尊天性而施教化——蒙卦儿童哲学意蕴阐发

Respecting Innate Human Tendency and Exerting Edification:On the Philosophy of Children in Meng Hexagram

蒙卦的象、辞和传文可以阐发出丰富的儿童哲学意蕴。“童蒙”是生命未成熟的幼稚状态,但它具有突破险难、走向光明的潜力。把蒙昧当成儿童的一般属性,只是成人的武断。“山下出泉”揭示了儿童活泼、率性的本真生命样态。儿童的本能欲求与精神冲动,促使他们不断追求真、善、美,并最终超越蒙昧。“险而止”是儿童来到世界之初因陌生而陷入的两难境地。摆脱这种困境要靠成人的疏导,而教化成功的关键在于与儿童的天性保持一致。

Through the Tuan zhuan(Commentary on the Images) regarding hexagram Meng [?, Juvenile Ignorance, 4], we can discover rich philosophical connotations concerning children. Tong meng(juvenile ignorance) is an immature and childish state of life, but it has the potential to break through risks and difficulties and move towards light. It is only the arbitrariness of adults to take ignorance as a general attribute of children. “Spring flowing at the foothills of a mountain” reveals the authentic life state of children’s liveliness and frankness. Children’s instinctive desire and spiritual impulse urge them to constantly pursue truthfulness, kindness and beauty, and finally surpass ignorance. “Stop due to dangers in front” is a dilemma that children fall into because of strangeness as they begin to face the world. Getting rid of this dilemma depends on the guidance of adults, and the key to the success of edification lies in being consistent with children’s innate tendencies.