利义统合观与明代商人的经世之路

The View on the Integration of Profit and Righteousness and the Ways for Merchants to Participate in Social Affairs in the Ming Dynasty

明代多有商人以“天道”为衡量,着眼于公共价值的落实,未把追求扩大商业利润当作唯一目标,而是统合利义关系,在私利和公义之间寻求一种价值平衡。他们利用财富积极开展地方救助和建设活动,内中虽含有一定个人诉求,但总体发挥了重要的社会稳定支撑作用,显示出与既有体制的契合性,从而走出一条独特的经世之路。当时商人凭借经济优势,通过主持或参与公益事务越加有能力承担起更多社会责任,进而与士大夫阶层共同成为基层主要支配群体。这也提示着明代中国在延续帝制基本框架下,向商业化要素日益增强的社会演进的可能前景。

In the Ming dynasty,many merchants took“natural law”as the measure and attached importance to the implementation of public values.They did not take the pursuit of expanding commercial profits as the sole goal,but integrated the relationship between profit and righteousness,and sought a value balance between private interests and justice.Although they had certain personal demands,they used their wealth to actively carry out assistant and construction activities locally and played an important role in supporting social stability as a whole,which showed their compatibility with the existing system,so as to find a unique way to participate in social affairs.At that time,by virtue of their economic advantages,businessmen assumed more social responsibilities by hosting or participating in public welfare affairs,and then became the main dominant group at the grass-roots level together with the literati and bureaucrats.This also hints at the possible prospect of the evolution of the Ming dynasty,under the basic framework of continuing the imperial system,toward a society with increasing commercial elements.