孟子治道思想的内在构造及其思想史意蕴

The Inner Structure of Mencius’ Governance Thought and Its Implication in the History of Thought

在承继了商周以来敬天爱民思想的基础上,孟子将天作为政治正当性的最高位阶,从天的超越性和内在性角度论证了天对政治权力、治理制度以及治理行为的规制作用,且在天民相维的话语下阐发了民意与天意的一致性,并由此构建了符合民众利益的政治、经济与社会制度,意在凸显民在国家中的主体性地位。为了保证制度良性、稳定地运行,孟子从身体政治角度展开了对君臣之道的探讨,阐述了他们在国家治理中所肩负的养民、教民之责,意在通过君臣这一行为主体来推动和保障惠民、利民制度的运行。孟子的治道观为此后儒家思考政治问题奠定了轨制,且为明清之际的儒家从政道角度思考民本问题提供了思想资源。

On the basis of inheriting the thought of respecting heaven and loving the people since the Shang and Zhou Dynasties, Mencius took heaven as the highest position of political legitimacy, demonstrated the regulatory role of heaven on political power, governance system and governance behavior from the perspective of heaven’s transcendence and immanence, and expounded the consistency between public opinion and heaven’s will under the discourse of the unity of heaven and man, and thus constructed a political,economic and social system in line with the interests of the people, which was intended to highlight the subjectivity of the people in the country. In order to ensure the benign and stable operation of the system,Mencius launched a discussion on the way of the monarch and officials from the perspective of body politics,and elaborated their responsibility to nurture and educate the people in national governance, aiming to promote and protect the operation of the system of benefiting the people through the monarch and officials.Mencius’ view of governance provided a system for Confucianism to think about political issues, and also provided ideological resources for Confucianism to think about people-based issues from the perspective of politics in the Ming and Qing Dynasties.