试论荀子的"王制"复古思想

On Master Xunzi's Thought on the Restoration of Kingly Systems

荀子同孔、孟一样都欲法先王,复三代之古,但其复古的方式却大不相同。他反对孟子的人性本善说,否定了孟子提出的以复人善性、行仁政为核心的社会拯救论。他认为在"先王"与"后王"之间存在着一个千年不变的"道贯",即礼法、制度。因此,他提出了"法后王而一制度"的复古方案。将礼法、制度这些形而下之器与形而上的"王道"视为所欲恢复的"王者之制"的不可缺少的核心内容,这正是荀子复古论的特色。荀子的"王制"复古论建立在把三代之道、后王之法理想化的基础之上,其目标就是要实现以三代礼法为核心的等级制度的全面恢复。

Like Confucius and Mencius,Xunzi felt like resorting to the former emperors' kingly system,but his principle was very different from the two. He was against Mencius' principle born good, and refuted Mencius whose principle was on the basis of restoration of born good and benevolent government. He thought that there were the ever-lasting formulas between the emperors to come and their former ones, namely, the custom and kingly systems. He advocated the principle: the restoration of the present emperor's kingly systems and persistent implementation the systems. It is the characteristics of Master Xunzi's restoration theory that the humble customs and the noble kingly systems were considered as the necessary core of restoration. His theory was based on the idealization of the former emperors' kingly systems and the application of the present emperor's system with the purpose to entirely implement the restoration of social hierarchy system of the three generations' systems as its core.