随事变化:早期中国思想中的神灵叙述

Varying with Changing Contexts:The Descriptive Strategies of Deities and Spirits in Early Chinese Thoughts

在早期中国思想的研究中,神(deities)、灵(spirit)及其内涵变迁是一个聚讼纷纭的问题。不同的语境中意涵各异的神、灵及其诠释不仅是一个概念研究的课题,也是一个古典思想研究的方法论问题。并不一定存在着一个划一的类型学框架来说明神、灵及其相关语汇的意涵。与之相对,神灵以及与之相关的一组语词在传统思想文本中的使用是多线索并行的、互不统属的、非结构化和线索性的。这些语词在不同文本中的意义之间并不存在着一种自觉的连贯性和结构性,恰恰相反,它们的意涵是随事变化的。以一种类型学或线索性框架形成的对“神灵”意义的诠释是一种全局性预设的结果。“随事变化”(varying with changing contexts)的理解进路一方面提出“全局性”和“词典式”预设在思想史和观念研究中可能存在的问题,另一方面也尝试进一步探究以经验边缘的独特叙述方法为经验世界及其秩序奠基的描述性方法,以及它对于理解早期中国思想可能的方法论意义。

In the study of early Chinese thought,the meanings and transformations of“deities”神and“spirits”灵are topics of much debate.The varied interpretations of these terms in different contexts are not only subjects of conceptual study but also methodological issues in the study of classical thought.We attempt to illustrate that there may not necessarily be a uniform typological framework to explain the meanings of“deities”and“spirits”and their related vocabulary.Instead,the usage of these terms,along with related vocabulary,in traditional texts is multifaceted,non-hierarchical,unstructured,and contextual.There is no inherent coherence or structure among the meanings of these terms in different texts;rather,their meanings vary depending on the contexts.Interpretations of the meaning of“deities”formed within a typological or contextual framework are the result of overarching assumptions.The approach of understanding meanings as“varying with changing contexts”raises questions about the potential problems of“overarching”and“dictionary-style”assumptions in the study of intellectual history and conceptual studies.It also attempts to further explore descriptive methods grounded in experiential narratives at the margins of experience and their methodological significance for understanding early Chinese thought.