解构与重构:孟子的圣人符号传播观

Deconstruction and Reconstruction:Mencius'View of Sage Symbol Communication

春秋时期,圣人已成为一种传播符号,内隐圣王之意。至战国时,异说盛行,以儒家为代表的圣人符号失去原有的活力与价值,亟需重构。孟子将圣人这一符号置于关系传播之中,通过天人关系、人人关系、人物(事)关系进行重构,赋予圣人“性者”“人伦之至”“执中有权”等符号义。孟子又从符号接受者角度出发,将圣人符号与“性善论”“百世之师”相联系,并加以宣传,促使圣人符号象征化。圣人符号建构的基础在于受众个体的认同,进而上升至群体认同。孟子以“同然论”为受众成为圣人提供内在依据,并在此基础上,以“求其放心”之说,引导受众认清自我,使主我走向客我,进而实现圣人符号的建构。

During the Spring and Autumn period,the sage had become a symbol of communication,implying the mean⁃ing of the sage king.During the Warring States period,heresy prevailed,and the symbol of the sage represented by Confu⁃cianism lost its original vitality and value,urgently requiring reconstruction.Mencius placed the symbol of the sage in the context of relational communication,reconstructing it through the relationships between heaven and man,between man and man,and between people(things),endowing the sage with symbolic meanings such as"sex","the highest of human ethics",and"authority in persistence".Mencius,from the perspective of the symbol receiver,linked the symbol of the sage with the"theory of goodness in nature"and"the teacher of a hundred generations",and promoted it to symbolize the sage.The foun⁃dation of the construction of sage symbols lies in the individual identity of the audience,which then rises to group identity.Mencius provided an internal basis for the audience to become saints based on the theory of"same nature",and on this ba⁃sis,guided the audience to recognize themselves with the theory of"seeking their peace of mind",leading the subjective self to the objective self,and thus achieving the construction of the symbol of saints.