightening language has the semantic characteristics of inspiration and vitality,which is obviously different from the semantic stability of conceptual language,and is also different from the process language,action language and form display.The development of contemporary Chinese philosophy should face up to this tradition of discourse.