《周易》经传超越观念的轴心转向

The Axial Turn of the Conception of Transcendence in the Basic Text and Commentaries of the Zhouyi

余英时把“轴心突破”归于“内向超越”,肯定“轴心时代”带来了个人精神的觉醒,但他忽视了神圣超凡存在者“天”或“帝”失落所造成的理性的僭妄。在超越观念上,“轴心时代”表现为“外在超越”逐渐转向“内在超越”的过程,这个过程可以称为中国哲学的“轴心转向”。“轴心转向”在中国早期《周易》哲学中表现得尤为突出。《易经》中的形上神圣超凡存在者是作为至上人格神的“帝”或“天”,天人通过祭祀、帝享、天祐的方式沟通,此时“外在超越”仍占主导地位。经过了春秋时期易学的伦理化演进,《易传》中作为人格神的“帝”或“天”的地位明显下降。在形上外在超凡观念层面,《易传》建构了一套以“天地”“乾坤”“阴阳”为核心的宇宙本体论;在内在超验观念层面,《易传》在继承重“德”传统的同时,通过心性关系的建构解决天人之际的问题。

Yu Yingshi(1930-2021) attributed the “axial breakthrough” to “inward transcendence”, and affirmed that the “axial period” had brought the awakening of individual spirit, but he ignored the rational transgression caused by the loss of “heaven” or “Supreme Being”. For the concept of transcendence, the “axial period” is manifested as a process of gradually transforming from “external transcendence” into “immanent transcendence”, which can be called the “axial turn” of Chinese philosophy. “Axial turn” was particularly prominent in the philosophy of the Zhou Changes in early China. The metaphysical divine and extraordinary existent in the Yijing is the “Supreme Being” or “heaven” as the Supreme Personal God. When the “external transcendence” was still dominant, Heaven and humans communicated through sacrificial offering, the Supreme Being’s enjoyment of sacrifices, and Heavenly blessing. After the ethical evolution in the Springs and Autumns period(770-476 BCE), the status of “Supreme Being” or “heaven” as a personal God in the Yi zhuan(Commentaries on the Changes) significantly decreased. Metaphysically and externally, at the level of transcendental concept, Yi zhuan constructed a system of cosmic ontology with “heaven and earth”, “Qian and Kun” and “yin and yang” as the core. At the level of internal transcendental concept, while inheriting the tradition of emphasizing “morality”, Yi zhuan solved the problem of distinction between heaven and humans through the relationship between heart-mind and innate human tendencies.