孔孟荀三重境地之礼初探

A Preliminary Study on the Three Realms of Li of Confucius,Mencius and Xun

礼是儒家思想的核心内容之一,而孔孟荀之礼更有其重要的意义。在孔孟荀那里,礼可以分作三重境地,分别为经验境地的“礼之仪”,道德境地的“礼之义”,天地境地的“礼之理”。经验境地之礼囊括了经验世界中种种人伦秩序、规则、仪式、制度,导源于道德境地之礼。道德境地之礼作为人的德性之一,发端乎人之情,归本于仁爱,且给出了经验境地之礼。而经验境地与道德境地之礼皆本源于天地境地之礼,人间之仪则、生灵之礼性皆本源于天地境地之礼的一体流行。且天地境地之礼是经验与道德境地之礼的总根源,内涵于万物之中,所谓百姓日用而不知,天地须臾不可离。

Li is one of the core contents of Confucianism,and Confucius,Meneius,and Xun have even greater significance for it.In their conception,Li should be divided into three realms,namely,the empirical realm of"Li of etiquette,"the moral realm of"Li of righteousness,"and the heavenly and earthly realm of"Li of principle".The"Li of the empirical realm"encompasses all kinds of human orders,rules,rituals,and systems in the empirical world,and is derived from"the Li of the moral realm"."The Li of the moral realm"is already one of the virtues of human beings,originating from human feelings and retumning to benevolence,which gives existence to"the li of the empirical realm"."The Li of the empirical realm"and"the li of the moral realm"both originate from"the Li of the heaven and earth".Surely the rules of the human world and the nature of living beings are all part of"the li of the heaven and earth".In short,"the li of the heaven and earth"is the total source of"the Li of the empirical and moral realms",which are embedded in all things,and are used by people every day without being known,and cannot be separated from the heaven and earth any time.