制造 “ 大儒” : 官学一体的理论准备——《荀子·儒效》 文本语境下的哲学阐发

Making Cultivating Great Confucians Theoretical Preparation for the Integration of Bureaucracy and Confucianism —A Philosophical Interpretation of The Achievements of the Confucians in Xunzi Based on Its Textual Context

摘要:

为建构儒家崇拜谱系, 《荀子·儒效》 在历代先王中寻找资源, 塑造 _“ 大儒_” 偶像, 以曾经的圣君为最好的取法对象, 以礼义为儒者最高的学术追求。 其对战国时期儒之流品 _“ 雅儒_{” “} 俗儒_” 基本现状的记载, 反衬出 _“ 大儒_” 的超越性———真正能够践行仁道理想的, 唯有 _“ 大儒_”。 大儒 _“ 法后王_”, 既遵从后王之道, 又效法先王之功, _“ 以今持古_”; 既立足当下, 又敢于对现实加以改造。 如此 _“ 大儒之效_” 显然难以达到, _“ 非圣人莫之能为_”。 即便是孔子, 因为其只有立言、 立德而无立功, 就被排除在事功大儒的崇拜系统之外。 而把天子、 三公归为 _“ 大儒_”, 则有利于为儒家培养后备力量, 推进儒家队伍官僚化、 官僚队伍儒家化, 在理论上为后世官学一体、 道统涵摄政统奠基。

Abstract:

During the emergence of Confucians as a group and the development of Confucianism as a philosophy in early China，_“The Achievements of the Confucians_” in the book Xunzi aims to build the image of the _“Great Confucians_” by searching for ideological resources in the previous sages. It can be regarded as another effort，after _“The Conduct of Confucians_” in the Book of Rites，of the Confucians to define their social identity and responsibilities，which lifts the Confucian roles of performing rituals and teaching to benefiting the people and governing the world，expanding their stage from residential yards to the courts of kings and emperors. Confucians never claim to be sages and kings themselves；they only strive to serve as loyal subjects. With sage kings of the past as their best role models，and taking propriety and righteousness as their moral pursuit，true Confucians are able to shine and contribute to social justice and progress，no matter where they are and what position they are holding. The records of _“elegant_” and _“vulgar_” Confucians of the Warring States period form a sharp contrast to the _“Great Confucians_” who can really fulfill the ideal of human-heartedness. Great Confucians follow the way of the present kings，but they are also able to transform and change the reality based on the way of the sage kings of the past. On the one hand，Great Confucians can understand the past with contemporary thinking and methods and address current practical problems，and，on the other hand，they advocate the practice of consistent institution，requiring coherent political，economic，social and military policies to ensure effective and orderly governance of the present kings，without the distraction of former kings. These goals are difficult to fulfill，unless by sages themselves. According to the standard of Xunzi_’s criteria，only Emperors Yao，Shun，Yu，and King Tang of Shang，Kings Wen and Wu of Zhou can be regarded as Sages，and Duke of Zhou can barely be counted as one of them. Confucius，known only for his words and his talk of virtues，is excluded from the list of Great Confucians. Xunzi_’s classification is conducive to cultivating reserve forces for Confucian school，promoting the bureaucratization of Confucians and the Confucianization of officials. This trend helps shape officials of various levels by regulating their conduct with Confucian morals，preparing for later integration of officialdom and scholarly learning. The impact of this piece in Xunzi on Confucians is general and abstract，and the _“Great Confucian_” is only a conceptual existence instead of being a concrete and sacred worship. But the textual and philosophical interpretation of this paper is a fresh perspective to look at this subject.