尊经明道,出入经史百子——柳宗元的经子关系思想探论

Respecting the Confucian Classics and Understanding the Dao,Learning from Confucian Classics,History and Hundreds of Ancient Scholars——An Exploration of Liu Zongyuan's Thought on the Relationship between Confucian Classics and Ancient Scholars

在中晚唐佛道盛行、儒家经学和传统的诸子学黯然之际,柳宗元出入经史百子,“言道、讲古、穷文辞”,成为古文运动和儒学复兴运动中与韩愈并立的文坛领袖和思想界领袖。在处理儒、释、道三教异同以及经学与子学的关系问题上,柳宗元独树一帜,既表现出“唯以中正信义为志,以兴尧、舜、孔子之道”的尊经尊孔立场,也表现出“统合儒释,宣涤疑滞”和以经为“本”、以子为“参”的兼综诸子百家的开放包容气度,卓然成为中晚唐思想界最具有批判意识与兼容并包气象的儒家思想家,为宋代新儒学开辟了思想的道路。从经子关系的角度看,在唐宋八大家中,柳宗元最为重视先秦诸子的立言特色,其众多议论文也体现了“博明万事为子,适辨一理为论”的子学典范意义。柳宗元这一既依五经立义又取法诸子的经子关系思想架构,其实代表了中晚唐时期“以文明道”思潮中最为重视认知理性与反思理性的一个面向,接近荀子而迥异于孟子,与韩愈存在巨大的差异。

At a time when Buddhism and Daoism were prevalent,and traditional study of Confucian classics and the various schools were in a state of decline in the middle and late Tang dynasty(618-907),Liu Zongyuan(773-819)learned from Confucian classics,history and hundreds of ancient scholars,“talking about Dao,preaching the ancients,thoroughly inquiring about words”,becoming a literary and intellectual leader alongside Han Yu(768-824)in the classical prose movement and Confucian revival movement.In deal⁃ing with the similarities and differences between Confucianism,Buddhism,Daoism,as well as the relationship between study of Con⁃fucian classics and study of ancient scholars,Liu Zongyuan stands out in his stance of respecting Confucius and Confucianism,which is manifested as“solely taking centrality and rectitude as aspiration to promoting the Dao of Yao,Shun and Confucius”.He also dem⁃onstrates an open and inclusive attitude about“integrating Confucianism and Buddhism and dispelling relevant doubts and stagna⁃tion”,and he integrates thoughts of various schools taking the classics as“foundation”and the thoughts of ancient scholars from vari⁃ous schools as“reference”.He becomes the most critical and inclusive Confucian thinker in the ideological circle of the middle and late Tang dynasty,paving the way for the Neo-Confucianism of the Song dynasty(960-1279).From the perspective of the relationship be⁃tween Confucian classics and ancient scholars,among the eight great scholars of the Tang and Song dynasties,Liu Zongyuan attached the greatest importance to the speech characteristics of the pre-Qin scholars,and his numerous argumentative papers also reflected the exemplary significance of the scholarship of ancient scholars of“ancient scholars are a group of people who understand everything com⁃prehensively,and theories focus on distinguishing one thing”.Liu Zongyuan’s ideological framework of the relationship between the Five Classics and the various scholars,actually represents one of the most important aspects of the“elucidating Dao by essays”trend of thought in the middle and late Tang dynasty,which mostly values cognitive rationality and reflective rationality.It is close to Xunzi(313-238 BCE)but completely different from Mencius(372-289BCE);and there was a huge difference from Han Yu.