《淮南子》“利民为本”史观刍议

My Humble Opinion on the View of History that “To Benefit the People is Basis” in Huainanzi

《淮南子》“利民为本”史观以道家黄老思想为指导,在大一统国家的视域里观照帝王的利益,确立“利民为本”,将“民”“国”“君”三者的利益有机统一。中国古代社会自汉初以降的治世里,《淮南子》“利民为本”史观的精神清晰可辨,尤其汉初和唐前期,其历史作用卓然显现。这虽然取决于非观念的历史因素,但该史观自身的理论意义乃关键内因。该史观逆转了道家原典《老子》的史观趋向,拓展了《老子》的理论空间,已深刻触及阶级社会历史运动的辩证法规则。《淮南子》“利民为本”史观的形成及其成就,是在社会历史条件驱动下的、道家哲学内在的理论必然。

The view of history that “to benefit the people is basis” in Huainanzi, which is guided by the Huang-Lao ideology in Taoist school, scrutinizes monarch′s benefit in view of unified country, thus establishes the basic points that “to benefit the people is basis”, and organically unifies the benefits of “the people”, “the country” and “the monarch”. In the ancient Chinese times of peace and prosperity from the early years of the Han Dynasty, the spirit of the view of history that “to benefit the people is basis” in Huainanzi is clear and the view of history has played a leading historical role, especially in the early years of the Han Dynasty and earlier stage of the Tang Dynasty during the times. Although this depends on nonconceptual historical factors, the theoretical significance of the view of history is pivotal internal factor. The view of history has reversed the trend of the view of history in Lao Tzu, which is the original book of Taoist school, has expanded the theoretical scope of Lao Tzu, and has profoundly touched the dialectics rule in which the history of class society moves. The formulating and achieving of the view of history that “to benefit the people is basis” in Huainanzi, are theoretically inevitable in Taoist philosophy while being driven by historical conditions.