“孔子,圣之时者也”重诂——兼释《庄子》所谓“时女”

Restudy of “Confucius Is Sheng of Shi” and “Women of Shi” in Zhuangzi

对《孟子·万章》篇“孔子,圣之时者也”和《庄子·逍遥游》篇“是其言也犹时女也”两句话,自古及今的解释多不妥当。对“圣之时”,解释者或用孔子是这样那样的“圣人”来作为对“圣之时”的替代性解释,这其实背离了原文;或用“中庸”哲学的“时中”观拔高“圣之时”,这种哲学化的解释超出了“圣之时”的语境限度;或以应时适宜、惟时适变、与时进化、审时度势、合乎时宜以至“摩登圣人”“反映时代精神”来解释“圣之时”,这类解释显然不合孔子的实际。对“时女”,自古及今的主导性解释是“‘时’,是也。‘女’与汝同”,这其实是滥用通转假借之法强为之解,曲解了原著上下文的语义关系。鉴于此,有必要把训诂学和诠释学的方法结合起来,对“孔子,圣之时者也”和“是其言也犹时女也”两句话进行再解读。这两句话里的两个“时”字其实意味着圣人在不得时或处子在未得字之时如何“待时”“处时”之义。既往解读的经验教训启示我们,在校读古典文献时,一方面仍需要严谨扎实的文献训诂功夫,另一方面则要走出孤立地说文解字的局限,努力在更开阔的文本—人文语境里和更通融的阅读互动关系里寻求恰当的解读。

Many interpretations of “Confucius as Sheng of Shi(圣之时)” in Mencius and “Woman of Shi(时女)” inZhuangziare not appropriate, and even misinterpret the semantic relationship of the original work.We should combine the exegetic and hermeneutic methods to make a reasonable interpretation. In fact, thetwo words “Shi(时)” refer to how to wait for the time when the sage is unlucky or the woman is notmarried. The experience and lessons of academic history teach us that when studying classical literature, onthe one hand, we need rigorous and solid exegetical training, and on the other hand, we need to get out ofthe limitations of explaining words in isolation. We should strive to seek appropriate interpretation in abroader text-humanistic context and more integrated reading interaction.