深识远照 自化为善——试论二程“君子气象”之意蕴

Profound Knowledge Illuminates Faraway and Turns Itself into Kindness—On the Implication of “Gentleman’s Elegant Demeanor” Proposed by the Two Chengs

二程理学旨在指导人们培德向善、成贤成圣,并以君子养成为途径。二程在继承儒学传统文化君子论之基础上,对君子之义有诸多创新之见,其突出的特点是以“天理”为指导,以圣人情结为动力,深识远照。二程认为,君子与常人不同处,贵在有识、有智、识善、勇于克己自胜和知“孔颜乐处”。二程强调,君子养成必须做到自信、自化和“穷理反躬”。二程借鉴“引譬连类”之法以“君子气象”论君子,体现了儒家对人生终极关怀的新定位,反映了儒家对人生道德养成的新认识,体现了儒家对崇高人格美学的新发展。这是对新儒学修养功夫阶段论和层次论的独特贡献,从一个侧面反映了二程对修养功夫的新认识和对人格完美的新要求。

The two Chengs’Neo-Confucianism aims to guide people to cultivate virtue and become virtuous sages,and tries to reach this goal by cultivating gentlemen.On the basis of inheriting the theory of gentleman in traditional Confucian culture,the two Chengs have many innovative views on the meaning of gentleman.The outstanding characteristic is that it takes“the principle of heaven”as its guidance,and driven by the complex of saint,pursues the profound knowledge to illuminate faraway.The two Chengs believe that the gentleman is different from ordinary people in that he has knowledge and wisdom,recognizes what is kindness,has the courage to restrain himself,and knows“the pleasure of Confucius and Yanhui”.The two Chengs emphasize that to become a gentleman,one should be confident,self-oriented,and“probe the principle and practice it with oneself”.The two Chengs use the method of“citing the metaphor with similar categories”,and discuss what is a gentleman with the phrase of“the air of the gentleman”,which reflects the Confucianist’s new position of ultimate concern for life,reflects the Confucianist’s new understanding of the cultivation of moral life,and reflects the Confucianist’s new development of lofty personality aesthetics.This is a unique contribution to the self-cultivation ability in Neo-Confucianism in stages and levels,and from one side,reflects the two Chengs’new understanding of self-cultivation ability and their new requirement with personality perfection.