《中庸》“壹戎衣”释疑

On“Yi Rong Yi”in Doctrine of the Mean

《中庸》"武王缵大王、王季、文王之绪,壹戎衣而有天下"句中之"壹戎衣"当作何解,目前尚未有定论。前人普遍按字解,谓"一穿军装";或按"壹戎殷"解,谓"一用兵灭商"。通过对字音、文义及相关材料的系统考辩,此处之"壹戎衣"当写作"殪戎殷",取"灭大商"之义。

There are no final conclusions about the meaning of “Yi Rong Yi” in doctrine of the mean:“King Wu continued the enterprise of King Tai, King Chi, and King Wen. Once he put on his armor, he took control of the whole realm.” Previous researchers believed “Yi Rong Yi” was meaning “put on armor” or“demise of the Shang Dynasty only took one war”. Through the analysis of pronunciations, contexts and related materials, “Yi Rong Yi” should be written as “Yi Rong Yin” and interpreted as “demise of the Shang Dynasty”.