源于“天道”的政治合法性:中国古代政治伦理特性

Political Legitimacy Derived from the“Way of Heaven”:The Character of Political Ethics in Ancient China

天人合一是理解中国人宇宙观、世界观、伦理观的重要路径。它不但深刻影响了中国人对于人与自然关系的思考,而且是探究人伦世界的重要方法。天人合一思想是中国文化中一种具有启发性质的“源思想”,它包含了思想的深度与张力,能够融入不同的思想体系中。对中国古代政治伦理思想的把握必须从天人合一观念入手,因为天道与王道始终围绕着政体之中“应然与实然”的问题,王道与人道则关注于政权统治的问题,而政治合法性则主要聚焦在统治者本人的政治与德性,这样从天道至政道,由王道至人道,形成政治合法性的逻辑整体性链条,这一逻辑推演过程本身就是政治实践的过程,具有理论逻辑与实践逻辑的内在统一性。

The unity of heaven and man is an important path for understanding the Chinese cosmology,worldview and ethics.It not only has profoundly influenced Chinese people’s thought about the relationship between human beings and nature,but also is an important way to explore the world of human ethics,because the idea of“the unity of heaven and man”is a“source thought”in Chinese culture,which contains the depth and tension.It can be integrated into different systems of thoughts.To grasp ancient Chinese political ethics must start from the concept of the unity of heaven and man,because the way of heaven and the way of the king always revolve around the question of“what should be and what is”in the political system,while the way of the king and the way of man focus on the question of regime rule,and political legitimacy mainly focuses on the ruler’s virtue.From the way of heaven to the way of government,and from the way of kings to the way of humanity,a logical and holistic chain of political legitimacy is founded.