先秦儒家的君子观念及其社会意义——世俗生活中的良善人格

The concept of gentleman in Confucianism of the Pre-qin Dynasty and its social significance-The good personality in secular life

在先秦儒家共识性观念中,君子是集理想性、经验性、世俗性于一身的存在,他们在怀抱“士志于道”之理想的同时,又积极与世界互动,以避免理想堕于伪善。在此意义上,有“君子不器”“修己以敬”“义以为质”“颠沛必于是”四重精神准则支撑君子的光辉气质。从事实的角度看,虽然社会稳定多数时候靠的不是君子,但那些作为良善主体的君子和具有温厚情怀的君子依然发挥了促进美好、维系生存的作用。在中国传统士人政治中,君子是社会整合、协调所不可或缺的力量。

In the consensus concept in Confucianism of the Pre-qin Dynasty,gentlemen were a combination of idealism,empiricism,and secularism.While embracing the ideal of“being a scholar of Taoism”,they actively interacted with the world to avoid their ideals falling into hypocrisy.In this sense,there are four spiritual principles that support the brilliant temperament of a gentleman:“a gentleman does not use weapons”,“cultivating oneself with respect”,“righteousness with quality”,and“prosperity with certainty”.From a factual perspective,although social stability often does not rely on gentlemen,those gentlemen who are good subjects and those with warm emotions still play a role in promoting beauty and maintaining survival.In Chinese traditional scholar politics,the gentleman is an indispensable force for social integration and coordination.