You are on page 1of 239

A Study of Chinese Culture

中国文化专论

董俊峰   著
  图书在版编目 (CIP)数据

  中国文化专论 :英文/董俊峰著 . — 杭州 :浙江大学出


版社 ,2011 .4
  ISBN 978‐7‐308‐08483‐3

  Ⅰ .① 中 … Ⅱ .① 董 … Ⅲ .① 英语 — 语言读物 ② 文
化 — 中国 Ⅳ .① H319 .4 :G

  中国版本图书馆 CIP 数据核字(2011)第 037989 号

中国文化专论
董俊峰 著

责任编辑   杜玲玲
封面设计   雷建军
出版发行   浙江大学出版社
(杭州市天目山路 148 号   邮政编码 310007)
(网址 :http ://w w w .zjupress .com )
排     版   杭州大漠照排印刷有限公司
印     刷   杭州日报报业集团盛元印务有限公司
开     本   710mm × 1000mm   1 /16
印     张   15 .25
字     数   258 千字
版 印 次   2011 年 4 月第 1 版   2011 年 4 月第 1 次印刷
书     号   ISBN 978‐7‐308‐08483‐3
定     价   30 .00 元

版权所有   翻印必究   印装差错   负责调换


浙江大学出版社发行部邮购电话   (0571) 88925591
Contents

Foreword …………………………………………………………………… 1
Chapter Ⅰ   Two Economies and China摧s Agricultural Civilization
………………………………………………………………… 1
Chapter Ⅱ   The Rite and Music System and China摧s Ethical Culture
……………………………………………………………… 16
Chapter Ⅲ   Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness and Chinese Concept of
Harmony …………………………………………………… 34
Chapter Ⅳ   The Mutual Complement of Confucianism‐Taoism and the
Psychological World of Chinese Scholar‐officials ………… 51
Chapter Ⅴ   Nationality Integration and Chinese Concept of
Great National Unity …………………………………… 69
Chapter Ⅵ   Ancient Chinese Education and the Historical Evolution
of Educational Ideas ……………………………………… 85
Chapter Ⅶ   The Imperial Examinations and Ancient China摧s Official
Selecting System ………………………………………… 118
Chapter Ⅷ   Tributary System and Ancient China摧s External Relations
……………………………………………………………… 129
References ………………………………………………………………… 226
目   录

前   言 ……………………………………………………………………… 1

第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明 …………………………… 143

第二章   礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化 …………………………… 155

第三章   “天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念 …………………………… 164

第四章   儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界 …………………………… 172

第五章   民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观 …………………………… 181

第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变 ………………………… 190

第七章   科举考试与中国古代的选官制度 …………………………… 207

第八章   朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系 …………………………… 217

参考文献 ………………………………………………………………… 226

后记 ……………………………………………………………………… 229
故中国之教 ,得孔子而后立 。 中国之政 ,得
秦皇而后行 。 中国之境 ,得汉武而后定 。 三者皆
中国之所以为中国也 。
夏曾佑

The making of China lies in the respective feats


of three Founding Fathers ,namely ,Confucius who pi‐
oneered Chinese education ,Qin Shihuang who crea‐
ted Chinese systems and Han Wudi who established
Chinese territory .
X ia Z engyou
Chinese Culture
Foreword

    China ,with a recorded 5 ,000‐year old history and splendid civilization ,


is situated in East Asia ,on the western bank of the Pacific Ocean .China ,
rich in natural resources ,is a very large country surpassed in area only by
Russia and Canada , stretching for about 5 ,500 km from north to south ,
5 ,200 km from east to west ,and covering an area of 9 ,600 ,000 square km ,
approximately one‐fifteenth of the land area of the Earth . China摧s land
frontier is more than 20 ,000 km in length ,bordering on Korea (DPRK ) to
the east , Russia and Mongolia to the north , Kazakhstan ,Kyrgyzstan ,
Tajikistan and Afghanistan to the west ,Pakistan to the south‐west ,India ,
Nepal ,Bhutan ,Burma , Laos and Vietnam to the south ; China also faces
Korea (ROK) and Japan across the Yellow Sea ,the Philippines ,Malaysia ,
Brunei and Indonesia over the South China Sea .
China is topographically varied ,with a three‐terraced terrain highest in
the west and lowest in the east :1 . The first terrace : the Qinghai‐Tibetan
Plateau in the west is 4 ,000 meters above sea level on the average ;2 .The
second terrace : to the north , beyond the Kunlun Mountains and Qilian
Mountains ,and to the east ,across the Hengduan Mountains , there appear
the Yunnan‐Guizhou Plateau , the Loess Plateau and the Inner Mongolian
Plateau ,as well as the Sichuan Basin ,the Tarim Basin ,and the Junggar Ba‐
sin ,usually 1 ,000 to 2 ,000 meters above sea level on the average ;3 . The
third terrace : on the east side of the Greater Xing摧an Mountains , the
Taihang Mountains , and to the east edge of the Yunnan‐Guizhou Plateau ,
hilly areas and plains are found ,usually lower than 1 ,000 or even 200 meters

・ 1 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

in certain areas above sea level .


China is a mountainous country ,with such major mountains as the Altay
Mountains ,the Tianshan Mountains ,the Kunlun Mountains ,the Karakorum
Mountains ,the Qilian Mountains , the Gandise Mountains , the Himalayan
Mountains ,the Hengduan Mountains ,the Yinshan Mountains ,the Qinling
Mountains ,the Nanling Mountains ,the Greater Xing摧an Mountains and the
Changbai Mountains .China is also crisscrossed by the following famous riv‐
ers ,such as the Yangtze River (6 ,300 km ) ,the Yellow River (5 ,464 km) ,
the Heilongjiang River ,the Pearl River ,the Liao River ,the Hai River ,the
Huai River ,the Qiantang River flowing eastward into the East China Sea ;
and also the Nujiang River and the Yaluzangbu River go all the way from Ti ‐
bet through the Southern Asian Sub‐continent , eventually into the Indian
Ocean ;in the western and the northern China ,there are some inland rivers ,
such as the Tarim River (2 ,179 km) .Ancient Chinese had built the longest
man‐made canal ,the Beijing‐Hangzhou Canal(1 ,801km .) in the world ,con‐
necting five major river systems ,including the Hai River ,the Yellow River ,
the Huai River , the Yangtze River , and the Qiantang River . China also
boasts many lakes ,with the fresh water lakes mostly found along the middle
and the lower valley of the Yangtze River ,such as the Boyang Lake , the
Taihu Lake ,the Hongze Lake and the Dongting Lake ,and salt lakes in the
Qinghai‐Tibetan Plateau ,such as the Qinghai Lake and the Nam Co ,the lar‐
gest inland Lake in Tibet .Along the long coastline of China ,there dot a lot
of islands ,such large islands as Taiwan ,Hainan ,Chongming and Zhoushan
and thousands of smaller islands scattered within both the East China Sea and
the South China Sea . Greater parts of China are situated in the northern
temperate and subtropical zones ,with monsoon climate dominating ,but cli‐
mates of China are generally so varied as its territory is vast ,topographically
different ,and the distance of each area from the sea different .The annual
rainfall in the south‐east coastal areas is about 1 ,500 mm ,g radually decrea‐
sing westward ,with the yearly rainfall of relatively dry north‐west areas be‐
ing 50 mm .
Administratively there are 4 municipalities directly under the jurisdic‐

・ 2 ・
Chinese Culture  

tion of the Central Government :Beijing ,Shanghai ,Tianjin and Chongqing ;


23 p rovinces :Hebei ,Shanxi ,Liaoning ,Jilin , Heilongjiang ,Jiangsu , Zhe‐
jiang ,Anhui , Fujian ,Jiangxi ,Shandong , Henan , Hubei , Hunan , Guang‐
dong ,Hainan ,Sichuan ,Guizhou ,Yunnan ,Shaanxi ,Gansu ,Qinghai ,and
Taiwan ;5 autonomous regions : Inner Mongolia , Guangxi , Tibet , Ningxia
and Xinjiang ;and 2 special administrative regions :Hong Kong and Macau .
China is a unified multi‐nationality nation of 1 .3 billion people , with the
Han nationality accounting for 92% and national minority people 8% .
Chinese government adopted the principle of the freedom of religious be‐
liefs ,with such major religions as Buddhism , Taoism , Islamism , Catholi‐
cism ,and Christianity in China ,and also atheism .
China is a country with long history and splendid culture ,which con‐
tributed tremendously to the human civilizations .Only in the modern histo‐
ry ,China suffered century‐old humiliations and tortures ,owing to its own
backwardness and foreign invasions .Through undaunted and fearless strug‐
gles ,with heavy national sacrifices ,China finally won the thorough national
independence and liberation in 1949 , and began to embark on an arduous
course of great national rejuvenation ,which ,it could be predicted ,will ena‐
ble China to contribute even more to the cause of peace and justice of man‐
kind .Chinese culture embraces all aspects of human civilizations ,so broad
in nature that this special monograph could only include 8 aspects of Chinese
culture ,hopefully offering a general glimpse of Chinese culture to interna‐
tional friends so as to arouse their interests in learning more about Chinese
culture .In China ,there are a sea of excellent fruits of researches in this re‐
spect ,but it is a pity that they are mostly written in Chinese ,and the lan‐
guage barrier itself made them inaccessible .As an English language worker ,
I am entrusted the responsibility of introducing Chinese culture to the world
and I sincerely wish that more people will join me in my personal efforts to
p romote this great undertaking .

・ 3 ・
前   言

中国位于亚洲的东部 ,太平洋的西岸 。 中国文化灿烂 ,历史悠久 ,有记载的


历史可追溯到距今 5000 年前 ;物产丰富 ,幅员辽阔 ,其疆域南北绵延 5500 千
米 ,东西纵横 5200 千米 。 陆地面积 960 万平方千米 ,占世界陆地面积 1 /15 ,仅
次于俄罗斯和加拿大 。 陆地疆界长 2 万多千米 ,与朝鲜 、俄罗斯 、蒙古 、哈萨克
斯坦 、吉尔吉斯斯坦 、塔吉克斯坦 、阿富汗 、巴基斯坦 、印度 、尼泊尔 、不丹 、缅甸 、
老挝和越南接壤 。 隔海与日本 、韩国 、菲律宾 、马来西亚 、文莱 、印度尼西亚等国
相望 。
中国地形复杂多样 ,西高东低 ,自西向东分三级 :西部青藏高原平均海拔
4000 米以上 ,为第一阶梯 ;青藏高原向北跨过昆仑山 、祁连山 ,向东翻过横断山 ,
地势陡降至 1000 至 2000 米的云贵高原 、黄土高原和内蒙古高原 ,以及四川盆
地 、塔里木盆地和准噶盆地 ,为第二阶梯 ;大兴安岭 、太行山 、巫山和云贵高原东
缘一线以东 ,海拔在 1000 米以下的丘陵和 200 米以下的平原 ,为第三阶梯 。
中国是一个多山的国家 ,其主要山脉有阿尔泰山 、天山 、昆仑山 、喀喇昆仑
山 、祁连山 、冈底斯山 、喜马拉雅山 、横断山 、阴山 、秦岭 、南岭 、大兴安岭 、长白山
等 。 中国还是一个河流众多的国家 ,大多自西向东注入太平洋 ,主要河流有长
江(6300 千米) 、黄河(5464 千米) ,黑龙江 、珠江 、辽河 、海河 、淮河 、钱塘江 、澜沧
江等 ;也有受山势影响 ,向南流经南亚次大陆 ,注入印度洋 ,如怒江 、雅鲁藏布江
等 ;在中国西部和北部 ,还有许多内河流 ,如塔里木河 (2179 千米 )等 ,中国古人
还开凿了世界上最长的人工运河 ,京杭大运河 (1801 千米)沟通海河 、黄河 、淮
河 、长江 、钱塘江五大水系 。 中国有众多的湖泊 ,长江中 、下游多是淡水湖 ,如鄱
阳湖 、太湖 、洪泽湖 、洞庭湖 ,而青藏高原多分布着咸水湖 ,如青海湖 、纳木错等 。
在中国漫长的海岸线边 ,在东海和南海分布着为数众多的岛屿 ,其中有台湾岛 、
海南岛 、崇明岛 、舟山岛等大岛屿以及星罗棋布的小岛屿数千个 。 中国大部分
地区位于北温带和亚热带 ,属于季风气候 ,由于疆土辽阔 ,地形复杂 ,各区域离

・ 1 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

海洋距离差异较大 ,形成了复杂多样的气候 。 年降水量从东南沿海的1500毫


米 ,逐渐递减 ,到比较干旱的西北部只有 50 毫米左右 。
中国有北京 、上海 、天津和重庆四个直辖市 ,河北 、山西 、辽宁 、吉林 、黑龙
江 、江苏 、浙江 、安徽 、福建 、江西 、山东 、河南 、湖北 、湖南 、广东 、海南 、四川 、贵
州 、云南 、陕西 、甘肃 、青海 、台湾 23 个省 ,内蒙古 、广西 、西藏 、宁夏 、新疆 5 个自
治区 ,香港和澳门 2 个特别行政区 。 中国是一个统一的多民族国家 ,全国人口
13 亿 ,其中汉族约占 92% ,通用汉语 ,其他 55 个民族 ,约占 8% ,有些民族有自
己的语言和文字 。 中国人信奉的主要宗教有佛教 、道教 、伊斯兰教 、天主教和基
督教新教 ,也有无神论者 ,国家奉行宗教信仰自由的原则 。
中国是一个具有悠久历史和灿烂文化的国度 ,曾经为人类的文明作出过巨
大贡献 。 近代中国由于落伍和列强的侵略 ,曾遭受百年之久的屈辱与磨难 。 经
过百年浴血奋斗 、前赴后继 ,付出了巨大的民族牺牲 ,终于在 1949 年赢得了彻
底的民族独立和人民解放 ,从此走上民族复兴的伟大征程 ,可以预见 ,中国将对
人类的和平事业作出更大的贡献 。 中国文化囊括了人类文明的方方面面 ,本研
究仅仅选择了其中八个主要方面加以概述和评介 ,希望能给国际友人以粗略的
中国文化知识 ,使他们渴望了解更多的情况 。 有关中国文化研究的成果浩如烟
海 ,其中不乏精湛之作 ,可惜大多是以汉语写作而成 ,西方人几乎无缘领略其精
妙 ,作为英语工作者 ,应该责无旁贷 ,肩负起传播中国文化的历史责任 ,笔者仅
仅作了一番初步尝试 ,以期有更多的优秀外语学者加入传播中国文化的行列
中 ,共襄盛举 ,成就伟业 。

・ 2 ・
Chapter One
Two Economies and China摧s
Agricultural Civilization
两种经济与中国的农业文明

    China has always been a country with agriculture as the mainstay of its
economy .Every dynasty attached so much importance to agriculture that
they went so far as to neglect and even despise trade and businessmen .The
overwhelming majority of its people have been peasants , involved in
agricultural productions directly and indirectly , and with the lifestyle and
habits of peasants acquired in agricultural productions .The Han Chinese had
long cultivated a mentality characteristic of peasants : they enjoyed the
settled life of ease in small villages ,were satisfied easily ,and never learned
to be ambitious and militant ;they had simple mind and pure heart ,forever
yearning for pastoral life .

Ⅰ .Coexistance of Two Economies in Ancient China

In ancient China ,there always existed two forms of economy ,agricultural


and nomadic economies , with the Great Wall , also geographically 400 mm
precipitation line , as their dividing‐line . To the south‐east of this line was the
semi‐moist area influenced by the monsoon climate of both the Pacific and Indian

・ 1 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

oceans ,where it was suitable for agriculture ,and to the north‐west of the line
was the semi‐arid area ,where the predominant economy was nomadic ,with
sporadic agricultural belts in the oases moisted by the groundwater and
continental rivers .In ancient times ,the agriculture from the Central Plains
(中原) could spread northward as far as the Great Wall , beyond which it
was the nomadic grassland . The 400 mm precipitation line , therefore ,
became the dividing‐line between the agricultural and the nomadic people .
Militarily speaking ,the Great Wall ,built and rebuilt by every dynasty ,did
p rovide protections to a certain degree for the agricultural people ,their life
and productions ,but they acquired a deep‐rooted habit to overdepend on the
Great Wall , and with this , the agricultural people developed a passive
mentality towards life in general . From the perspectives of economy and
culture ,the Great Wall was more an economic dividing‐line than a military
defensive works . The agricultural people generally could live all by
themselves ,without the aid from the outside except for some extreme floods
or drought ,but the nomadic people were constantly on the move ,in search
of water and grass , with more challenges and uncertainties in life so they
depended more on nature than the agricultural people did .In this vast east
Asian landmass ,both agricultural and nomadic people coexisted ,with their
respective national characters ,p roduced by their different ways of life .The
nomadic people ,constantly on the horsebacks ,roamed for water and grass
in a broad sphere ,and this unsettled life made them physically robuste and
strongly built , and what is more , the challenges and uncertainties in life
cultivated their militant spirit and courage . The agricultural people ,
however , lived a settled life of ease , with a lot of family utensils and
furnitures difficult to carry on the shoulders , seldom went beyond their
immediate vicinity and adopted a narrow and limited outlook towards life ,
sentimentally attached to their land and nervous of the outside world
unknown to them . The main theme running through Chinese history had
been the conflicts of these two ways of life ,two economies ,and two people ,
with the agricultural people passively defending themselves and the nomadic
p eople either invading in large hordes or harassing in small numbers .So the

・ 2 ・
Chapter One  

nomadic encroachments on the borders had been a perennial problem ,which


were never solved root and branch in history except in the Yuan and Qing
dynasties established by national minorities themselves .

Ⅱ .Social Ideal and Life Pursuit of the Agricultural Civilization

Though ancient Chinese history had been a process of coexistencce of


two economies , filled with conflicts , struggles , even endless wars and
national integrations , agriculture had always been predominant , and
nomadic culture subordinate in terms of population ,area inhabited ,and the
decisive historical role performed .
Chinese civilization is typically agricultural in nature , with strong
agricultural characterisitcs in such aspects as clothing , food , housing and
travelling .Even our earliest ancestors lived in small villages , ate grains as
main food ,used crockery cooking utensils and travelled either on foot or by
horse‐drawn cart , and later invented wheelbarrows for transportations .
Even in their literary and artistic world ,their aesthetic interests ,social ideal
and life pursuits were spontaneously revealed : They enjoyed such a literary
conception as “ listening tran q uilly to the raindro ps pelting on the leaves of
plantains , app reciating , with a light heart , smoke curling u pwards f rom
kitchen chimneys and merging into the f loating cloud over the mountains at
the dusk , casting a longing lingering look at the village p ath and watching
leisurely the cyp ress vine and lily , even a calling of cuckoos made a wandering
person in a distant land miss his mother .” ① In their novels , stories are
narrated in a slow pace , with a happy reunion as an usual ending ; for
dramas , audience care only for the singing and music , rather than the
unfolding of the story . In paintings , painters delineated landscapes , rivers and
mountains , with freehand brushwork aiming at catching the spirit of being
“indescribably free” ,“quietly elegant” ,and “implicitly revealing” ,which reflects the
psychological tendency of agricultural people in the worshipping of pastoral life .

① Lin Yutang ,“M y Land and M y People” ,Hualing Press ,1995 ,p246

・ 3 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

In their national mythical story of “Cowboy and Weaving Girl” (牛郎织


女) ,their ideal of life had been embodied :men ploughed and women wove
in a peaceful society ;p eople enjoyed a happy marriage ,in harmony with the
heaven .Usually in an agricultural society , p eople could be easily contented
with a simple and uneventful life ,without the greed and avarice ,so long as
there was no war or natural disasters . The agricultural people would be
extremely happy if they had food ,as “Food is the first necessity of man” (民
以食 为 天 ) had always been their motto . Home is where they can have
comfort and ease ,so harmony between husband and wife can provide them
with almost all happiness .Their ultimate social pursuit was international and
domestic peace and harmony with family members , neighbours and even
foreign countries .

Ⅲ .The Birth and Evolution of Ancient Chinese Agriculture

Ancient Chinese agricultural production and development were revolved


around the following four themes :
( Ⅰ ) The Cultivation and Introduction of Crops
The successful cultivation of crops marked the birth of agriculture .
Ancient Chinese began to grow such dry crops as millet (粟) and broomcorn
millet (黍 ) 7 ,000 to 8 ,000 years ago along the Yellow River Valley , but
wheat was grown 5 ,000 years ago in the same regions .The Chinese ancestors
first experimented with paddy growing in the Yangtze River Valley about
10 ,000 years ago .
Millet ,an annual grass herbal crop , was domesticated from the wild
green bristlegrass (野 生 狗 尾 草 ) , mainly grown along the Yellow River
Valley .Suited to the conditions of dryland in the north of China ,broomcorn
millet ,like millet ,was also an annual grass herbal crop ,the main grain crop
of the northern Chinese .Wheat growing was much later ,about 4 ,000 years
ago .Paddy ,an annual grass herbal crop , was domesticated from the wild
p addy which was grown along the Yangtze River Valley about 10 ,000 years
ago and extended to many other places of the south and even to some places

・ 4 ・
Chapter One  

in the north about 5 ,000 years ago and became the main food of the people
in the south .Besides these grain crops ,our ancestors also had vegetables ,
melons and fruits ,such as bottle gourd (葫芦 ) , muskmelon (甜瓜 ) , lotus
seed (莲子) and so on ,which were wild with no human cultivation .In their
gathering of fruits , tea plants were identified , differentiated from other
p lants for drinking to refresh people , gradually used by more and more
p eople ,and even exported to foreign countries .
The domestic and foreign exchanges ,usually bidirectional or even multi‐
directional ,had greatly enriched people摧s food supplies ,increased not only
in quantity , but also in variety of food . From the early time in history ,
Chinese rice had already spread to the Korean Peninsula and Japanese
Archipelagoes ,and ,at the same time ,many crops ,some very significant ,
had been introduced to the Central Plains and the south of China from
Western Regions (西域) of China ,central ,south ,and west Asia ,and even
from then newly discovered Americas .
Alfalfa (苜蓿 ) , introduced from Iran by Zhang Qian in the Western
Han Dynasty , had been the important fodder for raising best horses , and
this was of strategic importance as the successful introduction and cultivation
of alfalfa had promoted the animal husbandry (畜 牧 业 ) , and with it ,
agriculture had tremendously been pushed forward . Walnut ( 胡 桃 ) ,
p omegranate(石 榴 ) , flax (胡 麻 ) , cucumber (黄 瓜 ) , rocambole (胡 蒜 ) ,
p epper(胡椒) and so on were also introduced from Iran ,which became the
important sources of fruits , dried fruits , vegetables , seasoning and oil‐
bearing crops .Grapes ,introduced from the Western Region to the Central
Plains ,had been one of the major fruits of the people there .Ever since the
Western Han Dynasty ,crops ,fruits ,and vegetables had been introduced to
China by each dynasty ,such as lettuce (莴苣 ) and spinach (菠菜 )in the Sui
and Tang dynasties , Zhancheng rice (占城稻 ) from Vietnam in the Song
Dynasty ,carrot in the Yuan Dynasty ,and in the Ming and Qing dynasties ;
and also from Americas ,were introduced such drought‐enduring (耐旱) and
barren‐tolerant(耐 瘠 ) grain crops as sweet potato (番 薯 ) , corn (玉 米 ) ,
p otato (马铃薯 ) , p eanut (花生 ) ,and such vegetables as pumpkin (南瓜 ) ,

・ 5 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

chilli (辣椒) ,tomato(番茄) ,kidney bean (菜豆) ,onion (洋葱 ) ,and fruits ,
such as mango(芒果 ) , p ineapple (菠萝 ) , p apaya (番木瓜 ) ,sweetsop (番茄
枝) ,introductions and cultivations of which had met with the demands of
growing population .
With needs of food being satisfied , people began to think of the
question of clothing .With animal skins and tree leaves at the start , p eople
made their clothes ,and ,little by little ,learned to grow kudzu (葛) and jute
(黄麻) for making fibrous clothes .Our ancestors discovered the making of
cocoons by silkworms while gathering mulberry and then began to
domesticate and raise the silkworm ; they later mastered the silk reeling
technology ,wove silk cloth and made exquisite garments ,which proved to
be an innovation of epoch‐making significance in human history .
( Ⅱ ) Animal Farming
Our ancestors had already raised dogs ,pigs ,cattle ,sheep ,and chickens
about 8 ,000 years ago , but horse‐raising started comparatively late , the
domestication of these animals had ocurred even earlier . Dogs were
domesticated from the wild wolf ,and could help hunters in hunting animals
and also provided people with meat .Pigs ,domesticated from the wild hogs ,
offered people their main source of meat .Sheep ,also domesticated from the
wild sheep ,p rovided people with the main source of meat .Both cattle and
buffalo ,from different species of wild animals ,could provide people with
animal power and meat as well . Chickens , domesticated from the jungle
fowls ,were universally raised for satisfying people摧s needs for meat .Horse摧s
domestication ,p ossibly from Mongolian wild horses by Mongolians ,started
much later .These so‐called “Six Domesticated Animals” ,dog , pig ,sheep ,
cattle ,chicken and horse ,p rovided people with animal power for ploughing
and also served as meat source , which became an organic part of an
agricultural civilization .
( Ⅲ ) The Invention of Farm Tools
The invention of farm tools was an important step in the development of
agriculture .The materials from which tools were made underwent a process

・ 6 ・
Chapter One  

of change in time ,from wood to bone ,stone and clam ,before the invention
of iron tools . Farm tools for primitive agriculture were divided into three
categories :
1 .Farm Tools for Soil Preparation
1) Ancient fork‐like farm tools (耒)
2) Ancient spade‐shaped farm tools (耜)
3) Spade (铲)
4) Hoe and pick (锄 、镬)
5) Plough (犁)
In comparision with other tools , plough represented a significant
breakthrough in the invention of farm tools , as it could be moved
continuously while the movement of other tools was intermittent or on and
off .In the history of primitive agriculture ,the invention of plough created
the technological conditions for tremendous increase in productivity .
2 .Farm Tools for Harvesting
1) Stone knife (石刀)
2) Pottery knife (陶刀)
3) Clam knife (蚌刀)
4) Stone sickle (石镰)
The invention of stone sickle was important for it improved the
efficiency of harvesting .
3 .Farm Tools for Processing
1) Millstones (石磨盘)
2) Mortar and Pestle (杵臼)
Mortar and Pestle was an important invention for improving the
efficiency of grain processing , especially the stone mortar and pestle ,
because it was durable ,clean ,and easy to move .
( Ⅳ ) The Building of Water Conservancy Works
Water has been one of the essential conditions guaranteeing the
agricultural production , but flood could wreak havoc on the lives and
p roperty of the people .As an agricultural society ,Chinese history has been
a history of struggle ,controlling the flood and eventually making the water

・ 7 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

serve the agriculture for thousands of years . In bringing the flood under
control ,our ancestors had built many water conservancy works of various
kinds , for comprehensive purposes of irrigation , and navigation as well ,
which performed the important roles not only in agricultural production but
also in the unification of the country . Every dynasty attached much
importance to the building and maintenance of water conservancy projects .
As early as the Xia Dynasty (2100 B .C .— 1600 B .C .) , our ancestors had
already known the primitive irrigation technology . In the Western Zhou
Dynasty (1100 B .C .— 771 B .C .) ,a primary system of irrigation and water
conservancy had been constructed , with the retaining , drawing , irrigating
and discharging functions all in one comprehensively .From the Spring and
Autumn and the Warring States Period (770 B .C .— 221 B .C .) to the Qin
Dynasty (221 B .C .— 206 B .C .) , monumental water conservancy projects
such as the Dujiang Weirs ,the Ling Canal and the Zhengbai Canal had been
built ,g reatly enhancing the development of agricultural production in the
Central Plains ,the south of China ,and the west of Sichuan .In the Western
Han Dynasty , most of the water conservancy projects were built in the
north ,but to the south of the Yangtze River ,some water projects had also
been under construction .Through the Wei and the Jin dynasties ,to the Tang
Dynasty ,water conservancy projects had been built all over the country and
the Song Dynasty made even greater efforts to build water projects . In
building large water conservancy works ,the last three dynasties could not be
compared with the previous dynasties , but they built more smaller water
p rojects , evenly scattered all over the country , like the stars in the sky ,
p romoting the agriculture in all regions throughout the nation .
Two important representative water conservancy works are briefly
introduced as follows :
1 .The Dujiang Weirs (都江堰)
The Dujiang Weirs ,the admiration of modern irrigation engineers ,is an
irrigation infra‐structure designed and built in 256 B .C . by the prefect of
Sichuan ,Li Bing and his son , from the Kingdom of the Qin during the
Warring States Period of China . It is located in the Min River (岷 江 ) in

・ 8 ・
Chapter One  

Sichuan Province ,near the provincial capital city , Chengdu (成 都 ) . It is


still in use today and still irrigates large tracts of land in the region . The
irrigation system of the Dujiang Weirs consists of three main parts that work
in harmony with one another to keep flood under control and the fields well
supplied with water .The first construction ,Yuzui or Fish Mouth Levee (鱼
嘴) ,named for its conical head that is said to resemble the mouth of a fish ,
is the key part of the project .It is an artificial levee that divides the water
into inner and outer streams .The inner stream carries approximately 40% ,
rising to 60% during flood , of the river摧s flow into the irrigation system
while the outer stream drains away the rest ,flushing out much of the silt and
sediment .The second construction ,Feishayan or Flying Sand Weir (飞沙堰)
has a 200 meter‐wide opening connecting the inner and outer streams ,which
allows the natural swirling flow of the water to drain out excess water from
the inner to the outer stream in the time of floods .The third construction ,
Baopingkou or Bottle‐Neck Channel (宝 瓶 口 ) , which Li Bing gouged
through the mountain , is the final part of the system . The channel
distributes the water to the farmlands to the west , while the narrow
entrance , that gives it its name , works as a check gate , creating the
whirlpool flow that carries away the excess water over Flying Sand Weir ,to
bring flood under control . After the project was finished , no more floods
ever occurred . The irrigation made Sichuan one of the most productive
agricultural provinces in China .Ever since then ,Sichuan has been acclaimed
as “Land of Abundance” (天府之国 ) . Li Bing (李冰 ) , the architect , was
loved so much that he became a god to the people there .On the east side of
the Dujiang Weirs ,people built a shrine in memory of him .
2 .The Beijing‐Hangzhou Grand Canal (京杭大运河)
The Beijing‐Hangzhou Grand Canal ,the Grand Canal of China ,is also
known as the longest canal or artificial river in the world . Starting at
Tongzhou , Beijing , it passes through Tianjin and the provinces of Hebei ,
Shandong ,Jiangsu and Zhejiang to Hangzhou ,the provincial capital city of
Zhejiang .The oldest parts of the canal dated back to the 5th century B .C .,
although the various sections were finally combined during the Sui Dynasty

・ 9 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

(581 — 618 A .D .) . The Grand Canal was a comprehensive and gigantic


water conservancy works with a multi‐function of the transportation of
goods ,irrigation of fields along both sides of the Canal ,and controlling of
floods .Running alongside and parallel to the canal was an imperial roadway
and post offices supporting a courier system .The government also planted an
enormous line of trees to beautify the Canal .
The Early History of the Grand Canal :As early as in the late Spring and
Autumn Period (722 — 481 B .C .) , Fuchai (夫差 ) , the emperor of the Wu
(p resent‐day Suzhou ) ,ventured north to conquer the neighboring State of
the Qi .He ordered a canal to be constructed for trading purposes ,as well as
a means to ship north ample supplies in case his forces should engage the
northern states of the Song and the Lu .This canal became known as the Han
Gou (邗 沟 ) . Work began in 486 B .C ., south of Yangzhou in Jiangsu
Province ,and within three years the Han Gou had connected the Yangtze
River to the Huai River (淮河) by means of existing waterways ,lakes ,and
marshes .The Han Gou is actually known as the second oldest section of the
later Grand Canal ,the Beijing‐Hangzhou Grand Canal ,since the Hong Gou
(鸿沟) ,the Canal of the Flying Geese ,or the Far‐Flung Canal ,most likely
p receded it .It linked the Yellow River near the city of Kaifeng to the Si and
the Bian rivers .The exact date of the Hong Gou's construction is uncertain ;
it is first mentioned by the diplomat Su Qin in 330 B .C . when discussing
state boundaries . The historian Sima Qian (145 — 90 B .C .) dated it much
earlier than the 4th century B .C ., attributing it to the work of the
mythological king ,Yu the Great (大禹) .
The Completion and later Repairs of the Grand Canal : The first
emperor of the Sui Dynasty , Emperor Wen (隋 文 帝 ) , who launched the
p roject of the Grand Canal ,and the Grand Canal was fully completed under
the second Sui emperor ,Emperor Yang (隋炀帝) ,from the years 604 A .D .
to 609 A .D .,first by linking Luoyang to Yangzhou and the Yangtze River
valley , then expanding it to Hangzhou in the south ,and to Beijing in the
north .When the canal was completed ,it linked such river systems as the
Qiantang River (钱塘江) ,the Yangtze River (长江) ,the Huai River (淮河) ,

・ 10 ・
Chapter One  

the Yellow River (黄河 ) , and the Hai River (海河 ) . Its southern section ,
running between Hangzhou and the Yangtze River ,was named the Jiangnan
River ,meaning the river ‘South of the Yangtze摧 .The Grand Canal as we see
it today was in large part a creation of the Sui Dynasty (581 — 618) ,a result
of the shifting of China摧s economic and agricultural central region away from
the Yellow River valley and toward what are now Jiangsu and Zhejiang
p rovinces .Minor additions to the canal were made after the Sui Dynasty to
cut down on travel time , but on the whole no fundamental differences
existed between the Sui Grand Canal and the Tang Grand Canal .The water‐
level‐adjusting gate , a double‐gate system known as the pound lock , was
invented in the 10th century in response to the necessity of greater safety for
the travel of barge ships along rougher waters of the Grand Canal . This
allowed ships to wait within a gated space while the water could be drained
to appropriate levels and then continue to move either upward or downward
the river ;and the roofed hangars over the space to add further protection
for the ships . During the Yuan Dynasty (1271 — 1368 ) , the capital was
moved to Beijing , eliminating the need for the canal arm flowing west to
Kaifeng or Luoyang . A summit section was dug across the foothills of the
Shandong massif during the 1280s ,shortening the overall length by as much
as 700 km (making the total length about 1 ,800 km) and linking Hangzhou
and Beijing with a direct north‐south waterway for the first time in history .

    Ⅳ . Important Stages for the Development of Traditional


Chinese Agriculture

    1 .The embryonic stage of agricultural technology :In the Neolithic Age


(about 10 ,000 — 4 ,000 years ago ) ,Chinese primitive agriculture ,under the
basis of fishing and hunting economy ,originated 10 ,000 years ago .
2 .The early stage of agricultural technology :In the Xia ,the Shang and
the Zhou dynasties (2100 — 771 B .C .) , our ancestors invented smelting
technology ,and ,for the first time in history ,farm tools made of bronze had
been employed in the agricultural production , which promoted the

・ 11 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

agriculture ,and at the same time , p eople learned to control the flood by
building water conservancy works .
3 .The Stage of intensive cultivation :In the Spring and Autumn and the
Warring States period (770 — 221 B .C .) ,this was not only an important age
of social upheavals , where there were numerous schools of thought
contending ,but also a time of technological advancement ,symbolized by the
maturity of iron‐smelting technology and its wide application .With both the
use of animal power and farm tools made of iron , agriculture was pushed
forward with a newly injected vitality .
4 .The forming stage of intensive cultivation technology in dryland of
Northern China : from the Qin and the Han dynasties ,to the Wei ,the Jin
and the Southern and the Northern dynasties (2 21 B .C .— 589 A .D .) ,
agricultural technology in dry‐land of the north became mature , with the
invention of such coordinated farming technology as ploughing (耕) ,raking
(耙) and leveling (耱) land in turns ;and many more complicated farm tools
were invented one after another and used in agricultural production for
increasing the grain output .
5 .The forming stage of intensive cultivation of paddy field in Southern
China :During the Sui , the Tang , the Song and the Yuan dynasties (581 —
1368 A .D .) , with the economic focus of China shifted to the south , the
coordinated technology was also invented ,the use of which was popularized ;
and the growing of cotton was extended all over the country .
6 .The higher stage of intensive cultivation technology :From the Ming
Dynasty to the middle period of the Qing Dynasty (1368 — 1840 A .D .) ,with
the over‐p opulation ,the arable land became scarce ,which made it necessary
to develop further the technology of intensive cultivation to solve the
p roblems resulted from the increasing population and the shortage of land .
During this period ,some new crops were introduced to China from the New
World ,which exerted strong impact on China摧s crop structure .As a result ,
diversified economy (多 种 经 营 ) and multiple cropping (多 熟 种 植 ) have
become the main stream of Chinese agricultural production ever since .

・ 12 ・
Chapter One  

Ⅴ .Monumental Achievements of Ancient Chinese Agronomy

Ancient China boasted a highly developed agriculture , and also


p roduced many agronomists of world stature ,who devoted their lifetime to
the participation of field labour as peasants and distilled their experiences
and experiments into theories for promoting agriculture and agronomy .
Three greatest agronomists were selected and their masterpieces briefly
introduced :
1 . Im portant Arts f or the People摧s Welf are (枟齐民要术枠) was written by Jia
Si‐xie (贾思勰) who was born and lived between 5th and 6th century A .D .in the
Northern Wei Period .Jia Si‐xie served as prefect of Gaoyang Prefecture and his
agricultural book is a classic . This book was introduced to Japan in the Tang
Dynasty and has now been translated into 20 languages . Its profound scientific
content has influenced agricultural production for ages . This was the most
complete ,the most systematic and the richest encyclopedic book on agricultural
science completed in the 6th century in China ,and also the earliest agricultural
masterpiece in the agricultural history of the world .
2 . Ex p loitation of the W orks of Nature (枟天工开物枠) was written by
Song Ying‐xing (宋应星 1587 — 1661 A .D .) in the Ming Dynasty ,who was a
distinguished scientist , also known as “ Chinese Diderot ” . His research
interests were broad ,ranging from agriculture to physics ;his Tian Kong Kai
Wu or Ex ploitation of the Works of Nature studied biology , and minutely
recorded “ breeding of new varieties of rice and barley ” , and his research
p rovided the theoretical basis for artificial cultivation of new varieties of
crops . Ex p loitation of the Works of Nature is an encyclopedia of technology
with illustrations ;the author ,Song Yingxing ,had written many books ,of
which Ex p loitation of the Works of Nature was the most influential .This was
an encyclopaedia‐type scientific work comprising 18 volumes with 123
drawings . This book summarized the achievements of China 's ancient
agriculture and handicraft techniques and reflected the level of development
of production in Chinese society at that time .

・ 13 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

3 . Com plete Treatise on Agriculture (枟农 政 全 书枠) : The author was Xu


Guang‐qi (1562 — 1633 A .D .) , a distinguished scientist in the Ming Dynasty ,
whose research interests were very broad and whose achievements were immense .
He studied astronomy ,calendric system ,mathematics ,agronomy and so on ,but
his research attainments in agronomy and water conservancy were the most
influential and everlasting . His masterpiece ,“ Com plete Treatise on Agriculture”
was the result of his personal farming experiments ,and in‐depth research ,which
included almost all aspects of ancient agricultural production and human life .The
major theme running through this gigantic book was his basic concept of agronomy
in governing the country .In comparison with the previous books which stressed
techniques or technological aspect of agricultural production ,he emphasized both
agricultural measures or policies and agricultural technologies .The former was the
guideline while the latter ensured the success of agricultural ideas or policies .

Ⅵ .A Brief Comment on Chinese Agricultural Civilization

China was one of a few world摧s birth‐p laces of agriculture ,and also one
of the important places of the origin for human civilizations . When many
other civilizations began to germinate ,Chinese agricultural civilization had
already become mature ,like the sun at high noon shining all over the world .
In history , Chinese population had been comparatively large , with the
settled and stable life ensured by comparatively stable agricultural yields .
In ancient times , two Chinese economies , agricultural and nomadic ,
were indivisible like Siamese twins , full of ambivalent feelings of love and
hate , and destined to integrate through blood and fire . All through our
history ,most of the dynasties had been harassed and tortured by the border
skirmishes as well as all‐out wars . Most of those Han emperors and their
generals had usually adopted passive defensive strategy , even humiliatingly
p acified kings of nomadic people by marrying daughters of the Han royal
families to them (和亲 ) ,but peace usually proved transient as this kind of
p eace had solved no problems for which the wars were launched .The Han
Chinese emperors and their courtiers had seldom made a thorough study of

・ 14 ・
Chapter One  

those horse‐riding people and their lifestyle ,but only reprimanded them for
conducting themselves immorally and avariciously , even cursed out those
treacherous and faithless “ barbarians” and “ uncivilized men ” in order to
make the Han Chinese emperors and their people psychologically comforted
and balanced . Most of the Han Chinese rulers thus had long been bogged
down in this passive abyss of mentality and could never have worked out any
effective solutions to all these troubles once for all .For thousands of years ,
on the vast east Asian landmass ,a wretched and miserable drama of nomadic
p eople forever chasing agricultural people had been staged continuously .
The Han Chinese had known very little about the real state of existence and
grassland of the nomadic people ,seldom connected their militancy and aggression
with their ways of nomadism ,even nobly and proudly claimed that they had never
coveted their grassland and wealth .The agricultural people摧s mentality had thus
been formed ,reinforced and finally consolidated as a result of their settled ways of
comparatively stable and easy life . Thanks to two major minority regimes , the
Yuan and Qing dynasties ,and many other lesser dynasties of minority which had
had their reigns well established in the Central Plains over the whole country ,the
Han Chinese mentality and their horizons , previously agricultural in nature ,had
been revitalized and broadened , with the repeated “ injections ” of nomadic
elements in the process of integrations of the agricultural people with the nomads
from the grassland .
The ancestors of the Chinese nations ,with unprecedented wisdom and
courage ,had ushered in a new epoch of glorious agricultural civilization in
the remote past of human history , but the mentality resulting from their
early successes in agricultural productions had become deep‐rooted habits and
historical burdens ,negatively affecting the evolution of Chinese society and
their descendants in their future choices and progresses .Of course ,this is no
fault of our ancestors ,to whom we ,as successors of their great civilization ,
owe so much and are extremely grateful .It is rather for us ,the descendants ,
to be committed to the great task of smashing the “ long‐standing mental
shackles” and innovating on our future work ,if we want to prove ourselves
worthy of their splendid achievements .

・ 15 ・
Chapter Two
The Rite and Music System
and China摧s Ethical Culture
礼乐制度与中国的伦理文化

    China is well reputed as “ Land of Ceremony and Propriety ” (礼仪之


邦) ,or to be exact ,“ Land of Propriety and Music” (礼乐之邦 ) . The rite
and music system was an essential part of ancient Chinese culture , which
p layed an important role in maintaining the rigidity of social order , the
harmony of human relations and the education of people through the
p ropriety and music .In ancient China ,this system of the rite and music had
been practically in operation in the management of the country and
education of the people , and is deeply rooted in the philosophical idea of
Chinese culture . Confucius says , “ Through the rite , ancient sage kings
demonstrated the W ay of Heaven and m anaged their peo ple , the success f ul
app lication of which meant the im portance of lif e and death .” ① Before the
Qin Dynasty ,the rite had embraced such a broad range of fields as to include
all laws and moral standards .The rites ,therefore ,covered not only social
norms and ceremony ,but also the political systems and laws of the land .The
music was also closely related to and coordinated with the rites ,and further

① 杜佑编枟通典 ・ 礼志枠 。

・ 16 ・
Chapter T w o  

with politics ,so it could be said that “ The tones of a well‐m anaged age are at
rest and happy : its government is balanced . The tones of an age of turmoil
are bitter and f ull of anger : its government is perverse . The tones of a ruined
state are f illed with lament and brooding : its peop le are in diff iculty . The
way of sounds and tones comm unicates with governance .” ① (“是故治世之音安
以乐 ,其政和 ;乱世之音怨以怒 ,其政乖 ;亡国之音哀以思 ,其民困 。 声音之道与
政通矣 。” 枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠) The music and rites could harbinger the rise and fall
of dynasties ,the order and turmoil of society and the safety and danger of
p eople with their implied meanings revealed ,of which the rulers should not
be fully unaware .Ancient Chinese sages and philosophers had attached such
an importance to the rites and music from such a high plane that they
designed corresponding system of the rite and music for the long‐term
stability of the country , and this way assisting the imperial court with
p olitical education and state administration .

Ⅰ .The Origin of the Rite and Music System

The use of rites and music dates back to the primitive worship of our
ancestors in the remote past .“ Only two things are of p rime im portance f or a
country : sacri f ice‐off ering ceremony and military aff airs .” (枟左 传枠) These
two things were considered equally important to our ancestors in their life .
In ancient Chinese language , all characters with meanings of ancestor‐
worshipping and god‐worshipping had shared the same left side of the
characters as “rites” (禮 ) ,such as “ god” (神 ) ,“ god of land” (社 ) . The
right side of the character “rites” had an upper part meaning a utensil with
two strings of jade in it and a lower part meaning the stool on which the
utensil was placed for sacrifice‐offering ceremony .So the character “ rites”
indicated the ceremony of ancestor‐worshipping or god‐worshipping ,
whereas the jade inside the utensil was the oblation (祭品 ) for ancestors or

① 枟中国文论 :英译与评论枠 ,(美)宇文所安著 ,王柏华 陶庆梅译 ,上海社会科学院出版社 ,上海 ,


2003 年 1 月 ,第 53 页 。

・ 17 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

god .“ Music” (乐 ) , also a pictographic character , referred to a musical


instrument which was used in accompanying the sacrifice‐offering ceremony .
The “music” included not only the musical instruments ,but also dancing and
singing ,as “music” was a general term for all the ancient arts .
The legendary king , Yu the Great , ushered in the epoch of “ family
dynasty” (家天下) by his own “father‐to‐son” succession of the throne ,and
his son ,King Qi ,thus became the founding king of the Xia Dynasty .With
the “father‐to‐son” succession of the throne within a family characterized by
“everyone loves only his kinsfolk ” , the system of rites had gradually been
made to regulate and adjust all human relationships , and become well
established in the Shang Dynasty , which could be supported by the
archeological findings and historical recordings of this specific dynasty
appeared in Sima Qian摧s “ Records of the Grand Historian” (枟史记枠) .In the
succeeding Zhou Dynasty , two remarkable personages , the Duke of the
Zhou and Confucius , had finally brought the ancient system of rites to
p erfection in forms and contents , through their ingenious conceptions and
innovations ,investing the rites with rich moral and human connotations .
After the death of the founding King of the Z hou Dynasty ,King Wu ,
his son known as King Cheng , still a child , ascended the throne with the
Duke of the Z hou as his regent . The Duke of the Z hou had devoted
himself to the systematic construction of rites by systematic improvement
on the previous rite and music systems , elevated them to the historical
institutional plane and endowed them with profound ethical and moral
meanings , for regulating and disciplining the social behaviours of the
p eople .Confucius , however , was born into an age beset with “ general
decay of rite and music systems” (礼 坏 乐 崩 ) , and considered it his own
responsibility to set right the things , to inherit , compile , elevate and
disseminate the culture and spirit of traditional rites and music ,and make them
serve the purpose of cultivating people in their moral and ethical awareness in a
subtle and imperceptible way .
“ Music works on inward f eeling to reach com p assion , while rites regulate
outward manners to ensure recognition of di ff erences in status . Com p assion

・ 18 ・
Chapter T w o  

leads to harmony , so that there will be no enmity , while recognition of


di ff erences leads to reverence , so that there will be no stri f e . The essence of
rites and m usic lies in keeping the country in good order through respect and
consideration f or each other among the people , when both are app lied and
become one .” ① (“乐以治内而为同 ,礼以修外而为异 ;同则和亲 ,异则畏敬 ;和
亲则无怨 ,畏敬则不争 。 揖让而天下治者 ,礼乐之谓也 。 二者并行 ,合为一体 。”
班固枟汉书 ・ 礼乐志枠)Early in history ,the Chinese had fully understood the
functions of the character‐cultivating and the manner‐developing through
music and rites respectively and ,at the same time , the education of music
and rites was combined as one integral whole ,“ Rites that go without m usic
want colors , while m usic that goes without rites wants balance .” ② (“达于礼
而不达于乐谓之 素 ,达于 乐而不达于礼谓之偏 。” 枟礼记 ・ 仲 尼燕居枠) With
special emphasis on the operation of “rites and music”in social life ,so that
the abstract “ rites” and “ music” could be brought to bear upon the moral
education of the people .Confucius had always attached much importance to
the “rites” and “music” ,as he says ,“ I f y ou do not study the rituals , y ou
will f ind y oursel f at a loss how to take y our stand .” ③ (“不学礼无以立”枟论语
・ 季氏枠) ,“ Let a m an be f irst incited by the Songs , then given a f irm f ooting
by the study of ritual , and f inally perf ected by m usic .” ④ (“兴于诗 ,立于礼 ,成
于乐 。” 枟 论 语 ・ 泰 伯 枠) ,and he consciously combined the rites with the
p olitical relationship between the emperor and ministers ,he goes on ,“ Rites
are the m ain instrument of the lord , wherewith doubts can be resolved , f ine
di ff erences can be clari f ied , spirits of ancestors can be appeased , institutions
can be examined , and kindheartedness and j ustice can be discriminated . The
order is thereby kep t and the off ice of the lord is done .” ⑤ “礼者 ,君之大柄也 。
所以别嫌明微 ,傧鬼神 ,考制度 ,别仁义 ,所以治政安君也 。” (枟礼记 ・ 礼运枠)
Xun Zi had elevated the rites to the unprecedented plane of importance in

① 班固枟汉书 ・ 礼乐志枠 ,方克平译文 。


② 枟礼记 ・ 仲尼燕居枠 ,方克平译文 。
③ ④   T he Analects ,T r .Arthur Waley ,Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages
Press ,1999 ,Beijing and Changsha ,P193 ,83
⑤ 枟礼记 ・ 礼运枠 ,方克平译文 。

・ 19 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

his writing ,as he says ,“ Through rites , Heaven and Earth are con joined , the
sun and moon shine brightly , the f our seasons observe their natural
p recedence , the stars and p lanets move in ranks , the rivers and streams f low ,
and m y riad things p rosper . Through them , love and hate are tem pered , and
j oy and anger m ade to f it the occasion . They are used to make inf eriors
obedient and to make su periors enlightened . Through a m y riad
transf ormations nothing becomes disorderly ; but i f one is divided in his
loy alty to them , he will be brought to ruin .Surely it is true that the rites are
indeed perf ection !” ① (“天地以合 ,日月以明 ,四时以序 ,星辰以行 ,江河以流 ,
万物以昌 ,好恶以节 ,喜怒以当 。 以为下则顺 ,以为上则明 。 万物变而不乱 ,贰
之则丧也 。 礼岂不至矣哉 !”枟荀子 ・ 礼论枠) .To Xun Zi ,rites were not only
the social and political rules ,but also that of the universe and nature ,as if
the observation of rites could have enabled the sun , the moon and stars to
move easily ,and the rivers and oceans to flow smoothly .

Ⅱ .The Contents and the Rise and Fall of the Rite and Music System

China is a country rich in the culture of rites and music ,and there had
p roduced three important literatures called “three rites” , namely , the first
literature , “ The Ritual ” was credited to the Duke of the Zhou , to the
disciples of Confucius or to an anonymous writer during the Qin and the Han
dynasties period with the authorship indefinitely established ,for scholars are
still divided regarding the authorship ;the ritual system recorded in the book
was all about the Zhou Dynasty ,but became the canon for later dynasties to
follow in creating their own systems . The second piece of literature ,“ The
Rites of the Zhou Dynasty ” recorded the rituals , p olitical systems and
customs minutely , with clear classifications . The third piece of literature ,
“The Book of Rites” ,completed in the Han Dynasty ,was even richer than
“The Rites of the Zhou Dynasty” in contents ,and became a classic in the

① Xun Zi (II ) , T r . John Knoblock , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages
Press ,1999 ,Beijing and Changsha ,P611

・ 20 ・
Chapter T w o  

Tang Dynasty , with the elaborate rites of daily life , quotations of


Confucius ,and even systematic Confucian treatises included ,such as “ The
Great Learning” and “The Doctrine of the Mean” which had been taken out
and made two of the Four Books . There had been “Six Classics” handed
down from the pre‐Qin dynasty period ,but only five of them survived time
and remained ,such as The Book of Songs ,The Book of History ,The Book
of Rites ,The Book of Changes ,and The Spring and Autumn Annals ,with
The Book of Music lost forever . However , there was luckily a treatise of
music from one of the five classics ,The Book of Rites ,which could offer us
a glimpse of what ancient sages thought about the education through music ,
and the important function music and rites had played in moral education of
the people ; they believed that the imperial ceremonial music could have
conveyed political message to the people ,changed local customs and given
depth to human relations .
1 .Contents of the Rite System
Ban Gu , a great historian , classified rites and music under four
administrative measures , that is , “ Rites gave the p ro per measure to the
peop le摧s minds ; m usic m ade harmony in hum an sounds ; government carried
things out ; p unishments p revented transgression .” ① (“礼节民心 ,乐和民声 ,政
以行之 ,行以防之 。”枟礼记枠) .In the beginning of all feudal dynasties ,erudite
scholars well versed in ancient rites and music systems had usually been
invited to make the specific system of rites and music of their own times ,
with the system of rites and music from the Zhou Dynasty being their
cannons , as it had been so influential and popular . Each dynasty , as a
result ,had made its own system of rites and music .In the Tang Dynasty ,
nine classics had been officially established from previous dynasties ,among
which three classics regarding the system of the rites and music could be
found ,so‐called “Three classics of Rites” :
1) Propitious Rites or Sacrifice‐offering Rites (吉礼)

① 枟中国文论 :英译与评论枠 ,(美)宇文所安著 ,王柏华 陶庆梅译 ,上海社会科学院出版社 ,上海 ,


2003 年 1 月 ,第 56 页 。

・ 21 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

(a) Sacrifice‐offering to Heaven and Earth (祭 天 地 ) ; (b ) Sacrifice‐


offering to Ancestral Temple or Shrine (祭宗庙 ) ; (c )Sacrifice‐offering to
the Sun , the Moon and Heavenly Bodies (祭 日 月 星 辰 ) ; (d ) Sacrifice‐
offering to God of Land and Grain (祭社稷) .
2) Harmonious Rites or Symbolic Rites (嘉礼)
(a ) Banquet Ceremony (飨礼或 燕礼 ) ; (b ) Hat‐wearing or Initiation
Ceremony (成人礼或冠礼) ;(c) Wedding Ceremony (婚嫁礼) ;(d) Arrow‐
shooting Ceremony (射礼) .
3) Rites of Protocol (宾礼)
(a) Chaojin or Request an Audience with Emperors (朝觐) :Vassals or
dukes paid respects to emperors and reported on their vassal state affairs .
(b) Huitong or Grand Royal Ceremony (会同) :Vassals or dukes came to the
capital and followed emperors in the Ceremony of Sacrifice‐offering to the Sun ,
the Moon and Stars ,and were treated to banquets after the ceremony .
4) Military Rites (军礼)
(a) Resolution‐pledging Ceremony before military expedition (大师礼) ;
(b) Military Supply Requisition Ceremony (大军礼 ) ; (c) Troop‐reviewing
Ceremony (大 田 礼 ) ; (d ) Defence Works Building Ceremony (大 役 礼 ) ;
(e) Frontier‐safeguarding Ceremony (大封礼) .
5) Mourning and Compassion Expressing Rites (凶礼)
These rites served for relief and condolences when disasters occurred .
(a) Relief and Condolences Rites (札礼)
For those sick and dead ,such measures as emigration ,reduction of taxes
and so on were adopted .
(b) Catastrophe‐relieving Rites (灾礼)
Emperors and their officials took immediate actions to send relief
workers to disaster‐hit areas and at the same time offered sacrifices to
Heaven and Earth ,Ancestral Temple because they thought they must have
offended God or spirit in one way or another without their knowledge .
(c) Funeral Rites (丧礼)
Much importance had been attached to the burial of the dead because
Chinese considered the piety to be the cardinal virtue of the offspring .

・ 22 ・
Chapter T w o  

2 .Contents of the Music System


“Music”originated from the common people and could best express their
feelings . Chinese ancestors understood the importance of music in the
governance of people .Early in history ,the ruling class of every dynasty paid
much attention to the music for the same reason ,and special organ was set
up for the creation of the music system and the administration of the music ,
which was put in the equally important place with the rites , traditionally
called “ rites and music ” collectively . There had been two important
historical periods for the division of the music system — with Confucius摧
lifetime being the dividing‐line — but actually the ancient music had
undergone four stages before the time of Confucius :
First Period :The Music System before Confucius
1) The music made by ancient sages in the remote past — The Idealized
Music : It was certain that the music in the remote past had been even
extremely idealized by Confucius and others , reverently regarded as the
supreme model for later generations to follow .
2) “ Licentious Music” appeared near the end of the Shang Dynasty —
The Decadent Music :In the recordings of Records of the Grand Historian
and other literature ,the last emperor of the Shang Dynasty ,Emperor Zhou ,
had indulged in “ witchcraft of the ancient times ” and “ maintenance of a
large number of professional woman dancers ” in his court , to which many
historians attributed the downfall of the Shang Dynasty .
3 ) The Rites and Music at the beginning of the Western Zhou Dynasty —
Morally Correct Music :The newly established Zhou Dynasty had thoroughly
changed the decadent music of the previous dynasty and based its own music
on the idea of proper rites .In sacrifice‐offering ceremony ,they elevated the
delicious smell of the oblation to the high plane of internal moral spirit ,and
gradually incorporated moral elements into the music .
4 ) Music near the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty — The General
Decay of the Rites and Music :Near the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty ,
the whole country was politically chaotic and disorderly ,vying among the
kingdoms for the hegemony over other states . It was characterized by a

・ 23 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

“ general decay of the rites and the music” ,which Confucius condemned with
bitter hatred from his Confucian position . During this period , the ancient
music system itself had evolved within the music , symbolized by the
formation of “five notes” system of the ancient pentatonic scale” (“五音”) ,
and the absolute high pitch of “twelve‐tone” (“十二律”) ,the ancient Chinese
standard of pitch .Confucius set his Confucian standards clearly ,advocating
the music system of the Western Zhou Dynasty , eulogized “ the imperial
ceremonial music” (雅乐 ) ,and condemned “ Xin Sheng” (新声 )as decadent
music .As he says ,“ For m usic one would take as model the Succession Dance ,
and would do away altogether with the tunes of Zheng ; one would also keep
clever talkers at a distance . For the tunes of Zheng are licentious and clever
talkers are dangerous .” ① To Confucius ,the music of the time of King Shun ,
the Great Shao ,had been the most refined music ,which could be labelled as
both “ good” and “ beautiful” , appealing to our moral sense and aesthetic
sense .However ,the music reflecting the just war King Wu launched against
the corrupted King Zhou , could be listed as “ mighty” , “ magnificent ” ,
belonging to the “holy music” ,but could not be regarded as “ good enough”
music morally ,which had revealed the psychological tendency of Confucius
as lack of martial spirit and also demonstrated his idea of education through
music as “ transforming the local customs ” (移 风 俗 ) and “ differentiating
human relations”(明人伦) .
Second Period :The Music System after Confucius
Since the Qin and Han dynasties , a special department for the
management of music was set up and only brought to perfection in the reign
of the fifth emperor of the Western Han Dynasty ,Emperor Wu ,symbolized
by the establishment and improvement of the system of official conservatory
for the collection of folk songs and ballads .The well consolidated Western
Han Dynasty inherited the tradition of the music system from the Western
Zhou Dynasty , learning about the opinions and feelings of people , and

① T he Analects , T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,1999 ,Beijing and Changsha ,P175

・ 24 ・
Chapter T w o  

morally cultivating people through music .With boldness of vision ,they took
in all the music from different regions or former kingdoms with no regional
or stylistic discriminations ,and thus reconciling the previous antagonism of
the refined and vulgar music and moving beyond previous antagonism .
The Wei , the Jin , the Southern and the Northern Dynasties ,
maintaining the traditional music system ,absorbed the religious music from
Buddhism and the music of minority people as well .In the Tang Dynasty ,
with an ever increasing tolerance and magnanimity ,there emerged a general
p attern of gradual integration of the music of the Han with that of other
minority people , with the line between the refined and the vulgar music
blurring .The Tang emperor ,Emperor Xuanzong especially indulged in the
minority music intoxicatedly . During the Northern Song Dynasty , there
sprang up a group of musically talented officials ,such as Sima Guang ,Zhou
Dunyi and Zhu Xi ,but the court music was not prosperous as the emperors
did not pay enough attention to the court music .Whenever there were some
court ceremonies and celebrations ,folk artists had to be invited to attend the
occasions for the accompaniment , as the court music was irrevocably
declining .
3 .The Rise and Fall of the System of the Rites and the Music
From the remotest dynasties recorded to the last dynasty , the Qing
Dynasty ,Chinese history had been filled with cyclical dynastic changes ,a
repeated theme of national dramas being staged in the Central Plains of
China .Every dynastic change inevitably wreaked havoc on social economy
and the system of rite and music ,with the people plunged into the abyss of
unbearable sufferings and dire poverty , and of course , also provided
opportunities for the recreation of new systems .After the establishment of
each dynasty ,scholars and experts proficient in the system of the rites and
music were summoned for formulating the new systems .When King Wu ,the
first king ,overthrew the corrupted Shang Dynasty and set up the Western
Zhou Dynasty ,his brother ,the famous Duke of the Zhou was engaged in the
making of the system of the rites and music and opened an entirely new
epoch of the rites and music system .As time passed ,the kings of the Eastern

・ 25 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

Zhou Dynasty no longer enjoyed the reverence from their vassals , with
vassal states warring with each other and the system of the rites and music
degenerating .Into such an age of turmoil ,Confucius was born ,destined for
the historic mission of the restoration of the system of the rites and music of
the Western Zhou Dynasty ,nearly impossible as it was .Confucius ,actually ,
shouldered the responsibility to moralize ,ethicize and even popularize the
system of the rites and music among the common people . After the brief
reign of the Qin Dynasty , a prolonged war broke out between two
conflicting military blocs fighting for the possession of the whole country .It
resulted in the establishment of the Western Han Dynasty .In the beginning ,
a policy of non‐interference and laissez‐faire was adopted ,with the classical
Taoist thinking as the national guiding ideology , for more than half a
century . This was before the fifth emperor , Emperor Wu changed the
national strategy by adopting the new national guiding concept , “ Making
Confucianism supreme as national ideology while banning other schools of
thought” (“ 罢 黜 百 家 ,独 尊 儒 术 ”) , p roposed by a prominent Confucian
scholar Dong Zhongshu . Dong Zhongshu dedicated his life to the
classicization (经学化) of rites and music by elevating them to the level of
“ three cardinal guides and five constant virtues” (“ 三 纲 五 常 ” ) , making
them an essential part of the ancient Chinese political system . Since the
Wei , the Jin , the Southern and the Northern dynasties , as a result of the
introduction of Buddhism into China and the rise of Taoism , the system of
the rites and music was confronted with many challenges . In the Southern
Song Dynasty , the great Confucian master Z hu Xi embarked on a mission
of improving Confucianism and making it Neo‐Confucianism by elevating it
to the holy position of worshipping and incorporating the rites into the
ancient Chinese political system . To sum up , the dynastic change was
always in a dynamic process , in which political turmoil constantly
p arallelled with the collapse of the rites and music followed by great masters
engaged in the recreation of the system of the rites and music and the
elevation of the system to an unprecedented historical plane .The system of
rites and music survived repeated destructions , was reborn just as the

・ 26 ・
Chapter T w o  

p hoenix coming back to life from its ashes , and becoming even more
vigorous and ever refined .

    Ⅲ .The Role of the Rite and Music System in the Construction of


Chinese Ethical Culture

    Confucianists defined all complicated human relations as “ Five Human


Relations” (五 伦 ) , namely that of husband and wife , father and son ,
brothers ,emperor and ministers ,and friends .How could we bring these five
relations into a harmonious and well‐ordered system with the proper
handling so that the ideal results could be accomplished ,with the generous
emperors and loyal courtiers , kind fathers and pious sons , fraternal elder
brothers and respectful younger brothers , affectionate husbands and
obedient wives ?Confucian sages discovered the keys to harmony for all these
five relations : both rites and music had been elevated to the institutional
level ,and made conveniently operational at the practical level of social life .
“Rites” and “music” played different roles with their different functions
in properly handling these five relations .“ Rites are to establishing order in a
country what a scale is to determining weight , or what a carpenter摧s line
marker is to m aking a straight line , or what com p asses or a carpenter摧s sq uare
is to m aking a circle or a sq uare .” ① (“礼之正国也 ,犹衡之于轻重也 ,绳墨之
于曲直也 ,规矩之于方圆也 。” 枟礼记 ・ 经解枠) “ Rites” could not be separated
from men just like the weighing apparatus ,the carpenter摧s line marker ,the
compass and square for weight , straightness , squares and circles . First of
all ,rites were the important index to the progress of human civilization ,as
it could tell apart human beings from animals , the civilized from the
uncivilized ,“ human being who does not know rites is at heart still a beast
even though he speaks , j ust as a p arrot or an ape , even i f it could speak ,
would always remain a bird or a beast . Theref ore the saint takes it u pon
himsel f to work out rites f or the education of the peop le , so that they ,

① 枟礼记 ・ 经解枠 ,方克平译文 。

・ 27 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

reg ulated by rites , are able to rise above animals .” ① (“鹦鹉能言 ,不离飞鸟 ;
猩猩能言 ,不离禽兽 。今人而无礼 ,虽能言 ,不亦禽兽之心乎 ? 是故圣人作 ,为礼
以教人 ,使人以有礼 ,知自别于禽兽 。” 枟礼记 ・ 曲礼枠) .So the importance of
rites could be measured from such a high plane .Second ,“ rites” were the
important binding rules for regulating the social relations and maintaining
the social order so that everyone knew how to decline out of modesty , give
p recedence out of courtesy , and respect elders and others , making
individuals gentlemanlike and society well‐ordered .Third ,“rites” were even
more social and moral norms for the moral amelioration ,self‐discipline ,and
self‐consciousness of individuals so that they could differentiate the good
from the evil , and what should be done from what should not . Confucius
says ,“ Govern the peop le by the regulations ,keep order among them by
chastisements , and they will f lee f rom y ou , and lose all sel f‐respect . Govern
them by moral f orce , keep order among them by ritual and they will keep their
self‐respect and come to y ou of their own accord .” ② (“道之以政 ,齐之以刑 ,
民免而无耻 ;道之以 德 ,齐 之 以 礼 ,有 耻 且 格 。” 枟 论语 ・ 为 政枠) It was only
through the internalization ,implementation and observation of the “ rites”
that the civilized society was able to make every individual know the “rites” ,
observe the “rites” and be contented with their own social positions to fulfil
objective of harmony , but Confucianists also strongly adhered to their
p rinciples .“ In the usages of ritual it is harmony that is p rized ; the W ay of
the Former Kings f rom this got its beauty . Both small m atters and great
matters depend u pon it . I f things go amiss , he who k nows the harmony will
be able to attune them . But i f harmony itsel f is not modulated by ritual ,
things will still go amiss .” ③ (“有子曰 :礼之用 ,和为贵 。 先王之道 ,斯为美 。
小大由之 ,有所不行 ,知和而和不以礼节之 ,亦不可行矣 。” 枟论语 ・ 学而枠)It
was unadvisable to achieve harmony only for the sake of harmony ,and even
trade in principles .Then what were their principles ? Observing “ rites” was
the principle they followed . Confucianists profoundly understood the

① 枟礼记 ・ 曲礼枠 ,方克平译文 。


② ③   T he Analects ,T r .Arthur Waley ,Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages
Press ,1999 ,Beijing and Changsha ,P7 ,11

・ 28 ・
Chapter T w o  

imperfection of human nature and believed that people might go astray


without proper guidance of the rites ,even if they were endowed with some
natural virtues .“ Courtesy not bounded by the p rescri p tions of ritual becomes
tiresome . Caution not bounded by the p rescri p tions of ritual becomes
timidit y , daring becomes turbulence , inf lexibility becomes harshness .” ① “恭
而无礼则劳 ,慎而无礼则葸 ,勇而无礼则乱 ,直而无礼则绞 。” 枟论语 ・ 泰伯枠)
That is to say ,without the guidance of the rites ,the courteous people might
work laboriously in vain , the cautious people might go hesitatingly , the
courageous people might become reckless ,and the frank people might hurt
others unknowingly .It is thus clear that rites were of prime importance .
The importance of music lay in its assistance to the realization of the
objective of the rites . First , the “ music” helped to arouse the harmonious
feelings of men and cultivate their spirit of harmony by touching their sense
organ by musical notes .“ In com posing m usic , then , the central , uni fy ing
note is determined , around which all the others are concerted . Di ff erent
instruments are used to enrich the rhy thm , and the harmony thus struck
constitutes its beaut y . Lord and vassal , f ather and son are thereby kep t
together in harmony , and the peo ple are drawn to f ollow , where lies the
p urpose of the ancient kings when they com posed m usic .” “ Music , then , is
the q uintessence of all beings and the guiding p rincip le f or balance and
harmony , and is theref ore necessaril y engrained in hum an nature .” ② (“故乐
者 ,审一以定和 ,比物以饰节 ,节奏合以成文 ,所以和合君臣父子 、附亲万民也 。
是先王立乐之方也 。”“故乐者 ,天地之命 ,中和之纪 ,人情所不能免也 。” 枟礼记 ・
乐记枠) . As the music could harmonize all human relations and adjust the
myriad things in the universe ,it could accomplish its intended results ,while
the people were moved and their feelings ,touched by the music , aroused .
Second ,ancient sages invested more ethical meanings in the music ,“ The
note ‘ gong’ rep resents the king ,‘ shang摧 the ministers ,‘ j iao’ the people ,
‘ zhi’ aff airs , and ‘ y u’ things . W hen the f ive are in order , there will be no

① T he Analects , T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,1999 ,Beijing and Changsha ,P79
② 枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠 ,方克平译文 。

・ 29 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

discordance .” ① “宫为君 ,商为臣 ,角为民 ,徴为事 ,羽为物 。 五者不乱 ,则无怗


之音 矣 。” 枟 礼 记 ・ 乐 记 枠) They compared “ Fives Notes ” to different
p ersonages ,emphasizing the idea that the coordination of the social order
and the contentment of all individuals with their status could ensure the
harmony and balance of the society .Third ,the “music” could cultivate the
character and the spirit ,change the local customs in a subtle way .“ W hen
one educates himsel f with m usic f or spiritual health , such attributes as
easiness , up rightness , f atherl y love and honest y come to him naturally ,
which beget joy , which begets a f eeling of being settled , which begets lasting
peace .” ② (“致乐以治心 ,则易直子谅之心油然生矣 。 易直子谅之心生则乐 ,乐
则安 ,安 则 久 。” 枟 礼 记 ・ 乐 记枠) As the music had such a powerful and
enduring force ,Confucius attached much importance to the selection of the
music ,and advised people to listen to the refined music and refrain from
obscene and decadent music .
In the ethical construction , the “ rites” and the “ music” were equally
important and complementary to each other .“ Music is the harmony of a
society , while rites are the order in it .” ③ (“乐者 ,天地之和也 。 礼者 ,天地秩
序也 。” 枟 礼 记 ・ 乐 记 枠) . The “ rites” served as the adjustment for the
“relations between heaven and earth ” and the “order of human relations” ,
whereas the “ music” harmonized both the relations between heaven and
man ,and human relations as well ,which were the purport of the rite and
music culture . Generally speaking , “ Music embodies the aspect of unit y ,
while rites that of di ff erences .” ④ (“乐者为 同 ,礼 者为异 。” 枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠) .
The music intended to readjust the relation between the superior and the
inferior ,whereas the “rites” established the precedence order .The harmony
attempted to achieve through the music was also the same goal of the rites ,
so the music was always complementary ,catering to the needs of the rites .
“ Rites gave the p roper measure to the peop le摧s minds ; m usic m ade harmony
in human sounds .” ⑤ (“礼节民心 ,乐和民声”枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠) .As the ancient

① ② ③ ④   枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠 ,方克平译文 。


⑤ 枟中国文论 :英译与评论枠 ,(美)宇文所安著 ,王柏华 陶庆梅译 ,上海社会科学院出版社 ,上海 ,
2003 年 1 月 ,第 56 页 。

・ 30 ・
Chapter T w o  

sages had already noticed the inharmonious psychological tendency caused by


the rigidified social strata being regulated through the rites ,it was necessary
to balance ,readjust and bridge them through the music to achieve the overall
social harmony .
The system of the rites and music exerted far‐reaching influence upon
Chinese culture at the level of political practice and operations first and
foremost ,as the Confucian masters and emperors all paid much attention to
it .The Western Zhou Dynasty was the first important stage upon which the
Zhou people elevated the practices and rites of their primitive patriarchal
clans to the national political and ethical order with the embryonic
consciousness and concept of the state .The Duke of the Zhou (周公) turned
out to be the key personage at this historical turning‐p oint for he formulated
the system of the rites and music , — a pioneering achievement — , for the
first time .The second important stage was the last years of the Eastern Zhou
Dynasty when the political chaos had paralleled the overall collapse of the
system of the rites and music .Confucius and his disciples had ethicized and
moralized the “rites” of the Western Zhou Dynasty ,and popularized them
among the people .The third important stage was the Western Han Dynasty
when Confucian master Dong Zhongshu ,against the background of the great
national unity ,had classicized the rites .The “rituals” ,in his hand ,had been
crystallized into “ Three Cardinal Principles and Five Constant Virtues ” ,
made quasi‐religion for the nation , serving as the ties binding the highly
centralized empire .The fourth stage was the Wei ,the Jin ,the Southern and
Northern dynasties period when traditional rites sank into the abyss of crisis ,
were doubly challenged by Buddhism and Taoism . Zhu Xi , the neo‐
Confucian master in the Southern Song Dynasty , adopted the strategies of
designing “five human relations” ,“overall harmony” and “ethical politics” ,
and elevated the rites to the supreme and absolute throne of “ heavenly
p rinciples” (天 理 ) , similar to that of a religious god . After those four
important stages with four promotions and sublimation , the “ rites” , thus ,
had been implemented at the political operational level and penetrated deep
into the Chinese national psychology , resulted in reshaping the overall

・ 31 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

national character and collective cultural psychology ,made an organic part


of Chinese psychological structure . The combination of the “ blood‐ethics‐
p olitics” ,the unity of the “individual‐family‐state” , and the integration of
the “ piety‐loyalty‐p atriotism” had forged the strong national cohesiveness
and enhanced high national recognition , having reached the summit of
Chinese rites and music culture with the high plane of ethicization of the
society (社 会 伦 理 化 ) , familialization of the state (国 家 家 庭 化 ) and
p olicization of the ethics (伦理政治化) .

Ⅳ .A Critique of the Rite and Music System and Ethical Culture

China has been well reputed in the world as “ Land of Ceremony and
Propriety” ,which has been an essential part of the Chinese political system .
Ancient Chinese sages had already created the system of the rites and music
in the Xia , the Shang and the Zhou dynasties , p ossibly even earlier than
those three dynasties , and attempted to administer the country with the
system of the rites and music admirably .As it was self‐evident that the rites
were extremely important for any society , the Chinese ancestors combined
the music with the rites in administrating the country ,demonstrating their
wisdom and highly administrative power .
Traditional Chinese society was a rigidly stratified one , where it was
taken for granted that “‘ Punishment according to the law’ does not app ly to
the nobilit y , while eti quette is not meant f or the commoners .” (“刑不上大
夫 ,礼不下庶人”) The social status of every individual had been prescribed
before one摧s birth , and the rites had been an unparalleled force in
identifying the social status of the people ,making them contented with their
own fates , quenching their inordinate desires , consolidating the political
p ower and stabilizing the society . Those complicated rites had positively
enabled the people to be gentlemanlike , because “ rites gave the p roper
measure to the peop le摧s minds .” (The Book of Rites) The music ,however ,
p layed a good supporting role ,as “ m usic made harmony in human sound .”
(The Book of Rites) ,in bathing the people in the refined melodious music ,

・ 32 ・
Chapter T w o  

and purifying their souls .


But the negative effects of this system were quite obvious . Confucianists摧
preference for over‐elaborate rites , ceremonies and formalities had then been
condemned by other schools of thought ,and later continued to be criticized .The
over‐elaboration of the rites and the refinement of the imperial music made
Chinese thoroughly over‐cautious about petty things ,and follow others slavishly so
that they ,as a nation ,lost the courage to dare to be different ,to come up with
something new ,and even lost the ambition and spirit to innovate and create .At
the beginning stage of the Chinese civilization , the cultivation of the Chinese
people through the rites and music in addition to Confucianism enabling them to
lose some of the “wildness” or “heroism” inherently inherited from the birth ,
made them at their long‐held disadvantageous position of passive defence in
confrontation with those militant and strongly‐built nomadic people , and never
adopted the strategy of the offensive .They usually made every effort to first and
foremost avoid wars ,and had been forced to join the war reluctantly , passively
accepting wars ,which could be traced to the origin of the idea of Confucius ,when
he expressed his views on two pieces of the representative imperial music ,“ Great
Shao” and “ Great Wu” .Confucius enjoyed both pieces of music but there was a
difference ,as he said that “ Great Shao” ,a piece of music from the legendary sage
king ,Great Shun ,was both good and beautiful ,while “ Great Wu” ,a piece of
music expressing the the just war of King Wu in overthrowing the corrupted last
king of the Shang Dynasty ,was mighty and militant ,but not good enough .This
comment was enough to reveal Confucius摧 lack of militancy ,or at least his idea of
discouraging the militancy ,which had profoundly influenced the Chinese nation
for two thousand years .A history of the system of the rites and music had created
or attempted to create a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere nationwide which
encouraged the Chinese people to refrain from wars ,never enjoyed demonstrating
their courage ,their strategy and tactics in wars ,even when a just war had already
been going on ,and still persisted pathetically in concluding peace through other
means than tragic wars ,which should have been fought to the last drop of blood
from the last person .

・ 33 ・
Chapter Three
Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness
and Chinese Concept of Harmony
“天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

    In Chinese culture ,“ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” is one of the few


extremely important core concepts , reflecting Chinese world outlook , life
view and their fundamental values .Starting from this basic idea of “Heaven‐
and‐Human Oneness ” , Chinese have designed their cultural pursuit :
harmony , or to be more specific , harmony between man and heaven ,
families and the state ,and tributaries and the suzerain .In a word ,Chinese
believe that all relationships should be harmonious ,including relationships
among myriad things in the universe ,between the inferior and the superior ,
and between the suzerain and tributaries .Chinese people are really the true
p acifists in the world , yearning for the peaceful coexistence with all
countries ;in pursuing their goal of harmony ,they have chosen to adopt the
p olicy of “endurance” (忍 ) and tolerance . A panoramic view of Chinese
history can offer us countless classic examples of “ endurances” , such as
“ p eace marriage” (和亲) ,even the building of the Great Wall ,a miracle in
the history of human architecture , symbolized Chinese mentality of
“endurance” ,craving for the everlasting domestic peace within the territory ,
eternal harmonious relations with neighbouring countries along the frontiers ,

・ 34 ・
Chapter T hree  

and no more wars imposed upon one another in the world . Of course , the
p ursuit of harmony is an extremely important aspect of Chinese culture ,
rather than the whole picture of the Chinese culture . Whenever the whole
Chinese nations are threatened with the national subjugation and genocide ,
and pushed beyond the limit of their endurance , they have the national
strength of character to fight to the last drop of their blood .But the pursuit
of harmony in all relationships has been the mainstream running through
Chinese culture since the ancient times .

Ⅰ .The Cultural Connotation of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness”

“ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness ” has been an important concept of


traditional Chinese philosophy , interpreted by different schools of
p hilosophy in detail . This idea , the “ mutual communication ” between
heaven and man ,originated in the pre‐Qin Dynasty period ,and the famous
traditional Chinese medical literature , Y ellow Em peror摧s Canon of Medicine
(枟黄帝内经枠) holds that man “ had correspondence with heaven and earth ,
and con f orm ation to f our seasons , understood heaven and earth” (“与天地相
应 ,与 四 时 相 副 ,人 参 天 地”) . Though man has an independent spirit and
heaven is an objective entity ,man and heaven are identical in the principle ,
p roperty ,structure and law ,which express the same meaning as “ Heaven‐
and‐Human Oneness” . In the Western Han Dynasty , Confucian scholar
Dong Zhongshu was the first person to put forward this idea of “ Heaven‐
and‐Human Oneness ” clearly , even explained how man was identical to
heaven ,with the interpretation of “ the resemblance of m an to heaven” (天人
相类) ,and “ the conf orm ation of man to heaven” (人副天数) . Though his
explanations were far‐fetched , his interpretations of the relationships
between heaven and man , approached from the biological perspective ,
reflected the affinity and intimacy of ancient Chinese with nature , which
resembled man摧s kindred relationship with nature . He even extended this
idea to the concept of “heaven‐and‐human interaction” (天人感应 ) .In the
Song Dynasty ,the Cheng brothers and Zhu Xi ,p hilosophers ,extended it to

・ 35 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

the concept of “heavenly principles” .Taoist philosophers believe that “ The


heaven and the earth and I came into existence at the same time ; all things in
the world and I are one unif ormity .” ① (“天地与我并生 ,万物与我为一 。” 枟庄
子 ・ 齐 物 论枠) Heaven is nature , man is an integral part of it , and the
relationship between heaven and man is coexistant and one . The
fundamental idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” has been recognized by
ancient Chinese philosophers of different schools .
Book of Changes says , “ V ast is the ‘ great and originating power’
indicated by Qian ! All things owe to it their beginning : it contains all the
meaning belonging to heaven . The clouds move and the rain is distributed ;
the various things appear in their develo ped f orms . The brightly sun revolves
f rom the end to the beginning repeatedly and how the indications o f the six
lines in the hexagram are accom plished , each in its season . It mounts the
carriage drawn by those six dragons at the p roper times ,and drive through the
sk y . The method of Qian is to change and transf orm , so that every thing
obtains its correct nature as appointed by the mind of Heaven ; and thereaf ter
the conditions of great harmony are p reserved in union . The result is ‘ what is
advantageous , and correct and f irm .’ The heaven creates every thing and the
m y riad states all en joy repose .” ② (“大哉乾元 ! 万物资始 ,乃统天 ,云行雨施 ,
品物流行 。”“乾道变化 ,各正性命 ,保合太和 ,乃利贞 。 首出庶物 ,万国咸宁 。”
枟周易 ・ 乾卦枠) Our ancestors attributed the origin of myriad things to heaven
which kept multiplying the universe and myriad things unceasingly ,whereas
man ,as the paragon of animals ,should follow the example of the heaven
and keep forging ahead with the spirit of striving incessantly . In Chinese
culture ,there was no such religious consciousness as that of Jewish people
kneeling in prayer to God sincerely . In the replacement of religion ,
however ,was the harmonious relationship between man and heaven .From
the beginning ,Chinese planted the idea of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” in
the ethics and held that every individual had fallen into the “net” of human

① Zhuangzi( Ⅰ ) T r . Wang Rongpei , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,1999 ,P29
② 枟周易枠 ,(英)理雅各英译 ,湖南出版社 ,长沙 ,1999 年 ,第 5 页 。

・ 36 ・
Chapter T hree  

relations the moment he was born . How to harmonize these relations


constituted the ethical net ,and man formed a close and harmonious relation
as soon as he came to the world .Theology thus melted into the ethical sense
that followed human nature with strong interest . There is nowhere for
Chinese to shelter religion in their spiritual world .
The major difference between Chinese philosophical idea of “ Heaven‐
and‐Human Oneness” and Western traditional thought lies in that from the
ancient Greece to the Medieval time , Western philosophers had been fully
aware of the limitation of man , and , on the basis of this understanding ,
harboured the boundless reverence for the higher being that transcended
man摧s limitation .Ancient Greek philosophers hold that the wisdom of God is
immense and significant , whereas that of man insignificant . Medieval
Christianity believes that man is born with the original sin , and he must
show reverence for God so that he can be saved .The strong atmosphere of
religious sentiment and sincere religious worship enveloped the Medieval
European society . Just on the contrary , Chinese Confucianism regards the
relationship between man and heaven as intrinsic ,Way of heaven as that of
man .Chinese Confucianism never treated man and heaven as two separable
things , but rather as indivisible oneness . Heaven must manifest itself in
man , without whom heaven is meaningless . Confucianists never felt the
limitedness of man profoundly ,of course never cherished the reverence for
the higher being beyond humanity ,and remained religiously indifferent .But
Confucianists had their reverences ,“ There are three things that a gentleman
f ears : he f ears the will of Heaven , he f ears great men , he f ears the words of
the Divine Sages .” ① (“君子有三畏 : 畏天命 ,畏大人 ,畏圣人之言”) Among
these three fears or reverences ,only “he fears the will of Heaven” belonged
to the fear or reverence for the non‐human existence ,but not for religious
god .Then , what on earth does Confucius mean by “ He f ears the will of
Heaven” (畏 天 命 ) ? Confucius inherited the ideas from the Spring and

① T he Analects T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,1999 ,P191

・ 37 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

Autumn Period , that is , heaven , humanized god , reigns over the myriad
things in the universe ;“the will of Heaven ” ,or “mandate of Heaven” (天
命) controls man摧s life and death , and social order and disorder , and
traditional view of supernatural beings ,but he also holds that “ I f one respects
the sp irits and the dead and the gods while keep ing them at a distance , then
he can be called wise .” ① (敬鬼神而远之 ,可谓知矣 。 枟论语枠) , that is , man
should cherish his sincerity and piety for supernatural beings at the sacrifice‐
offering ceremony ,and should not explore the question of their existence ,
because Confucius cared more for human affairs ,emphasized more on man摧s
subjective initiative ,and put top priority on the real problems of human life .
Of course , Confucius摧 view of the mandate of Heaven (天 命 观 ) was
eventually restricted at the level of perceptual knowledge , and never
elevated to the abstract and absolute spiritual level ,or rational knowledge ,
higher into the religious sphere .During his lifetime ,Confucius had explored
the questions of human life within the ethical and political fields ,seldom
from the metaphysical perspective which had been determined by his values
and humanistic care , for his Confucianism was the thought of this‐
worldliness ( 入 世 ) , advocating the spirit of being enterprising and
shouldering the social responsibilities .
Geographical Reason :China is largely in the temperate zone ,with mild
and humid climate , and fertile soil suitable for farming , which enabled
China to develop highly advanced agricultural civilization early in history .
While Chinese ancestors enjoyed all kinds of blessings bestowed by nature ,
leading the life of ease and stability ,they ,of course ,suffered many untold
calamities and disasters as well .They ,therefore ,had an ambivalent feelings
of love and hate towards “ Heaven” , the representative of nature , as they
were ,most of the time , g rateful and even reverent to Heaven , and they ,
sometimes ,complained a lot .But they have always lived in the bosom of
nature ,feeling intimate and even sentimentally attached ,which might help
explain the origination of the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness ”

① Confucius Says ,Sinolingua ,Beijing ,2006 ,P61

・ 38 ・
Chapter T hree  

geographically .
Patriarchal Reason : From the patriarchal clan system to the state with
patriarchal system ,ancient China ,probably in the Xia Dynasty ,had had the idea
of “Family‐and‐State Oneness” (家国一体) ,which was possibly inspired by the
idea of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” .Since the relationship between man and
heaven is an integral whole ,the relationship between families and state should also
be an organic whole .With the passage of time ,the relationship between families
and state ,through the detailed and systematic designing ,had been strengthened
and implemented , with the cohesive role performed by patriarchal system in
enhancing the idea of “Family‐and‐State Oneness” .
Ethical Reason :From the phallicism and its eulogy ,our ancestors had
gradually evolved their unique ethical thought ,“ Heaven and earth existing ,
all things then got their existence . All things having existence , af terwards
there came male and f em ale . From the existence of m ale and f emale there
came af terwards husband and wif e . From husband and wif e there came f ather
and son . From f ather and son there came ruler and minister . From ruler and
minister there came high and low . W hen high and low had existence ,
af terwards came the arrangements of p ro p riety and righteousness .” ① (“有天
地然后有万物 ,有万物然后有男女 ,有男女然后有夫妇 ,有夫妇然后有父子 ,有
父子然后有君臣 ,有君臣然后有上下 ,有上下然后礼仪有所措 。” 枟周易枠) The
p hilosopher from the Song Dynasty , Zhang Zai , believes that Heaven is
father and Earth is mother ; the Emperor is the eldest son of Heaven and
Earth ,and courtiers are his housekeepers . All people are my compatriots
and all living creatures are my friends . Chinese , thus , have been closely
related with myriad things in the universe in blood , and formed their
distinctive idea of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” .
Of course , certain kind of philosophical thought may have been
p roduced with a variety of factors , under certain special historical
circumstance ,in certain region of the world ,but the individual man ,or the
special nation that had created this thought had surely played an essential

① 枟周易枠 ,(英)理雅各英译 ,湖南出版社 ,长沙 ,1999 年 ,第 352 页 。

・ 39 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

p art in the process .With innate intimacy with nature ,Chinese ancestors had
been harmoniously related with nature ,which assumed an important feature
of Chinese culture .

Ⅱ .The Concept of Harmony in Chinese Culture and Philosophy

In Chinese culture , the concept of harmony has always been


emphasized , in terms of the real life , and literary works of Chinese ,
including relationships between man and heaven , emperor and ministers ,
and external relationships .Chinese have adopted all kinds of measures and
means in order to achieve the harmony , and considered harmony as their
ultimate pursuit , which are closely related with their national traits and
world outlook preconceived in their historical evolution .
1 .Harmony between Man and Heaven
The Book of Changes says ,“ The great man is he who is in harmony , in
his attributes , with heaven and earth ; in his brightness , with the sun and
moon ; in his orderly procedure , with the f our seasons ; and in his relation to
what is f ortunate and what is calamitous , in harmony with the spirit‐like
operations of Providence . He may p recede Heaven , and Heaven will not act in
opposition to him ; he may f ollow Heaven , but act only as Heaven at the time
would do . I f Heaven will not act in opposition to him , how m uch less will
men ! How m uch less will the spirit‐like operation of Providence !” ① (“大人者
与天地合其德 ,与日月合其明 ,与四时合其序 ,与鬼神合吉凶 ,先天而天弗违 ,后
天而奉天时 。 天且弗违 ,而况人乎 ? 况于鬼神乎 ?” 枟周易枠) . This expresses
the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” , and naturally the highest ideal
state that man expects to attain in his lifetime .Confucius摧 view of Heaven
seemed somewhat contradictory as he regarded heaven as natural ,and as an
objective existence ,and also considered heaven a god‐like figure determining
man摧s fate at same time , but he himself did not believe in god sincerely .
Mencius says , “ When a thing is done without a known agent , then it is

① 枟周易枠 ,(英)理雅各英译 ,湖南出版社 ,长沙 ,1999 年 ,第 15 页 。

・ 40 ・
Chapter T hree  

Heaven who does it .When a thing happens without a cause ,then it is Fate
that makes it happen .” ① (“莫之为而为者 ,天也 ;莫之致而致者 ,命也 。” 枟孟
子 ・ 万 章 上枠) He believes that man can understand heaven through the
cultivation of his character .Dong Zhongshu was the first Confucian scholar
who had clearly expressed the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness ” .
Actually , other schools of thought , besides Confucianists , had had their
brilliant interpretations of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” . Lao Zi says ,
“ Man takes Earth as his model ; Earth takes Heaven as its model ; Heaven
takes Tao as its model ; Tao takes what is natural as its model .” ② (“人法地 ,
地法天 ,天法道 ,道法自然 。” 枟老子枠) And Zhuang Zi also expresses his view
in this way ,“ The heaven and the earth and I came into existence at the same
time ; all things in the world and I are one unif ormity .” Therefore , both
Confucianism and Taoism have quite similar ideas concerning “ Heaven‐and‐
Human Oneness” ,that is ,the idea of harmony between man and heaven .It
may be said that idea of harmony between man and heaven had a
fundamental theme in ancient Chinese philosophy , which diffused into
Chinese life penetratingly .Then how did Chinese demonstrate their idea of
“Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” or “Heaven‐and‐Man Harmony” in their real
life ?
The idea of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” ,as the highest ideal and the
fundamental spirit , had been the life principle of scholar‐officials in their
thinking , behaviours and personality , and even affected the ordinary
p eople . They had been permeated with the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human
Oneness” in their designing of living quarters ,choice of human life ,way of
life ,religious beliefs ,literary and artistic interests .First ,in the building of
their mansions , scholar‐officials attempted to imitate nature , make them
resemble natural hills and rivers ,even little woods ,and in designing royal
gardens ,emperors also preferred the “ naturalness of man‐made gardens” ,
which revealed the sense of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness ” , where they

① M encius ,T r .Zhao Zhentao ,Zhang Wenting ,Zhou Dingzhi ,Hunan People摧s Publishing House
& Foreign Languages Press ,1999 ,Beijing & Changsha ,P213
② “老子道德经” ,辜正坤译 ,中国出版集团 & 中国对外翻译出版公司 ,北京 ,2007 年 ,第 71 页 。

・ 41 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

could live and tour at the same time ,sauntering along the streams among
little hills ,experiencing the beauty of forests without going out .Second ,in
religion ,they believed in Zen Buddhism ,a Sinicized religion ,which holds
that since man is in the universe ,universe is also in the hearts of people ;the
relationship between man and nature is not only mutually participating ,but
also an integral whole . Here Zen Buddhism is not so religious ,but man is
even closer to nature ,which is the kind of religion Chinese scholar‐officials
felt intimate with and at ease .Third ,in Chinese paintings ,p ainters pursued
the state of the loss of both the painters themselves and objects they intend
to paint ,or the merging of the subjective and the objective .Painters are not
drawing the specific mountains ,rivers ,grasses and trees ,but the personified
nature ,nature appeared in their eyes and crystalized in their hearts ; they
finally produced their artistically transformed nature , with their
understanding and feelings on the canvas , where the line between the
objective and the subjective became blurred . Fourth , in literary works ,
writers also intended to capture the ideal image of “ Heaven‐and‐Human
Oneness” or “ Heaven‐and‐Human Harmony” . Cheng Hao , a philosopher
and also a literary man ,wrote a poem entitled “Autumn Days” ,expressing
his philosophical understanding of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” :
In these late years there is nothing that comes
That is not easy and sim p le ;
Each morning through m y window shines the sun ,
As I awake .
All creature run their course in true content ,
As I calmly observe .
The p leasure of each season through the y ear ,
I en joy with others .
Bey ond Heaven and Earth and all that has shape ,
The Tao is there .
The winds and clouds about me shi f t and change ,
My thought is there .
By riches and high estate , I am not to be polluted ;

・ 42 ・
Chapter T hree  

Neither povert y nor low rank can aff ect m y happiness .


A m an like this is a hero indeed ! ①
(“闲来无事不从容 ,睡觉东窗日已红 。 万物静观皆自得 ,四时佳兴与人同 。
道通天地有形外 ,思入风云变态中 。 富贵不淫贫贱乐 ,男儿到此是豪雄 。” 秋日
偶成 ,程颢)
The author created a canvas of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” with his
words ,a harmonized state of human relationship with nature ,accomplished
naturally rather than sedulously .
2 .Harmony between Families and the State
For the accomplishment of the harmony between families and the state ,
traditional Chinese political system was thus designed to enable the state to
be a magnified family ,and the family to be a reduced state ,with families
p oliticized (家庭政治化 ) and the state familialized (国家家庭 化 ) . In the
relationship between the emperor and his ministers , j ust like that of a father
with his sons ,ministers should remain loyal to their emperor unconditionally ,just
as the sons should be pious to their parents unconditionally .Only in this way could
their relations be harmonious .This structural similarity between families and the
state originated in the patriarchal clan system based on blood relations in ancient
China ,which had influenced China for more than two thousand years .Patriarchal
clan system , based on blood relations , centered around the family , with
characteristics as follows :
1 ) The system of heirship of the oldest son born of the wife (嫡长子继承
制) :Within the patriarchal clan , the oldest son born of the wife , as the
head of the clan , enjoyed the privilege to be piously worshipped by his
clansmen , to officiate (主 祭 ) at sacrifice‐offering rites at the ancestral
temple ,to be in control of properties of his clan (主掌) ,to preside over the
clan affairs (主 持 ) , to regulate the ritual behaviours of his clansmen , to
p unish those disobedient clansmen ,to decide the adopted son for others (享
嗣) ,if they were sonless ,to be mourned for three months (享祀) after his

① A Short History of Chinese Philosophy (中国哲学简史)(下册) ,(英汉对照) ,冯友兰著 ,赵复三


译 ,天津社会科学院出版社 ,天津 ,2007 年 5 月 ,第 480 页 。

・ 43 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

death ,and to pass his emoluments to his children (享禄) after his death .It
was institutionally established that the oldest son born of the wife enjoyed
the heirship , which guaranteed the harmonious relationships within the
family ,by avoiding the internal strife among brothers .
2 ) The political pattern of the Zhou emperor , being the center ,
surrounded and shielded by his kinsmen or other royal family members who
were granted noble titles of dukes :In the Western Zhou Dynasty ,the oldest
son born of the empress enjoyed the heirship to be the next emperor after the
death of his father ,and the rest of the emperor摧s sons would be conferred
the titles of dukes(诸侯) .In feudal estates ,the oldest son born of the wife
had legitimate right to be the heir inheriting the largest share of the duke摧s
manor ,and also the duke摧s title after his father摧s death ,while the rest of the
duke摧s sons would be conferred the titles of senior officials (卿大夫) .In the
fief ,the oldest son born of the wife had the legal right to inherit the title of
senior official and the largest portion of the property after the death of his
father ,and the rest of his sons would be granted the titles of junior officials
(士) .The titles of junior officials would be inherited by his oldest son born
of the wife , but the rest of his sons enjoyed no privilege and became
commoners . This ever‐title‐conferring state , in many ways , resembles an
extended family ,where the relationship between the Zhou emperor and all
his dukes should be harmonious .
Near the end of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty ,also known in history as the
Spring and Autumn and the Warring States period , there sprang up like
mushrooms many newly‐invented systems ,such as the system of prefectures
and counties (郡县制) ,the bureaucracy (官僚制) and the emoluments (俸禄
制) ,which constituted strong challenge to the patriarchal clan system .With
the replacement of the enfeoffment (分 封 制 ) by that of prefectures and
counties , the political power had been further separated from the clan
p ower . The hereditary system of noble family and patriarchal clan had
inevitably given way to the advantage of the royal family ,which had ushered
in the epoch of autocratic empire characteristic of “ structural similarity
between families and the state ” .Since the Warring States period ,Chinese

・ 44 ・
Chapter T hree  

society had undergone a radical restructuring process in which the emperors


in the Western Han Dynasty , through their high‐handed measures , had
cracked down on the potential powerful families and clans ,and kept them
from forming strong and secrete clan organizations .From the Eastern Han
Dynasty to the Wei ,the Jin ,and the Southern and the Northern dynasties ,
as the royal power became weaker and weaker ,the powerful families began
to rise and grow and , little by little , attempted to challenge the political
p ower of the state .Since the Sui and the Tang dynasties , more and more
p eople of humble birth ,through the imperial examinations ,had entered into
the officialdom , transforming the hierarchical order created by the
p atriarchal clan system .The Song Dynasty had rebuilt the patriarchal clan
system that once had been seriously destroyed ,and innovated on this system
with “Clan Community” (宗族共同体 ) , rather than a simple return to the
p revious system in the Zhou Dynasty .This represented the transformation of
p atriarchal clan system into feudal family system (封建家族制) .This newly‐
established system played an important part in the construction of local
government ,maximizing the advantages of both village and clan organizations ,
joint governance of local officials and clan elders . In consolidating the political
power and stabilizing agricultural economy ,clan power joined hands with political
power with families even more closely related to the state , this resulted in the
structural similarity between families and the state in the real sense .First of all ,in
the clan ,the central figure ,also the head of the clan ,was elected by his clansmen
for exercising all power , rather than traditionally giving the heirship by birth .
Second ,more importance was attached to the compiling and editing of genealogy ,
and the building of ancestral temples .Clansmen could have been made aware of
their glorious ancestral past , through recording of family history , offering
sacrifices to ancestors and making known the clan rules and regulations ,to achieve
the harmony among the clansmen so that they could contribute more to the
locality . Third , clan rules and domestic discipline were worked out and
promulgated to punish those violators . Fourth , in promoting the education of
clan摧s children and rewarding those diligent learners , they helped to cultivate
talents for the nation . Fifth ,in purchasing land for the clan , they could have

・ 45 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

enough money to offer sacrifices to ancestors ,educate clan摧s children and relieve
those poor clansmen , and making the whole clan cohesive and home‐like . All
those advantages mentioned above helped to stabilize and consolidate the local as
well as the national regimes in one way or another .
3 .Harmony between the Suzerain and Tributaries
The Chinese had created the splendid ancient civilization early in history ,far
more advanced than that of surrounding minority nationalities and neighbouring
people .As China was isolated from other great civilizations by lofty mountains ,
boundless deserts ,vast grassland and immense oceans ,it had grown lonely within
this eastern Asian landmass , where it had formed the unique external
relationships ,with China ,the suzerain as the center ,and neighboring minority
people and countries as tributaries .Within these distinctive ancient international
relations in east Asia ,those tributary countries and tribe people came from afar to
pay tribute to Chinese emperors with gifts showing their loyalty .Chinese emperors
would grant them an abundance of material rewards and confer titles of nobility on
their kings in return . The Chinese had actually transplanted the internal
relationship between the emperor and ministers to the external relationship with
both some of our minority people in the frontiers and neighbouring countries .
With their advanced civilization behind ,the Chinese had been in an advantageous
position ,and designed such a suzerain‐tributary relationship with “ harmony” ,
totally out of Chinese innate honesty ,kindness as well as vanity .Chinese emperors
and officials had adopted a variety of measures and policies to encourage and
motivate them to come and admire Chinese culture and at the same time enable
them to benefit from the exchange :
1) “ I f such a state of aff airs exists , yet the peop le of f ar‐off lands still do
not submit , then the ruler m ust attract them by enhancing the p restige of his
culture .” ① (夫如是 ,远人不服 ,则修文德以来之 。 枟论语枠) Efforts had been
made to improve their cultural and moral levels in their governance to attract
them and make them willing to go out of their ways to pay their tribute to

① T he Analects T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,1999 ,P187

・ 46 ・
Chapter T hree  

Chinese emperors in the Central Plains and learn from Chinese culture ,just
like foreign students studying in Changan and their envoys to Chinese capital
city .Among them ,Japanese were the most modest and sincere , and their
learning was the most effective as they had absorbed many of Chinese
systems in creating their own systems . This was what Confucius called
“winning over frontier people from four directions by refined culture and
morality”(文德折服四夷) .
2) The emperors and officials had adopted the generous policy of “fewer
tributary products for more royal rewards” (厚往薄来) ,to make them highly
motivated to come along actively ,and even cross the ocean to pay tribute .
This was the so‐called “conciliation” (怀柔) ,or “winning over” (羁縻 ) ,to
stimulate them with “interests” and make them feel that there was profit to
be reaped .Among the tributaries ,Korea took the initiative to ask for more
opportunities to pay tribute in order to show their “ piety” or “loyalty” to
Chinese emperors ,but actually they could not resist the lure of tremendous
p rofits .Of course ,too frequent tribute‐p aying burdened Chinese economy .
3) Special envoys had been dispatched to foreign countries to solicit
tribute‐p aying missions in order to create the halcyon days of domestic peace
and harmonious external relationships . In the Ming Dynasty , the third
emperor ,Zhu Di ,ordered the great navigator , Zheng He and his fleets to
make seven voyages to the Western Seas , neither for the purpose of
conquest ,nor for economic and trade purpose ,but only for soliciting some
foreign envoys and building more harmonious tributary relations .Some of
those countries , which Zheng He and his crews visited , had sent their
envoys ,even their princes and senior officials , to Beijing to demonstrate
their “loyalty” to the Chinese emperor , and were hospitably treated and
p resented with large amount of material rewards .
In history , Chinese emperors had implemented these measures and
p olicies in order to establish the tributary system with China as the suzerain ,
to build the harmonious relationship between the suzerain and tributaries to
ensure the domestic peace ,and international peace or at least frontier peace .

・ 47 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

Ⅲ .A Critique of the Concept of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness”

In the history of the world ,the first question the ancestors of all nations
encountered was invariably the relationship between man and Heaven
representing nature , and people of different nations designed different
relationships and offered different solutions to the same problem accordingly
as they had different humanistic and historical backgrounds , inhabiting
different geographical regions with different climates and topography .The
Westerners believe in the subject‐and‐object dichotomy (主客二分) ,that is ,
man is the subject ,whereas nature is the object .From the start ,nature and
myriad things in the universe had been placed in the opposite position ,alien
to man ,and become the object of man摧s understanding and conquest . The
Chinese , however , believe in the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” .
From the start , the nature and man had been put in the harmonious
relationship with “Object‐and‐Human Oneness” (物我一体 ) , and “ Object‐
and‐Human Harmonious Unity ” (和 谐 统 一 ) . The Western idea of the
subject‐and‐object dichotomy resulted in man摧s conquest of nature to such an
extent that it gave rise to a severe ecological crisis , especially after the
Industrial Revolution ,and they had to work out solutions to it .And they ,to
their enjoyment , discovered the idea of “ Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” in
the ancient Oriental philosophy ,which could be the important resources of
modern ecological ethics .Of course , Westerners could choose to return to
their traditional Christian culture for wisdom and reaffirmation of their
reverence for God and His creatures , alongside the Oriental idea of
“Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” , in joint efforts to provide solutions to the
common ecological crisis of mankind . The Chinese , however , should build
their new spiritual home ,and search for the metaphysical “Ultimate reality” (最
高实在) for the eternal comfort of their souls ,living poetically and elevating the
quality of their life ,in the process of ,first of all ,survival ,and then embarking
on a life of abundance , while continuing to maintain their harmonious and
intimate relationship with nature .

・ 48 ・
Chapter T hree  

In Western culture ,conflicts and struggles have been usually followed


with interest . The themes of conflicts , assassinations and deaths have run
through the tragedies of the Western literature from the ancient Greek to
modern American tragedies , the audience have been to the theatres to be
shocked and cathartic (净化 ) and their moods have been relaxed , feeling
completely relieved and satisfied in spirit . In Chinese culture , however ,
p eople have cared more for the harmony because their life has been so
tranquil like still water reflected in most traditional Chinese paintings ,with
men ploughing and women weaving ,sharing their simple and homely joys .
At home , harmony had been created between the emperor and ministers ,
among neighbours . In the external relationships with either our minority
p eople along the frontier areas or with our neighbouring countries ,Chinese
emperors had seldom resorted to military force ,except self‐defence before
foreign invasions , gone out of their way to make many voyages to the
Western Seas and presented such gifts as crockery ,silk and tea to express
good will of Chinese people to the countries and people visited . Instead ,
Chinese envoys ,on behalf of Chinese emperors ,had established harmonious
tributary relationships with those remote countries and invited them to visit
China for mutual exchanges , of course , within the framework of the
suzerain‐and‐tributary relationship . In Chinese literature , the pastoral life
has been the repeated theme where a happy ending is usually expected and
p rovided for the aesthetic satisfaction of the audience , and even in the
tragedy like Snow in Mid‐summer(枟窦娥冤枠) ,the injustice ,the heroine ,as
a wronged person ,suffered ,could not be redressed in reality ,but it must be
righted in the imaginative world , catering to the aesthetic tendency of
Chinese audience . Both Westerners and Chinese , with different world
outlook and values , have cultivated opposite aesthetic taste or standards ,
which have been shaped by their different ways of life and behaviours .
In building the harmonious world today ,the traditional Chinese idea of
“Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” needs self‐innovating and assuming extended
connotations of the time ,for its invigoration .Traditional Chinese society ,
as a self‐contained agricultural society ,was actually an association of small‐

・ 49 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

scale peasant economy , though it was a colossal empire . In ancient times ,


civilizations had been separated and prevented from meeting each other by
the natural barriers and inconvenience of transportations , and there had
seldom existed the threats of invasions from far‐off civilizations for Chinese
except the occasional harassments of surrounding nomads and small bands of
Japanese pirates along the coast , p osing no grave threats to the whole
nation .Traditional China , therefore , has been developing peacefully until
today ,with the concept of “ harmony” being the guiding principle of the
country .In a contemporary world described as “ global village ” , China is
confronting a totally different world ,with the mixture of all problems ,such
as economic globalization , p olitical pluralism , complication of nationality
p roblems ,unprecedented advancement in science and technology and in the
means of wars , struggles for the natural resources on the earth at fever
p itch ,and extreme intricacy of international relations . Whether China can
stand firmly on its own feet , withstand all kinds of tests in international
crisis without interrupting its modernisation programs , and rise peacefully
and composedly will largely determine the well‐being and happiness of whole
humanity . Under such a complex international context , uncertainties and
unexpected things keep multiplying while building a harmonious world .
While China , therefore , holds high its banner of traditional pacifism , it
should empower itself to increase the overall national strength to such an
extent that it can ,if it wishes ,eliminate inharmonious factors and safeguard
the harmonious world .Only on the basis of this national strength ,can China
lead the world ,under its traditional idea of “Heaven‐and‐Human Oneness” ,
in building a common harmonious hometown , a well‐balanced multi‐p olar
world for all men .

・ 50 ・
Chapter Four
The Mutual Complement of Confucianism‐
Taoism and the Psychological World
of Chinese Scholar‐officials
儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

    Among those different schools of thought in ancient China , no single


one of them could compare with Confucianism and Taoism in exerting far‐
reaching influence upon Chinese culture , and the psychological world of
Chinese scholar‐officials . Those two schools of thought , seemly
contradictory ,turn out to be complementary to each other fundamentally in
shaping the psychological structures of ancient Chinese scholar‐officials .
Confucius and his Confucianism historically moulded the national character
and cultural structures of the Chinese people ,which had been recognized as
the synonym of the Chinese culture . And Confucius , with his rationalistic
spirit ,reinterpreted the primitive Chinese culture ,and examined ,with intense
rationalism ,the practical life ,ethical emotions and political ideas of the Chinese
society ,but never approached them from the metaphysical perspectives , which
had been inherited and perfected by Mencius and Xun Zi as a complete
Confucianistic system ,with the world outlook of Confucian atheism (儒家无神论
世界观) and the life view of positive this‐worldliness (积 极 入 世 的 人 生 观 ) .
Taoism ,however ,effectively balanced and complemented Confucianism ,as the

・ 51 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

arch opponent of Confucianism ,in developing the world outlook ,life views and
culturally psychological structures of the Chinese people jointly . In the
psychological depth of the Chinese people ,especially the scholar‐officials ,these
two philosophical elements of different nature had been incorporated as two
interdependent and complementary unity , in which their life was embodied in
Mencius摧 terse and mighty expression as “In obscurity (in a position where they
can do nothing to change the situation ) ,scholar‐officials should maintain their
personal integrity , and in prominence ( in a position where they are able to
influence the decision‐making process) ,they should fulfill their lofty aspirations in
being of help to the people and the society .” (“穷则独善其身 ,达则兼济天下” 枟孟
子枠) .

Ⅰ .Confucius and his Confucianism

Kong Zi ,with Qiu as his given name ,and also styled himself as Zhong
Ni ,but known to the west as Confucius (551 — 479 B .C .) ,was a native of the
state of Lu .When he was still a three‐year old child ,his father died at the
age of 67 ,with his mother only 18 years old and family financial situation
declining drastically . As he himself described his early life ,“ When I was
young I was in humble circumstances ; that is why I have many practical
accomplishments in regard to simple ,everyday matters .” ① Confucius had to
look after cows and sheep ,and served as a barn‐keeper for others .Humble
as he was ,he made up his mind to make an exhaustive study of ancient texts
at the age of 15 , and maintained this life‐long spirit of perseverance in
learning (学而不厌) .At the age of 30 ,he was quite an accomplished scholar
(三十而立 ) ready to find an official position where his political ambitions
and ideal might have been realized , and he set out from his native place
travelling from one state to another ,to be followed by his disciples ,only to
find ,to his great disappointment and even despair , that his political ideas

① T he Analects , T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,Changsha & Beijing ,1999 ,P91

・ 52 ・
Chapter Four  

were unpopular , with almost no one accepting his political views , but he
remained even more firm and adamant in frustration ,‘ p ersisting in heading
towards the goal the realization of which he knew clearly to be impossible摧
(“知其不可而为之”) .Since the time of his being well‐established ,he began
to recruit and teach students privately , an undertaking never attempted by
others before ,and treated as his individual way of political involvement and
intervention . Through his private education , he trained political talents
whom he encouraged and recommended to enter politics and many of his
disciples did go in for political careers with differing degrees of success ,
which had been made his life‐long mission that he carried on tirelessly and
even excitingly to the end of his life ,in the process of which he created his
school of Confucianism and taught his students with his essential
p hilosophical doctrines .
There were three important major stages in his educational career as below :
1 .The initiation of his private schools : From the age of 30 to 37 , he
was ambitious in establishing his own school , Confucianism , with his
outstanding intelligence and persistent diligence ,and his great learning and
wisdom derived from his consistent study of ancient literatures .Also during
these short 7 years ,he had already recruited such excellent students as Yan
Lu whose son ,Yan Hui ,later became the best student of Confucius ,and Zi
Lu ,nine years Confucius摧s junior ,became his life‐long student ,always with
his mentor wherever he went until the end of his life .His private school was
known far and wide , with his philosophical ideas spreading all over the
country .
2 .The inter‐state tours seeking official career : From the age of 37 to
68 ,he was constantly on the move ,embarking on an inter‐state tour aiming
at finding an official position to practise his political doctrines , but never
stopped recruiting and teaching students ,with only four‐year official career
during which period he was experimenting with his political ideas ,his only
p ractical political experience of his whole life .This was also the golden time
for his educational career , when his educational ideas became mature ,
teaching methods sophisticated and educational results desirable and

・ 53 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

satisfactory ,with so many students being attracted to him from different


states ;and in the meanwhile all his best students , such as Yan Hui , Zi
Gong ,Ran Qiu and so on ,had joined him ,some of them later following him
all through his tours , basking in the warm sunshine of his lectures on the
way ,others entering officialdom implementing Confucian political ideas ,
constantly coming back for advice and consultation .
3 .The compilation of ancient literatures :At the age of 68 ,he ended his
decades of tours and dedicated his last five years to the compilation of
ancient literatures .As he failed in his life pursuit of practising his political
doctrines through his own actual administration ,he ,as a broad‐minded and
magnanimous philosophical man ,was still able to persevere in his academic
researches so attentively that “he often forgets eating and worries ,and does
not even feel the approach of his old age out of his concentration and
intoxication in his studies .” (“发愤忘食 ,乐以忘忧 ,不知老之将至云尔 。”) For
p olitics ,he had a life‐long passion and still made his own personal comments
though he was not listened to .During these five years , Confucius devoted
whole‐heartedly to his teaching and the compilation of ancient literatures
and documents ,which represented his highest academic achievements .Also
he brought forth such outstanding students as Zi Xia ,Zi You ,Zi Zhang and
Zeng Shen , who had participated in the creation of Confucianism and
disseminated and passed down Confucian ideas .
Confucius had suffered unbearable and untold calamities and terrible
blows as he met repeated cold receptions in the courts of different states by
their kings and courtiers ,constantly under attacks by the mob on the way
and without steady food supplies .While at old age ,his only son ,Kong Li ,
and his best student ,Yan Hui ,died ,what was more ,Zi Lu ,his most loyal
life‐long student died in a battle , all before him . In the long history of
China , Confucius had no doubt been the most influential philosopher in
shaping Chinese characters , personality and ways of conducts and thinking
everlastingly .
Basic ideas of Confucianism : The School of Confucianism was first
initiated by the great thinker Confucius during the Spring and Autumn

・ 54 ・
Chapter Four  

Period , further developed and perfected by the later Confucian masters ,


Mencius and Xun Zi . In the Han Dynasty , the Confucian scholar Dong
Zhongshu submitted his “ Three Discourses on Heaven and Man” (“天人三
策”) to Emperor Wu Di who highly approved of his ideas and immediately
adopted his recommendation by formally announcing that Confucianism was
to be the official ideology while other schools of thought could exist in
subordinate positions .Though there were some ups and downs ,its dominant
p ositions had never been shaken throughout the whole feudal history of
China . In the later periods of feudal China , especially the Li School of
Confucianism (程朱理学) in the Song Dynasty ,and the mind school (心学)
in the Ming Dynasty represented the last glorious achievements of
Confucianism .Ever since Confucianism was established ,it had held the official
ideological position ,highly valued and even piously worshipped by almost all rulers
of different dynasties .
The core of Confucianism was “benevolence” (仁 ) ,or “the benevolent
p eople love others”(仁者爱人) ;and he advocated the idea of benevolence in
handling all human relationships , and held that the country should be
managed under the policy of benevolence ,strongly opposing the abusive use
of financial resources of the people and indiscriminate killings and unjust
wars .In his time of the nation‐wide political chaos with the general decaying
of “rites and music” , he felt so bitter and indignant that he considered it
imperative to “ restore the observance of the rites through controlling
oneself” (克己复礼) .By “rites” ,he meant the rites of the Zhou Dynasty ,
which was embodied in his compiled “ five classics” , namely “ The Book of
Songs” ,“The Book of History” ,“ The Book of Changes” ,“ The Book of
Rites” ,and “The Spring and Autumn Annals” .Mencius ,however ,further
developed Confucian idea of benevolence ,and proposed his humanistic view
of “valuing the people over their emperors” (民贵君轻) ,and Xun Zi ,from
his materialistic point of view , p ut forward his view of “ regulating what
Heaven had mandated and using it ” (制天命而用之 ) , according to whom ,
natural laws could be understood and made to benefit human beings .Besides
the “ five classics” revised and compiled by Confucius himself , Confucius摧

・ 55 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

disciples ,together with their disciples ,had compiled “four books” ,namely
“The Great Learning” , “ The Doctrine of the Mean ” , “ The Analects of
Confucius” and “Mencius” ,which ,together with Confucius摧 revised classics ,
had been universally recognized as the founding classics of Confucianism ,
collectively called the Four Books and Five Classics (四书五经) .
After Qin Shihuang ,the first emperor of China ,unified China with his
mighty military strength and brilliant strategy and tactics , he still adopted
the Legalist thinking as the guiding principles for the quick settlement of the
p eople and the immediate consolidation of his newly‐built empire , but he
was too busy with countless urgent things crying out for solutions to attend to
the question of Confucianism as his dynasty was so short‐lived . In the
ensuing dynasty of the Great Han ,especially in its beginning ,the doctrine
of Taoism had been made the predominant ruling principles for 60 to 70
years so that the country gradually became strong with this policy of
recuperation and rehabilitation (休 养 生 息 ) . In the reign of the fifth
emperor Han Wudi ,it was high time that the guiding principles of the nation
should be reviewed and re‐examined , and Confucianism had been adopted
for the first time as the state ideology of the highly centralized and unified
nation . Dong Zhongshu , the Confucian scholar who made the
recommendation ,also proposed the thinking of “interaction between Heaven
and man” (天人感应) ,which was well received as the orthodox view .In the
Tang Dynasty , Taoism was worshipped for the reason that the founder of
Taoism ,Lao Zi ,had happened to have the same family name with the royal
family of the Tang Dynasty ,and had been treated as their remote glorious
ancestor ,so that Taoism was placed on the equal prominent and respectable
p osition with Buddhism .In the Song Dynasty ,the Cheng brothers and Zhu
Xi ,the great Confucian scholars of the day ,had initiated their Li School of
Confucianism , whose important thoughts were embodied in Zhu Xi摧s
monumental work entitled “ Commentaries on Four Books”(枟四书章句集注枠)
and “ Zhu Zi Y u Lei”(枟朱子语类枠) ,all built on Confucius摧 original thinking .
Both Lu Jiuyuan (陆九渊) and Wang Yangming(王阳明) started their mind
school ,believing that “mind is the source of myriad things” (“心是万物之

・ 56 ・
Chapter Four  

源”) ,and “Outside of the mind ,there are no objects ,no li ,and no things .”
(“心外 无 物 ,心 外 无 理 ,心 外 无 事 。”) So both the achievements of the Li
School of Confucianism and the mind school were the last developments
accomplished during those historical periods , elevated to the level of the
national ideology by the ruling class ,worshipped as classical authority in the
imperial examinations by examinees , approved and encouraged by the
imperial court .

Ⅱ .Lao Zi and his Taoism

Lao Zi ,as the founder of Taoism ,has been worshipped by posterity ,


but his life remained as elusive as the profundity of his philosophy ,and it
was extremely hard to sketch out his life trails .It could be imagined that he
lived a leisurely life ,never bound by any worldly affairs ,and went where his
interests led him ,while alive ;and he listened to the sounds of nature ,trying
to unravel the mysteries of the universe ,upon the lap of the nature .His life
became so misty to us not because of the remoteness of the time ,for he had
already become a legendary figure to Sima Qian ,the grand historian in the
Han Dynasty ,who recorded his life as such ,“ Lao Zi was a native of Ku
County ,whose surname was Li ,given name Er ,and also styled Chuang ;and
served as an official in charge of the library of the Zhou Dynasty ;or Lao
Laizi was also a native of Chu ;or Dan was Lao Zi ,or he was neither , no
one knew .Lao Zi was a hermit .” To this grand historian ,Sima Qian ,there
had already three possible Lao Zi whom he could not distinguish and make
sure ; and , of course , to the posterity , no definite conclusion could be
reached about the divided views as to who was the real historical Lao Zi ,if
there was a definite one .According to Records of the Grand Historian (枟史
记枠) ,Confucius had once visited Lao Zi ,asking him reverently for advice ,
and described him as “resembling a dragon” (其犹龙邪) ,when he returned ,
which was a clear indication of Lao Zi摧s “ unfathomableness ” and
“magnanimity” capable of arousing Confucius摧s sense of veneration .Judging
from his legendary personality , he , unlike Confucius , did not make it his

・ 57 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

mission to recruit and teach students ,and did have some students ,but never
many . Among his successors , Zhuang Zi was the most eminent and
remarkable one . Zhuang Zi , a reverent term of address for Zhuang Zhou
whose family name was Zhuang and Zhou his given name ,was a native of
the state of Song (p resent‐day Shangqiu , Henan province ) . Zhuang Zhou
was the most prominent Taoist master next only to Lao Zi , a famous
thinker , p hilosopher and man of letters who had inherited and further
developed Lao Zi摧s Taoism ; and his philosophical doctrine , though all‐
embracing ,reflected different aspects of the social life of his day ,but ,in
p rinciple ,he was a true disciple of Lao Zi ,as both he and Lao Zi were closely
linked together ,called “Philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi” (老庄哲学) ,a
synonym for Taoism .Though he served as petty official ,he was poverty‐stricken
and frustrated all his life . Zhuang Zi was noble and distinctive in character ,
indifferent to worldly gains and losses ,believing in the tranquility of mind and
inaction . Zhuang Zi , on the surface , stood aloof quietly from the madding
crowd摧s ignoble strife and behaved willfully ,but he had his strong sense of love
and hate at heart .He wielded his mighty writing brush and his magnificent and
imaginative ideas kept gushing out like a fountain .
Basic ideas of Taoism :Lao Zi ,from the metaphysical perspective ,had
been able to probe the relationship between man and nature , and
p ropounded his own ontology (本体论) and cosmology (宇宙论) in which the
concept of “Tao” (道) was the highest category of his own philosophy ,and
also the highest category of ancient Chinese philosophy . With the “ Tao”
being the core , Lao Zi built the edifice of his philosophical system , and
became the originator of ancient Chinese philosophy . His quest for the
origin of the universe and ontology , his epistemology (认 识 论 ) and rich
dialectical thinking were the most original philosophical thinking of whole
humanity .“It is true indeed that Lao Zi摧s ‘Tao’ marked the beginning of
ontology in Chinese philosophy .In the history of development of ontology in
Chinese philosophy ,‘Tao’ holds a predominant position .” ① (“老子的论道是

① 张岱年 枟道家在中国哲学史上的地位枠 ,刊于枟道家文化研究枠第六辑 。

・ 58 ・
Chapter Four  

中国哲学本体论的开始 ,这是确然无疑的 。 在中国哲学本体论的发展过程中 ,


道家学说居于主导地位 。”) ‘Tao’ is the most important proposition (命题) in
Lao Zi摧s philosophy ,as he said ,“ There is a thing integratedly f ormed , and
born earlier than heaven and earth . Silent and em p ty , it relies on nothing ,
moving around f or ever . We may regard it as the mother of all things . I do
not know its name , so I name it as the Tao , and f urther name it as the
Great . The Great is moving f orward without stopping , extending to the
remotest distance , and then returning to where it was . That is why I say the
Tao is Great ; Heaven is Great ; Earth is Great ; A nd m an is also Great .
There are f our things that are Great , of them m an is one . Man takes earth as
his model ; Earth takes heaven as its model ; Heaven takes the Tao as its
model ; The Tao takes what is natural as its model .” ① (“有物混成 ,先天地生 。
寂兮寥兮 ,独立而不改 ,周行而不殆 ,可以为天地之母 。 吾不知其名 ,强字之曰
道 ,强为之名曰大 。 大曰逝 ,逝曰反 。 故道大 ,天大 ,地大 ,人亦大 。 域中有四
大 ,而人居其一焉 。 人法地 ,地法天 ,天法道 ,道法自然 。”枟道德经枠 第二十五
章) . It is followed naturally that ‘ Tao’ is formless , first principle of all
things ,material ,which had existed before the heaven and the earth ;myriad
things in the universe ,developing and changing ,would ultimately return to
the ‘ Tao’ . The second important concepts were “ Nothingness” (无 ) and
“Being” (有) ,he said ,“ All things of the world are born f rom the Being , and
the Being f rom the Nothingness .” ② (“天下万物生于有 ,有生于无 。” 枟道德经枠
第四十章”) .Myriad things in the universe have forms and names ,with their
origins in the “ Tao ” , so “ Nothingness” (无 ) is their principle (本 原 ) .
“ Hence the Being and the Nothingness exist in opposition ; The diff icult and
the easy com plement each other ; The long and the short m ani f est themselves
by com p arison ; The high and the low are inclined as well as opposed to each
other ; The consonants and vowels harmonize with each other ; The f ront and
the back f ollow each other .” ③ (“有无相生 ,难易相成 ,长短相形 ,高下相盈 ,音
声相和 ,前后相随 。” 枟道德经枠第二章) .“Being” (有) and “Nothingness” (无)

① ② ③   Lao Zi : T he Book of Tao and Teh , T r .Gu Zhengkun ,Peking University Press ,1995 ,
P131‐133 ,182 ,61

・ 59 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

are complementary to each other ,“The difficult and the easy ,the long and
the short , and the high and the low” (“难 易 高 下 长 短”) mutualizes each
other .So there are both myriad things with forms and names , and the
nameless and formless “ Tao ” in the universe . And the third important
concept is “ every thing gets done through inaction” (“无为无不为”) , Lao Zi
said ,“ He who seeks learning m ust increase his k nowledge every day ; He who
seeks the Tao m ust reduce his knowledge every day ; He reduces and reduces
until he reaches the state of inaction . One can succeeds in every thing .” ① “为学
日益 ,为道日损 ,损之又损 ,以至于无为 ,无为而无不为 。” (枟道德经枠第四十八
章) .If one imitates others ,he will get more and more things to do ;but if he
observes the “Tao” ,he will get fewer and fewer things to do ,and ultimately
“nothing to do” (无为) .Lao Zi held that “ The Tao takes what is natural as
its model” (“道法自然”) ,and “Tao” is natural ,and material ,so man should
imitate “Tao” .Man should not interfere with the myriad things and let them
p ursue their natural course ,which seems “inaction” (无为) ,but actually gets
everything done (无 不 为 ) , in another word , the accomplishment of the
results of getting everything done through the inaction .
“Tao” is the core category of the philosophy of Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi ,
but Zhuang Zi摧s interpretation of “Tao” is still within the original meaning
of Lao Zi , as there existed a direct mentor‐disciple relationship between
them two . Zhuang Zi , with his broad‐minded and open vision , held that
man could be elevated to the level or realm where he could enjoy absolute
freedom ,flying without the external assistance ,and man摧s relation with the
universe should be that of “human‐and‐heaven oneness” ,and his view of life
and death was very philosophical and sensible .With the ideas inherited from
Lao Zi ,he could identify and point out the alienation of human nature by
Confucianism . Zhuang Zi had systematized and deepened Taoism just as
Mencius had done with Confucianism . Lao Zi was the founder of Taoism
whose philosophy cared more about ontology ,which ,in a sense ,could be
considered a philosophy of the “ Tao” , with the question of man and the

①   Lao Zi :The Book of Tao and Teh ,Tr .Gu Zhengkun ,Peking University Press ,1995 ,P203

・ 60 ・
Chapter Four  

society placed in the subordinate position .Zhuang Zi ,however ,had made


human existence in the society the focal point of his philosophy ,with the
“Tao” serving his own purpose ,and his philosophy could well be described as
life philosophy , whose reflections had deepened Taoist thinking , and
p roduced the ultimate meaning .

Ⅲ .Differences of Confucianism and Taoism and their Complements

( Ⅰ ) Differences between Confucianism and Taoism


Confucianism and Taoism are completely contradictory to each other on
the surface , with one advocating this‐worldliness calling on people to be
enterprising , and the other other‐worldliness stressing the necessity of
retreating from the world strife ,but they are essentially complementary to
each other beneath the surface .The philosophical thinking of Confucius and
Lao Zi differ extensively ,but mainly in their focal points and values .
1 .Differences in focal points
Lao Zi raised his head and looked up into the immense blue expanse ,
metaphysically pondering the relationship between man and nature , and
came up with his own ontology and cosmology ,whereas Confucius followed
closely with this human world ,busy with his reflections on human relations ,
and his ethics came into being .Confucius had seldom considered the question
of ontology and cosmology ,and accomplished no attainments in this regard
naturally ; Lao Zi had seldom expressed his views on ethics , which was
beyond his ken of interest ,and Zhuang Zi ,from his perspective of ‘Tao’ ,
began to pay attention to man ,or rather the individual human existence and
even the ultimate reflection on human life ,which was utterly different from
Confucian focal point of human relations .It was natural that Confucius and
Lao Zi had propounded their different philosophical doctrines ,as a result of
the different focal points of their philosophical interests .
2 .Differences in values
Confucian values were humanistic in nature ,concentrating on the moral
amelioration and the elevation of personality , encouraging people to be

・ 61 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

enterprising and contributing to the public services of all kinds , Taoism ,


however ,was naturalistic in nature ,cherishing the simplicity and sincerity ,
inner tranquility and harmony , believing in transcending the worldly cares
and conforming to nature .
As their focal points of philosophical interests and values were
different ,they had designed different roads for individual human beings .
Confucianism held that personal values could only be realized through the
cooperation of members in the society ,and individuals ,therefore ,should be
enterprising ,with strong social responsibility ,and follow the necessary steps
of “ cultivating himsel f , p utting his f amily in order , running the local
government well and bringing peace to the whole country” (“修身 、齐家 、治国 、
平天下”) . Taoism , however , had adopted a cautious attitude towards the
development of the civilization ,as Lao Zi and other Taoist masters had had
a profound understanding of the alienation of human nature and the twisted
psychology caused by the advancement of the civilization .They ,therefore ,
had decided to meet those problems with such naturalist strategies as
avoidance ,p revention and rectification .In comparison with Confucianism ,
Taoism has generally been thought as lack of responsibility and devotion ,but
just on the contrary ,Lao Zi and Zhuang Zi had been the intellectuals with
strong social responsibility and historical mission . And their ways of
intervention and solutions to those social problems were not so direct as those
of Confucianism . Though persistent in heading towards the goal of the
impossible determinedly , Confucius and Mencius had sometimes remained
free from worldly cares in meeting the dark social forces ;and Confucius had
even had the idea of “ getting upon a raft and floating out to sea” ,when he
bitterly felt the frustration of his political career ,and said ,“ W hen the W ay
p revails under Heaven , then show y oursel f ; when it does not p revail , then
hide .” ① (天下有道则见 ,无道则隐 。枟论语 ・ 泰伯枠) ,and did the noble‐minded
Mencius also hold that “in obscurity ,scholar‐officials should maintain their

① T he Analects , T r . A rthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,Changsha & Beijing ,1999 ,P83

・ 62 ・
Chapter Four  

p ersonal integrity , and in prominence , they should fulfil their lofty


aspiration in being of help to the people and the society” ? Those four great
sages of two entirely different schools were after all men of vision and
magnanimity ,though different in philosophical views , and could confront
the social reality with different solutions ,and carry out their equally strong
social responsibilities and fulfil their equally strong historical missions in a
different manner of ease .
( Ⅱ ) The Complement of the Two Schools
The complement of Confucianism and Taoism refers to the process of
self‐improvement of each doctrine through learning from another ;and from
the sharp contradiction at the outset ,each of them had gradually realized its
own weaknesses ,began to enrich and make its own doctrine fully systematic
by drawing on the useful ideas from another school . Of course , the
complement also refers to the comprehensive and alternate adoptions of
these two schools of thought by ancient Chinese scholar‐officials in their life
or careers : When they were fortunate and happy in their official career ,
they would adopt Confucianism as their guiding principle , ready to realize
their ambitions confidently and even complacently . But in the turn of a
hand , when suddenly “ in disgrace with fortune and men摧s eyes” , they
became frustrated and even disappointed in the official career , and they
would adopt Taoism , readjusting themselves psychologically , and meeting
the adversity with composure , in order to reach the psychological
equilibrium for the time being ; What is more , as they treated the bad
fortune as the purgatory of their life , they might make use of this bad
fortune for tempering their will and make themselves stronger for greater
missions that would be entrusted them . The majority of those crest‐fallen
p eople ended their lives with spiritual satisfactions and expectations happily ,
but a few of them got the opportunities to be re‐appointed , and
accomplished greatly in their positions ,because Taoism provided them with
immense power ,keeping them optimistic in adversity .
The story of Confucius摧s visit of Lao Zi recorded in the “Records of the
Grand Historian” by Sima Qian has a lot of implications ,though it might be

・ 63 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

a legend .This shows that founders of two schools had such an open mind and
broad vision in hoping to understand each other , communicate with each
other and learn from each other , which could be regarded as a proper
beginning of the complement of the two schools of philosophical thought .
The late period of Warring States marked the first peak for the complement
of Confucianism and Taoism when classical Taoist school was actively
absorbing positive ideas from almost all schools of the day ,especially such
Confucian ideas as ethics , benevolence , righteousness , and the ‘ rule by
rites’ ,whereas Confucian masters Mencius and Xun Zi had been profoundly
influenced by Taoist views of the world and nature , with Taoist ideas
absorbed into their own school ,as they were fully aware of the inadequacies
and insufficiencies of Confucius ’ classical Confucianism in views of the
world ,the nature , the epistomology and the dialectics at the philosophical
levels . Mencius and other Confucianists , however , had developed their
analytical abilities through their refutation of Taoist doctrines .The second
important period of the complement was the Song and the Ming dynasties
when Neo‐Confucianists the Cheng brothers ,Zhu Xi ,Lu Jiuyuan and Wang
Shouren had absorbed Taoist ideas by introducing many such Taoist concepts
as “Limitless or Wu Ji” (无极) ,“Supreme or Tai ji” (太极) ,“Beingless or
Wu” (无) ,“Being or You” (有 ) ,“The Way or Tao” (道 ) ,“Vessel or qi”
(器 ) into their own doctrines , and made the new system of Neo‐
Confucianism .Through the perfecting and deepening of Neo‐Confucianism ,
Taoism had been completely absorbed into Confucianism as an organic part ,
which constituted the ideological consciousness of Chinese scholar‐officials .
From the sharp contradiction of the classical Confucianism and Taoism
during the pre‐Qin periods through the long process of conflicts and gradual
integration in the ensuing dynasties to the ultimate ‘merger’ of two different
schools with the two doctrines becoming so closely interconnected and
indivisible in the last dynasties of China .
Confucius摧s world outlook had actually contained different elements :
scepticism and enterprising spirits , from which there had developed into
seemingly contradictory but essentially complementary schools :Xun Zi had

・ 64 ・
Chapter Four  

evolved his atheism whereas Zhuang Zi pantheism . Confucius摧s sense of


respect for the individual personality of the clan members had branched into
both “ the great personality ideal ” (伟 大 人 格 理 想 ) of Mencius and “ the
independent personality ideal ” (独 立 人 格 理 想 ) of Zhuang Zi . All those
ideas could be found in the complex thoughts of Confucius , but Confucius
had never expounded and explored them fully .In the late developments of
Confucianism and Taoism , they had been able to be integrated , to be
merged ,at a higher level and with a higher degree in mutually absorbing
each other ,as the componential part of the Chinese spiritual world .

Ⅳ .The Psychological World of Ancient Chinese Scholar‐officials

Since the adoption of Confucianism as the guiding ideology in the reign


of Emperor Han Wudi during the Han Dynasty , Confucianism held the
dominant position for thousands of years ,as the orthodox official ideology ,
with Confucian core values permeating the soul of ancient Chinese scholar‐
officials and affecting their life pursuits ,but when they suffered setbacks in
their official careers , the great majority of them had actually been in
adversity during most of their active political life and needed to balance their
psychology ,assuage their anxiety and ease their spiritual pains in order to
temper their will for staging a comeback in the political arena . It was
Taoism that could enable those frustrated officials to be fully enlightened
with Taoist wisdom so that they could lead an easy and leisured life , with
worldly cares beneath their notice .So both schools of thoughts could serve
them in their different personal and political circumstances alternately .
Confucianism held that intelligentleman should shoulder the national
responsibility ,with strong sense of mission , which could be extended to
commoners as an individual sense of national responsibility , ordinarily
expressed as “ Every commoner is held responsible f or the f ate of his country ”
(“天下兴亡 ,匹夫有责”) .And Confuciaism also designed a duty‐bound road
for every scholar‐official with well‐managed state affairs and contented
p eople as their ultimate goals , for which intelligentlemen had all been

・ 65 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

attracted and headed with their enterprising spirits . This was of course a
kind of correct and positive attitude towards life , which had nurtured
generations of loyal and responsible intelligentlemen who had served as the
p illar of the nation both in time of peace and of political turmoils ,ultimately
contributing to the creation of Chinese civilization . But social reality was
after all not always satisfactory ,even brutal sometimes , p osing difficulties
and obstacles to scholar‐officials who constantly faced frustrations and
defeats while moving upward along the social ladders . In such adversity ,
they had to readjust themselves , soothe their minds , and put up with the
temporary ‘obscurity’ while building up their strength with their personal
cultivation in the spirit of being above worldly considerations for future
realization of their lofty ideas . Those Taoist concepts such as ‘ nature’ ,
‘inaction’ ,‘contentment’ ,and ‘never contend with others’ had revealed
ultimate wisdom of Taoism and served as the best spiritual adapter and
psychological stabilizer , for Confucianist life pursuit had not been flexible
enough for adjustment and change ,which should be balanced by Taoism .As
toughness and gentleness should be well proportionate , neither of two
schools could stand by itself and scholar‐officials needed them both and
employed them alternately according to the circumstances they were in .The
representative scholars of both schools improved and perfected their own
doctrines through the introduction and assimilation of beneficial elements
from each other摧s ideas ;and scholar‐officials usually adopted Confucianism
as their guiding principles in defining their objectives while , at the same
time ,cultivating themselves and broadening their horizons by Taoism so that
they could patiently wait for the opportunity to appear and seize it for
realizing themselves . With the strength gathered and willpower tempered
during their ‘obscurity’ ,they could bring their learning and capabilities into
full play .There were some obvious defects in Confucianism as the official
ideology ,for which only Taoism could make up ,with its own advantages in
this regard .Though these two schools of philosophy were utterly different ,
they had different historical positions and different roles in politics
determined by their social ideals and values ,with Confucianism being in the

・ 66 ・
Chapter Four  

orthodox ,official and dominant ideology of the nation ,and Taoism in the
subordinate position for adaptation and mitigation .
From the ancient to modern China ,both the personal and public life of
excellent scholar‐officials demonstrated the alternate adoptions of these two
schools of thought :They could maintain their moral integrity at the time of
‘obscurity’ ,and could also make good use of the opportunity to fulfil their
noble aspirations in managing the state affairs well ;“ Gloriously at court ,
they always empathize with the feelings of the people underneath .
Ingloriously in exile ,they still concern themselves with the emperor above .”
(“居庙堂之高 ,则忧其民 ;处江湖之远 ,则忧其君 。” 范仲淹枟岳阳楼记枠) When
they were unfairly treated ,even put in prisons ,they could remain calm and
composed ;once they were rehabilitated and restored to their rightful places
in the govermental departments ,they never complained about their personal
grievances and soon plunged into the urgent work left undone in their
absence , as those Confucianism‐bred scholar‐officials harbored so lofty
ideals which they considered of prime importance in their lifetime that they
had no time to lose on their ways to pursue their goals , with other ‘ p etty
things’ being brushed aside .

Ⅴ .A Critique of Confucianism and Taoism

Complement of Confucianism and Taoism is one of the important


features of Chinese culture and these two schools of thought have been the
ideological tools and life wisdom with which Chinese scholar‐officials have
been employing alternately .In the long history of China ,these philosophical
ideas have brought up countless number of courageous mission‐bound
intelligentlemen who were able to maintain moral integrity and enterprising
spirit in whatever circumstances .Those people have become the pillar of the
nation with their erudition ,tempered will and undaunted spirit in realizing
themselves and their life ambitions .
But when it went to the extremes , complement of Confucianism and
Taoism could produce certain negative effects as some scholar‐officials had

・ 67 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

become so submissive and obedient as a result of ‘over‐readjustments’ that


they had constantly suppressed themselves , seldom complained about
anything ,and even passively endured all kinds of humiliations without rising
up and fighting back against aggressors and dying a martyr摧s death before
foreign invasions .Some even turned national degenerates during the national
crisis ,and of course those were truly the people who had misused ,or abused
the Confucianism and Taoism ,whose whole meanings in existence lay in the
embodiment of “the philosophy of staying alive at all costs” (活命哲学) ,or
“the philosophy of dragging out an ignoble existence”(苟活哲学) .This could
be considered as the alienation of national spirit or the erosion of the
national spirit of the traditional Chinese culture .Of course ,this was no fault
of these philosophical ideas , just as the American Puritan minister Increase
Mather said in his sermon against drunkenness ,“ Drink is in itself a good
creature of God , and to be received with thankfulness , but the abuse of
drink is from Satan ; the wine is from God , but the drunkard is from the
Devil .”

・ 68 ・
Chapter Five
Nationality Integration and Chinese
Concept of “Great National Unity”
民族融合与中国人的大一统观

    China has always been a multi‐national country throughout the history .


In this great family of Chinese nations , the Han people is the principal
nationality with the largest population among all nationalities ,but the Han ,
in its historical evolution , became larger and larger only through
intermarriage with other people and other means . The Han , though
numerous in number , has never been a pure‐blooded nationality as it has
been an open‐minded and tolerant people capable of accepting and admitting
other nationalities with almost no restrictions on intermarriage . The
p roblems of Chinese nationalities had long been properly settled in the
history ,in comparison with those countries still troubled with the problems
of minority nationalities , because the Han , the principal nationality , was
actually the merging of several nationalities and ,as a result of this ,seldom
rejected other nationalities and could co‐exist with other nationalities
p eacefully and even harmoniously . In the long history of China , the
nationality integration has been a repeated theme , sometimes official
p olicies of certain dynasties , often natural and spontaneous actions among
the people in multinational areas .The largest nationality ,the Han people ,

・ 69 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

have thus been made , with blood of different ethnic groups and cultural
elements of many nations .

Ⅰ .The Historical Process of China摧s Great National Integration

Historically ,there were four distinctive periods of the formations of


Chinese nations :
1 . Pre‐Qin Dynasty Period : The Formation of Huaxia nationality , the
principal nationality of China then
According to the legend and the archaeological findings ,from the time
of Fiery Emperor or Yandi (炎帝) and Yellow Emperor or Huangdi (黄帝)to
that of King Yao (尧) ,King Shun(舜)and Yu the Great (禹) ,there had been
many wars fought between two tribes led by the legendary Fiery Emperor
and Yellow Emperor respectively ,and finally they had decided to enter into
an alliance . They , with joint efforts , had defeated Taihao (太 昊 ) and
Shaohao (少昊) tribes based on Mount Tai in the east .After the victory ,an
unprecedented alliance along the entire Yellow River Valley had been
formed ,who ,with their powerful and valiant warriors , turned southward
and easily conquered the Miao (苗 ) and Man (蛮 ) tribes based on the Han
River and Yangtze River valleys in the south .With several tribes of people
integrated and mixed together through series of wars ,the so‐called Hua‐xia
nationality (华夏族) came into being .
The Huaxia nationality ,a mixed nationality of the Xia ,the Shang ,the
Zhou nationalities and those Hua‐xia‐nized non‐Huaxia people , was the
p redecessor of the Han people .In the time of the Spring and Autumn and
the Warring States ,national integrations got further accelerated as a result
of radical social transformations .In the Central Plains ,those newly settled
minority people from the frontiers became Huaxia‐nized (华 夏 化 ) ; to the
east of the Central Plains , the States of Qi and Lu annexed those Yi
nationalities or minorities in what is now Shandong Peninsula ; and to the
west , the State of Qin rose powerfully and those Rong nationalities or
minorities joined willingly ;to the south ,the State of Chu ,itself a minority

・ 70 ・
Chapter Five  

regime , got so powerful that it conquered all those Man nationalities ,


minorities in the south ,and unified the whole south ,turned northwards and
challenged the authority in the Central Plains for the first time .In the time
of Warring States ,only a few great powerful states remained independent ,
with several smaller states as buffer states (缓 冲 国 ) sandwiched between
them .Previously the State of Qin and the State of Chu ,as remote frontier
“uncivilized ” states once considered beneath notice , became accepted and
recognized as part of the Huaxia nationality .Those regional unifications on
small scales had paved the ways for the nation‐wide unification later
accomplished by the first great emperor ,Qin Shihuang .
Through the migration , conflicts , wars and intermarriage , different
nationalities got mixed , and a greater nationality group , the Hua‐xia
nationality ,was formed , enlarged , and melted , with people of different
tribes ,with different customs and habits .In the future development ,the Hua‐
xia people , with even broader mind and more tolerance , absorbed people of
different ethnic groups and cultural background , and seldom imposed any
restrictions on intermarriage and intercommunication among different
nationalities .
2 .The Wei ,the Jin ,the Southern and the Northern Dynasties Period :The
“Sinicization” (汉化) of “Five Minority Nationalities from the North” and the
“Reverse Sinicization” (胡化) of the Han people
Near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty (25 — 220 A .D .) , the whole
country was plunged into chaos , with many separatist warlords carving up
the country and fighting for the throne ,as the emperor became so weak and
p owerless that he lost the control of the nation . The Huns , a minority
nationality from the north ,took advantage of the situation and invaded the
Central Plains . For two hundred years , several regimes confronted each
other and co‐existed , until 581 A .D . when the first Emperor of the Sui
Dynasty (隋文帝) ,Yang Jian ,reunified the whole country again .This was a
time of great political disunity and disorder , but also an excellent
opportunity for the merging of nationalities ,as there were many migrations
and resettlement of different nationalities who could live in the multinational

・ 71 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

areas .A lot of minority nationalities ,originally in the frontiers ,seized the


chance to enter the stage of the Central Plains by establishing their regimes ;
from the north ,so‐ called “Five Minorities” (五胡) ,such as the Huns (匈
奴) ,the Xianbei (鲜卑) ,the Jie (羯) ,the Di (氐) and the Qiang (羌) ,set
up their regimes in turns through the cooperation and support of the
p owerful Han families . For a short period of time ,in the Central Plains ,
intermarriage was encouraged by both the Han and minority nationalities
and could be found everywhere .Certain liberal and open‐minded minority
emperors called on their people to imitate the Han people摧s political system ,
national costumes , even to adopt their family names . Those minorities
changed not only their ways of life , but also their means of production ,
resulting in the fundamental transformation from the nomadism to
agriculture .By 581 A .D .when Emperor Yang Jian reunified China ,almost
all minorities who came down and settled from beyond the Great Wall had
merged into the Han people .
But in the south , many soldiers from the State of Qin had gone down
into the deep south of the Five Ridges (岭南 ) ,the present‐day Guangdong
and Guangxi provinces , when the State of Qin was unifying the country
before 221 B .C .; and in the Han Dynasty ,even more Han people moved
southward and settled among those southern minorities and later more
refugees escaped from the wars or dodged paying taxes during the chaotic age
of the great disunity(386 — 589 A .D .) ;some others migrated westward into
Gansu Corridor (河西走廊) , to the west of the Yellow River . During this
p eriod , migrations of nationalities were bidirectional in nature , with
minority people migrating inward and the Han people outward ; those
minorities from the frontiers settled in the Central Plains and got sinicized ,
and the Han people escaped their hometown ,fled to the remote hinterland
and adopted the language and customs of the local minorities .
3 .The Liao ,the Song ,the Xia and the Yuan dynasties Period :The Integration of
the Qidan ,the Dangxiang and the Nüzhen Nationalities with the Han People
In the end of the Tang Dynasty ,the country got divided and the change
of rulers frequent for half a century ,until 960 A .D .when the first Emperor

・ 72 ・
Chapter Five  

of the Northern Song Dynasty(宋太祖) ,Zhao Kuangyin ,reunified only the


half of the country ,with several minority regimes coexisting and conflicting
with one another . During the whole Song Dynasty (960 — 1279 ) , different
regimes confronted each other , warring constantly for the control of the
country , and large hordes of people migrating . Within the regimes of
minority nationalities ,national integrations naturally took place : The Liao
Dynasty was established by the Qidan nationality (契丹人) whose predecesor
was the Xianbei nationality (鲜 卑人 ) , a nomadic people who extended its
territory as far as the Korean Peninsula and the Bohai Sea in the east ,also
invaded and occupied large tracts of land in the northwest and the south ;in
its controlled areas , there even lived more Han people than its Qidan
nationality and two or more nationalities became merged under the Qidan
rule , with the result of forming the principal Han culture with Qidan
characteristics .The West Xia Dynasty ,established by the Dangxiang (党项
人) ,a branch of the Qiang nationality (羌) ,absorbed such nomadic cultures
as the Di(氐) ,the Tufan(吐蕃) and other nomadic cultures ,and ruled ,in its
p rime ,the vast areas covering present‐day Ningxia , the northern part of
Shaanxi , the western part of Gansu and some parts of Inner Mongolia ;
within its territory , different nationalities gradually merged together ,
further reduced the national differences and contributed a lot to the regional
unification of the northwest part of China .When the Nüzhen nationality (女
真人) rose overnight in the northeast ,and established the Jin Dynasty ,they
subsequently annihilated the Liao Dynasty and subjugated the Northern Song
Dynasty by capturing and carrying off two emperors , court ladies and
courtiers ,with some Han people as well ,but they also moved and resettled
their own people in the land of the Han and the Qidan people ,facilitating
the bidirectional communication and national integrations . Inside the
southern part of the territory still ruled by the Southern Song Dynasty ,
especially the southwest part , all minority nationalities had frequent
interactions with each other , the Tufan and the Dali States had more
communications with the Southern Song Dynasty .Before the reunification of
the Yuan Dynasty in 1279 A .D .,while all regimes had had fierce conflicts ,

・ 73 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

they had also had frequent diplomatic , tributary , and trade relationships ,
and even intermarriage ,resulted in the further integration of nationalities .
After the Mongolian rulers came to the throne and established the Yuan
Dynasty ,the majority of the officials appointed was the Han people ; and
with the blood mixed , two cultures became integrated simultaneously ;
Mongolian rulers not only inherited the system of the Song and even earlier
dynasties ,and also worshipped Confucius ,adopting Confucianism ,building
Confucius’ Shrine , and protecting all the Confucian archives and related
heritages .Of course ,the Mongolian rulers had also exercised the policy of
racial discrimination against both the Han and other minority people ,which
made the merging of the Nüzhen nationality w ith the Han people possible ,as
these two people shared the same miserable fate as the down‐troden classes .
4 .The Qing Dynasty Period :The Great National Integration of the Han ,
the Manchu ,and the Mongolian Nationalities
In 1644 A .D .,the Manchus ,as invaders ,came all the way down from
the northeast and crossed over the Shanhai Pass in the eastern end of the
Great Wall and established its capital in Beijing before conquering the whole
country .Nearly 300 years of its reign had passed and almost all Manchus had
been sinicized , by adopting the Han language , and giving up their own
native tongue . When the Manchus had first moved their whole nation
southward , they had actually merged the national differences
geographically .As soon as they were among the ocean of the numerous Han
p eople ,their conquered people ,they swaggered about arrogantly ,with some
unpopular policies as “forced land‐enclosure , forced slave‐making measures
and forced haircut ” (“ 圈 地” 、“投 充” 、“剃 头”)being made mercilessly and
implemented coercively , which aroused so strong emotions of ethnic
confrontation that Manchu rulers had to ease the tension between the two
nations ;Emperor Xuan Ye or Kang Xi , the second emperor of the Qing
Dynasty ,took the initiative to side with the Han landlord class and sincerely
offered sacrifices to the Confucius Shrine and reverently showed his respect
by prostrating himself and kowtowing before Confucius’ statue in order to
untie the fast knot on the mind of the Han people as a result of ethnic

・ 74 ・
Chapter Five  

discrimination .
The Qing rulers unprecedentedly strengthened its administration of the
frontiers for the sake of both the national defence and the promotion of the
multinational merging in those border areas dotted with different
nationalities : The central government gave its approval to the Tibetan
religious leaders , and appointed special official resident in Tibet (西 藏 ) ,
also moved minority people from the Heilongjiang and Wushulijiang rivers
valley and resettled them in the central part of the northeast area ,enhancing
the relationship of the frontier provinces with the central government and
the hinterland provinces ; at the same time , for those Han people who
escaped the wars and fled to the frontiers , the central government also
encouraged them to live peacefully with the local people through more
communications and to share the multinational areas . With the
unprecedented national merging of three main nationalities , the Han , the
Manchus and the Mongols , the Qing government had solved the perennial
p roblem of “the external encroachment on the frontier ” (边患) ,which had
never been solved once for all by previous dynasties ,even with the building
of the Great Wall through immense input of man‐power and material
resources in history .
Since the “Opium War” (鸦片战争 ) in 1840 ,the Qing Dynasty was on
the decline ,with the talons of the west powers intruding upon Chinese soils .
Throughout the hundred‐year struggles for national independence and
freedom ,the brotherhood among all Chinese nationalities had stood the life‐
and‐death test ,the national spirit had undergone a process of war baptism ;
with common enemies threatening them all ,the Chinese nations achieved a
great nation‐wide unity ,which could be described as the great merging of all
Chinese nationalities in the real sense of the word and on the higher level .
After these four major national integrations in different historical
p eriods ,an unified multinational country has been formed and consolidated ,
with the principal Han nationality , and many other smaller nationalities ,
being equally recognized for their native languages and colourful cultures .In
the long history of national merging , there were both intense conflicts of

・ 75 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

blood and fire ,and friendly communications and intermarriages . From the
time of the Qin and the Han ,the multinational country was in the making ,
and finally fully consolidated and melted as one indivisible nation in the Qing
Dynasty ,which was a long and arduous course , with endless quests and
trials , resulted in the stable pattern of integral whole with multi‐
nationalities .It is really a world miracle as Chinese nations ,with the largest
p opulation , live harmoniously and equally in this immense east Asian
landmass with remarkable differences in geographical features ,with neither
racial discrimination nor caste system .

    Ⅱ . The Formation and Strengthening of Chinese Concept of


“Great National Unity”

    The formation of Chinese idea of “Great National Unity” (“大一统”观


念) has undergone a long and evolutionary process and paralleled that of
integral whole of nationalities , during which time great ancient Chinese
emperors ,p hilosophers ,statesmen and even the ordinary people made their
own outstanding contributions .It is impossible for the merging of all Chinese
nationalities ,without the production of the idea of “Great National Unity” ,
which helped support the national integration and make it a reality .
1 .The Germination of the Concept of “Great National Unity”
Before the unification of the six states by the First Emperor , Qin
Shihuang ,there had already lived such people as the Huaxia ,the Yi and the
Man in the territory of what is now China ,who were regarded as the three
sources of Chinese by some scholars ; and , with the unification of China ,
they gradually merged into the great family of Chinese nations .But early in
the Xia , the Shang and the Zhou dynasties (夏 、商 、周 ) , p eople摧s idea of
“Great National Unity” was rather vague , only in the process of taking
shape ,with three primary characteristics :First ,the hereditary system of the
succession of the father by the eldest son born of the wife (嫡长子继承制) ,
and that of enfeoffment (分 封 制 ) in the Zhou Dynasty extended the
p atriarchal system to the political organizations , with the emperor of the

・ 76 ・
Chapter Five  

Zhou Dynasty ,as the eldest son in the royal family ,becoming the King of
the land . Second , the legitimacy of rulers clepended on their virtue or
benevolence , and it would follow that the one without it could be
overthrown by the people and this indicates that concerning the legitimacy of
rulers ,early in Chinese history ,moral behaviours of rulers were included in
their overall evaluation .Of course ,this created another problem as it would
give usurpers some excuses to take over the power of rightful rulers .Third ,
since the Xia Dynasty , orthodox thinking had closely related with certain
region ,that is ,the Central Plains which had been regarded as the rightful
p lace for issuing orders to the people in four directions .In the succession of
the Xia ,the Shang and the Zhou in turns , all of them had acquired their
orthodox status ,and recognized as rightful rulers ,only after they captured
and established their reign in the Central Plains . During these three early
dynasties ,the concept of “Great National Unity” was just taking shape ,far
from being systematic and deep‐rooted .
As early as in the pre‐Qin Dynasty period , the Chinese ancestors ,
through their early geographical book ,“ Book of Mountains and Seas” (枟山海
经枠) , expressed their aspiration for the unified country from the
geographical perspective .Considering the limitation of transportation in the
early time , this was a remarkable book of geography despite its
imperfections and imprecisions ,which had recorded mountains in five areas ,
called Central , Western , Northern , Eastern and Southern Mountains
respectively , and their natural environments . In another geographical
literature ,“ The Book of History ” (枟尚书 ・ 禹贡枠) also written during the
p re‐Qin Dynasty period ,a section from this book recorded regional products ,
local agricultural crops ,tributary and taxes ,mountains ,rivers ,soils ,fields ,
and even geographical contour , which was the aspiration of our ancestors
from the economic point of view ; and it also divided China into nine
administrative regions ,called Jizhou (冀州) ,Yanzhou (兖州) ,Qingzhou (青
州) ,Xuzhou (徐州) ,Yangzhou (扬州) ,Jingzhou (荆州) ,Yuzhou (豫州) ,
Liangzhou (凉州 ) and Yongzhou (雍州 ) respectively , which could not be
effectively managed at that time , but could be regarded as a political

・ 77 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

blueprint of the would‐be unified country . In Remarks of Monarchs (枟国


语 ・ 周语枠) ,“It was established in the reign of former kings that those who
are enfeoffed within the royal domain do royal service . Those who are
enfeoffed without the royal domain do feudal service .Those who are in the
feudal marches zone do guest service .The Man and the Yi nationalities do
service according to their treaty obligations . The Rong and the Di
nationalities do irregular service ” (“夫先王之制 ,邦内甸服 ,邦外侯服 ,候卫宾
服 ,夷蛮要服 ,戎狄荒服 。”) ,the same idea as from the above‐mentioned book
was recorded as an imaginative plan for future management of such a colossal
country ,with the concept of different tributary relations at different levels
according to the intimacy of relationships from the royal family .These two
p redicted the possible divisions of administrative regions and their
management models .The efforts of Ying Zheng or Qin Shihuang ,the first
emperor ,in unifying six other states represented the collective aspirations of
the people ,based on the collective psychological tendency , and made it a
reality through his enormous success and unparalleled deeds .
2 .The Realization and Retrogression of National Political Unification
In 221 B .C .,Qin Shihuang , the first emperor of China , realized the
p olitical unification of the country with his thunder‐like measures
unparalleled in history . He defeated six other states and unified whole
China , for the first time China was unified politically , economically ,
culturally ,and even geographically ,making the dream of “ Great National
Unity” come true .Through a series of wars ,he drove the Huns northwards ,
and conquered a number of the Yue people in the south , making China a
giant country , with a territory from the sea and Korea in the east , and
p rimarily laid the territorial basis of unified China . Qin Shihuang also
embarked on a process of re‐creation of and innovation on many systems
which could only be described as brand new , far‐reaching and even
revolutionary in nature ,but it was great pity that the Qin Dynasty was short‐
lived ,only 15 years .
The Han Dynasty ,a replacement of the Qin Dynasty ,was powerful and
long lasting , a dynasty that inspired every Chinese , especially during the

・ 78 ・
Chapter Five  

reign of the fifth emperor Liu Che or Han Wudi ,he ,with his grand strategy
and strong political talents , extended the territory to the “ south of Five
Ridges” (岭南) (In the modern day Guangdong and Guangxi provinces ) in
the south , to Lake Baikal (贝 加 尔 湖 ) in the north (in the modern day
Russia ) ,to the seas in the east and to Balkhsh Lake (巴尔喀什湖)(In modern
day Kazakhstan) and the Pamir Mountains (帕米尔高原)in the west ,laying
the geographical basis of the multi‐national country .Emperor Han Wudi also
adopted the Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu摧s proposal of “ Paying
supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thought ”
(“罢黜百家 、独尊儒术”) ,establishing Confucianism as state ideology ,which
unified Chinese thought at spiritual level and shaped unique Chinese thinking
and national spirit ,and produced the strong cohesiveness of Chinese nations .
From the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty in 220 A .D . to 581 A .D .
when the first Sui Emperor Yang Jian or Wen Di was able to unify the
country again by wiping out all those separatist forces ,there were turbulent
times for 400 years representing a retrogression in the course of unity .The
Sui Dynasty ,like the Qin Dynasty , p roved significant , yet short‐lived ,but
the Tang Dynasty ,the subsequent dynasty ,elevated Chinese civilization to
its peaks , and created the splendid ancient Chinese culture , reaching the
p rime of feudal China ,which consolidated the foundation of “Great Unity”
of the nation .Again ,near the end of the Tang Dynasty ,the turmoil began
and spread nation‐wide .In 1279 A .D .the first Yuan emperor ,Hu Bilie or
Shizu(元世祖) ,rose in the grassland ,unified all the Mongolian tribes first ,
conquered other regimes one by one , and unified whole China , with its
capital established in Dadu (大都)( p resent day Beijing) ,and then the Ming
and the Qing dynasties succeeded one another , with the multinational
country firmly and well established . Throughout the Chinese history , the
mainstream of trend has been towards the unification , of course with
p eriodic disunity ,but the times and duration of disunity have got shorter and
shorter and even during the time of disunity , different separatists had the
same goal of unifying the whole country under their own banners , which
clearly indicates that the idea of “Great National Unity” has struck root in

・ 79 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

the mind of people and every individual has been willing to fight for that
goal .
3 .The Internalization and Recognition of the Concept of “Great National Unity”
Ever since the Qin and Han dynasties ,the pattern of China with “Great
National Unity ” had been fixed , though there were times of disunity ,
conflicts and even coexistence of several regimes . The idea of “ Great
National Unity” , universally recognized and accepted , had little by little
been internalized by every individual Chinese who had all agreed to the
national unification ,but only differed as to who should unify the country .
Their universal recognition of early legendary common ancestors of the
Chinese nations ,the Fiery Emperor and the Yellow Emperor embodied their
strong identification with the concept of “Great National Unity” .Those two
emperors were legendary heroes of the remote past whom all Chinese people
worshipped as the founding fathers of the Chinese nations ,and Chinese ,no
matter wherever they are , p roudly call themselves “ descendants of Yandi
and Huangdi” (炎黄子 孙 ) . In fact , besides the principal nationality , the
Huaxia , there were many other minority nationalities , such as the Yi
nationality and the Man nationality .Before the Unification in 221 B .C .,
those nationalities had been constantly at war with each other , often
developed close relationships through intermarriage ,and ultimately resulted
in complete integrations . Even those minority nationalities , such as the
Xianbei ,the Qidan and the Huns , also recognized the Fiery Emperor and
the Yellow Emperor ,adopted the family names of the Huaxia nationality ,
and identified themselves with the Huaxia civilization .Judging by this ,the
Chinese nationalities as the Huaxia ,the Yi ,the Man and so on are brotherly
nationalities ,and their conflicts quarrels among brothers ,internal disputes
or “household affairs” within the great family of our nations .
In the family of Chinese nations , the Huaxia nationality had first
evolved and formed from the people of the first three dynasties ,the Xia ,the
Shang ,the Zhou people and those who migrated from the frontiers .After
the Qin and the Han dynasties , the Huaxia began to be called the Han
nationality whose culture became the mainstream one continuously absorbing

・ 80 ・
Chapter Five  

and integrating other minority nationalities and tribe people . The Han
nationality , hereafter , opened their mind even more broadly to reach out
and absorb people of different nationalities , just like the sea ready for
receiving all rivers , and created the splendid civilization in the world ,
immensely admired by minority people in the frontiers vying with one
another for paying tributes to and petitioning Chinese emperors for noble
titles and rewards .
4 .The Dissemination and Promotion of the Concept of “Great National Unity”
The Chinese nations originated in the Central Plains and the Middle and
Lower Reaches of the Yellow River ,but the Chinese nations did not follow
the way of external extension by conquests nor the occupation and settlement
of the outsiders in the Central Plains . The ancestors of all Chinese
nationalities ,instead , had actually been merging into the Chinese nations
through a slow and long historical evolution . Chinese sometimes call
themselves “descendants of the dragon” (龙的传人 ) ,because the totem of
Chinese nations , dragon , had collected many totem signs of many
nationalities ,also reflecting the multiple sources of Chinese nations ; and
many of our minority people , such as the Huns and the Manchus , also
worshipped dragon , indicating that they were also the descendants of
dragon . In the later period of Neolithic Age , the primary Chinese
civilizations were too many and varied , dotted in the vast East Asian
landmass .About 6 ,000 or 7 ,000 years ago ,our ancestors began to worship
the dragon ,the making of which took many different animals ,such as the
head of a camel (骆驼头) ,the horns of a deer (鹿角) ,the ears of a bull (牛
耳) ,the eyes of a turtle (龟眼 ) ,the thorny skin of an alligator (鳄鱼皮 ) ,
the scale of a fish (鱼鳞) ,the body of a snake (蛇身) ,the claws of an eagle
(鹰爪) and the belly of a clam (蜃腹) ,symbolizing the varied sources of our
ancestors and consisting of a variety of nationalities . This national totem
gave every individual Chinese , wherever he was , a strong and inseverable
emotional attachment to his motherland .The return of a Mongolian tribe to
its motherland is a case in point . In the reign of Emperor Hong li or
Qianlong in the Qing Dynasty ,the whole Tuerhute Mongolian tribe (土尔扈

・ 81 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

特蒙古部落) returned to China ,braving dangers and risks of all kinds ,after
their whole tribe had left China and migrated to the the bank of the Volga
River (伏尔加河畔) for more than a century ,which denoted that the idea of
“Great National Unity” had already struck root in the heart of the people .
The Central Plains , since the Qin and Han dynasties , had been the
p olitical central stage ,the holy place for the imperial capital affiliated with
the Huaxia Orthodoxy Ideas ,in which countless regimes ,by both the Han
and minority nationalities , had established their capital and regarded
themselves as orthodox ,and naturally recognized by others .In history ,the
founding emperor of each dynasty ,once he overthrew the previous dynasty ,
was sure to take over and control the Central Plains .“ From the historical
records ,it is evident that before the Qin Unification ,the Huaxia called their
motherland China (literally Central Kingdom ) , the collective name of all
Huaxia states ; since the Qin Unification , China had extended to be the
common motherland , including all nationalities within its territory . So
China means their motherland , whereas dynasties were the names of state
established by the ruling class in different historical periods .Dynasties rise
and fall periodically , but China , the motherland , remains eternally and
forever developing .” ① Through joint efforts , all Chinese nationalities in
their common regions created their common cultures ,which ,in turn ,made
them cohesive ,even when they wandered overseas ,and closely related them
all together by their common recognition of “ descendants of Yandi and
Huangdi” , or “ descendants of the Dragon ” , just as the Jewish people ,
roaming in the world ,were closely related by their common religion .
It is universally acknowledged that spoken and written language is the
most effective tools in transmitting ideas and information .In the history of
the great world civilizations , many of them had suffered discontinuity ,
except Chinese civilization . Even during the classic period of world
civilization (1 ,000 B .C .— 500 B .C .) ,China had already unified its written
language .From the earliest written language , the bone scriptions , to the

① 枟中国通史简编枠(修订本) ,范文澜著 ,人民出版社 ,北京 ,1958 年 ,第 65 页 。

・ 82 ・
Chapter Five  

simplified Chinese characters , it has been a long , g radual and organic


p rocess of formation of new characters and meaning‐extension of existant
characters ,but ,no matter how the forms of characters change ,the essential
p rinciple governing the formation of characters remains unchanged , those
p rinciple embodied in “Six Major Methods” (“六书”) , namely pictographic
characters ( 象 形 ) , self‐explanatory characters ( 指 事 ) , associative
compounds characters (会 意 ) , p ictophonetic characters (形 声 ) , mutually
explanatory characters (转注) and phonetic loan characters (假借) .Chinese
written language played an irreplaceable role in disseminating Chinese
concept of “Great National Unity” ,and the important cultural information
embodied in the written Chinese language could be decoded , accepted and
p assed to the future generation by each generation of Chinese ,which is one
of the miraculous aspects of the Chinese language .

Ⅲ .A Critique of Chinese Concept of “Great National Unity”

The Chinese idea of “ Great National Unity” traces its history back to
the very ancient times because China has a long and continual history of
culture ensured by the continuality of Chinese political history , which
strengthened the Chinese consciousness and concept of “ Great National
Unity” .China has got the most detailed and systematic historical recordings ,
the so called “Twenty‐four Histories” (二十四史) ,with “Historical Records”
(枟史记枠) by Sima Qian being the first ,the tradition of which has never been
interrupted .
First ,the idea of “ Great National Unity” is the origin of important
thoughts for the prosperity of the country and unity of the nationalities .The
recognition of this great idea represents a strong centripetal force attracting
overseas Chinese even if they adopt another language ,because “descendants
of Yandi and Huangdi” or “ descendants of the Dragon ” belong to one
gigantic family whose Chinese hearts could never be changed with the
transformation of their citizenship .
Second ,the idea of “Great National Unity” is the most effective tools

・ 83 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

for cultivating people with political responsibility and historical mission .In
history , most of the ancient Chinese political thinkers were essentially
statesmen ,with political ambition and integrity ,who devoted their lives to
p olitics as the way of actualizing themselves .Confuscius ,the great cultural
master and political thinker , travelled to many different states , searching
for an ideal state to realize his political ambition , many Chinese scholars
after him cherished this political ideal and made every effort with strong
determination ,as they had been brought up and nurtured by this idea of
“Great National Unity” ,which should be highly praised and eulogized as the
p ride of Chinese scholars .
But this idea has had its negative influence upon the scholars , which
made narrow their life choices , and with this idea deep in mind , some of
them were so passionate about politics that they became blind to such worthy
fields of endeavour as science , art , literature and so on . Ever since the
creation of the imperial examination in the Sui Dynasty ,almost all scholars
had limited their personal choice to the narrow sphere of “Reading Classics ,
Taking Examination and Entering Officialdom ” (读书 、科考 、入仕 ) , which
could be delineated as the “trilogy” of the wretched life of scholars ;what is
more ,some scholars even considered “go in for politics”(从政) as a money‐
making enterprise , through which they could become rich quickly ,
compensating the youth lost in reading classics , and avariciously enjoying
life ,once they passed the examination . Of course , this is far from the
teaching of Confucius .In his time ,education was limited to a lucky few and
a great majority of children had been deprived of the opportunity to be
educated .Confucius , aware of the shortage of talents , started his private
education only for training Junzi (君 子 ) , liberal talents for managing the
state ,rather than the specialized experts for specific fields of endeavour .
These people either misunderstood Confucius or were misled by their own
selfish motives .

・ 84 ・
Chapter Six
Ancient Chinese Education and the
Historical Evolution of Educational Ideas
古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

    From the beginning of the recorded history , ancient Chinese school


education appeared and every dynasty attached much importance to school
education , which took two different forms , both official and private
schools .After the Song Dynasty ,another form of education ,the Academy
of Classical Learning (书 院 ) came into being , with the multi‐function of
teaching ,learning , research and book‐collection combined into one .Since
the Sui and the Tang dynasties , Chinese education , combined with the
newly‐created official selection system through the Imperial Examination ,
had gradually been reduced to a level of dependency on the official selection
through examinations , and schools had only become places preparing
students for examinations .
In the long history of China ,there produced a galaxy of educationists
who trained countless numbers of qualified talents for the nation‐building
through their remarkable practice in the teaching and educational arenas .
Those educational ideas , thinking and methodology had been distilled into
the exquisite cultural heritages ,manifested in different aspects of social life ,
especially in the political and moral education of people . They formed a

・ 85 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

series of systematic educational concepts enriched and upgraded in each


dynasty , and the grand educational outlook with strong Chinese
characteristics resulted from it .

Ⅰ .The Historical Development of Ancient Chinese Education

It was difficult to determine when the earliest education started , but


from the sporadic recordings of the legendary history in ancient Chinese
historical classics ,the earliest education mainly focused on the imparting of
knowledge and skills of labor , war , music , art , and the avoidance of the
natural disasters . With the invention and sophistication of Chinese
characters (汉 字 ) , several forms of school appeared , all concerning the
p assing on of knowledge of labor and wars in the Xia Dynasty ,which was
also legendary in nature .
1 .Official Education
In the Shang Dynasty , Chinese characters had become highly
sophisticated and mature .There had sprung up a lot of forms of school such
as “jiao” (教) ,“xu” (序) ,“xiang” (庠) ,“xue” (学) and “ guzong” (瞽宗) .
Some professional people engaged in teaching appeared . Those with both
virtue and official positions were honourably called “venerable noble elder ”
(国 老 ) , and those with virtue but no official position called “ venerable
common elder” (庶老) .All the people involved in teaching were invariably
called “teacher” (师 ) ,among whom some excellent teachers were of slave
descent ,such as Yiyin (伊尹) .Yiyin was mainly engaged in the education of
the children of slave‐owners , teaching them the knowledge of culture ,
history ,nature and some social skills ,in addition to the rites of ancestors ,
heaven worshipping , military arts and music , and such duties as the
obedience and loyalty to the slave‐owners .
In the Western Zhou Dynasty , the official education had become
systematic and complete , including both central governmental schools
situated in the capital city and local governmental schools scattered in the
feoffs of dukes .What was taught in schools covered four important aspects ,

・ 86 ・
Chapter Six  

such as “Virtues” ,“Conducts” ,“Arts” ,and “ Rites” (德 、行 、艺 、仪 )and the


“six arts” , namely the “ rites , music , shooting , driving , calligraphy and
arithmetics” (“礼 、乐 、射 、御 、书 、数”) ,with the emphasis on “calligraphy and
arithmetics” (“书和数”) in primary education ,and on “the rites and music”
(“礼乐”) in higher education ,with classic books as textbooks .
Throughout feudal history , official schools were at two levels : the
central governmental schools , also called national schools , and the local
governmental schools . Central governmental schools were mainly divided
into the highest institute of learning , vocational schools and aristocratic
schools :First ,the Imperial College (太学 ) or Directorate of the Imperial
Academy (国子监) was the highest institute of learning for training would‐be
officials of feudal society . Every dynasty paid much attention to the
examinations for those students , which had gradually had closer relations
with the official selection and exerted positive influence upon the shedding
of the hereditary system . Students were also encouraged to study
independently and to enjoy the freedom of research . As a result of
tremendous increase in the enrollment of students ,students were taught in
larger classes ,sometimes by student teachers ,which had ,as a tradition of
the Han Dynasty inherited by later dynasties , p roduced a large number of
accomplished scholars .Second ,specialized schools were established in every
dynasty ,with such fields of endeavours as calligraphy ,arithmetics ,Chinese
medicine , p ainting and so on . It was only after the rise of the official
selection through the imperial examination in 605 A .D .,this kind of schools
became extinct . Third , aristocratic schools were set up for aristocratic
children exclusively , but they were so influential in the Han Dynasty that
even the Huns sent their children to study .In the ensuing dynasties , there
were some foreign students .In the Tang Dynasty ,especially ,the number of
foreign students was enlarged with mainly the Japanese students , notably
Kibino Makibi (吉备真 备 ) who had invented the katakana (片 假 名 ) , or
Japanese regular script , by borrowing basic structural part of Chinese
characters (偏 旁 ) , and Abeno Nakamaro (阿 倍 仲 麻 吕 ) who passed the
imperial examinations and served in the court for 54 years as a high‐ranking

・ 87 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

official in China .
Local governmental schools were set up during the Han Dynasty . The
p refect of the Shu Prefecture (p resent day Sichuan ) ,Wen Weng first set up
his official school in Chengdu .This move was highly approved by Emperor
Liu Che or Han Wudi , who ordered that local official schools were to be
built in each prefecture . In the following chaotic dynasties , local
governmental schools fell into disuse ,the only exception being the Northern
Dynasty established by the Xianbei nationality ,where official schools at all
levels were built with a pro‐Confucianism policy . Local governmental
schools flourished until the reunification achieved in the Sui and the Tang
dynasties in the beginning of which , local governmental schools reached
their prime with enough competent teachers recruited . From 907 A .D .in
the end of the Tang Dynasty to 1044 A .D . in the Song Dynasty , local
governmental schools were not restored . During the Yuan Dynasty , there
were no real official schools at all .It was only in the Ming Dynasty that the
first emperor , Zhu Yuanzhang , decreed local official schools to be built .
Soon more than 1 ,700 schools were set up ,of course ,with the purpose of
p reparing students for the imperial examinations .There was no freedom of
academic pursuits as known during the Han Dynasty . This situation lasted
until the last dynasty where the official schools were choked to death by the
imperial examinations .
From 221 B .C .when the first emperor Qin Shihuang unified the whole
China to 220 A .D . when the Eastern Han Dynasty collapsed , the official
schools had reached their zenith , with a record enrollment of 30 ,000
students devoted to the study of Confucian classics at the imperial college ,in
the capital city , Changan , which was a miracle in the history of the
education .As the official candidates were selected through the System of
Observation and Recommendation ,strict examinations had not been brought
on the agenda during this period .Since the beginning of the Sui and the
Tang dynasties , official schools were still flourishing , with the imperial
examinations just created , but as the time passed on , official schools had
gradually turned to the dependency upon the newly created official selection

・ 88 ・
Chapter Six  

system wholly involved in preparing students for the imperial examinations


and then fell in disuse .During the whole Tang Dynasty ,specialized schools
for arts ,science and technology ,and other vocational schools were popular ,
including law , calligraphy , arithmetics , medicine , p ainting , military
knowledge and skills , and army supervision . After the Song Dynasty , the
official schools became deserted for a time owing to the contradiction
between contents taught and examined .Since the Liao ,the Jin and the Yuan
dynasties , the official schools , whose students could apply for the exams
directly ,had had ever closer relationships with the imperial examinations ,
because students were highly motivated to attend the school ;and in the Ming
and the Qing dynasties ,the last two dynasties ,official schools and imperial
examinations became completely identical in their objectives and contents ,
because official schools turned to be entirely imperial examination‐oriented
(“学校科举化”) . The “Ju” (举 ) ,“Gong” (贡 ) ,“sheng” (生 ) and “Jian”
(监) were both examinees and students with double identity .They could not
be differentiated from each other as a result of the reduction of official
schools to the dependent and servant role for the imperial examinations .
When the official schools were on the decline ,some erudite scholars began
to create their private schools ,with Confucius initiating the cause of private
education and many others following generation after generation .
2 .Private Education
In 770 B .C . the Western Zhou Dynasty fell , and King Ping Wang
moved the capital city eastward and hence started the Eastern Zhou
Dynasty ,also called the Spring and Autumn and Warring States period . It
was characterized by great political and social upheavals , with military
conflicts and struggles being staged .As the ruling class had had no time to
care for official education ,it inevitably fell into disuse .As a consequence ,
p rivate education flourished almost overnight .Confucius started his private
school and only taught students after he suffered setbacks in his official
career .He had become the first great private teacher in Chinese history ,
with a large enrollment of 3 ,000 students ,among whom more than 70 had
distinguished themselves in the so called “ six arts” (“ 六 艺 ”) . Confucius

・ 89 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

devoted himself to the educational cause as part of his political activity ,and
his personal involvement in politics . His private education was actually a
form of political activity , not only because he broke a path for private
education , but also because he was the first to combine education with
p olitics ,and to make education serve politics . Confucius was followed by
Mozi (墨子) ,Shao Zhengmao (少正卯) ,Wang Tai (王骀) and other great
Confucian masters Mencius (孟 子 ) and Xunzi (荀 子 ) who , with erudite
knowledge and political vision ,had commented on the state affairs ,and also
recommended their students to the rulers of different states without any
reservations .With students gathering around them for learning ,people from
different walks of life got educated through the popularization of education .
The Han Dynasty represented the second peak in the development of
Chinese private education , ranging from the elementary (蒙 学 ) to the
p reparatory (专经预备) and higher (高级) stage of private education for the
study of classics .As private teachers were those who had no opportunity to
enter officialdom ,lost their political positions ,or got ready for the official
career , they usually considered teaching as part of their political career .
They had an erudite knowledge in Confucian classics , and taught both
“registered students” (及门弟子) personally and “unregistered students” (著
录弟 子 ) coming now and then to ask questions . There were two famous
p rivate teachers from the Han Dynasty :Zheng Xuan and Ma Rong .Zheng
Xuan ,in his old age ,could teach only a few senior students in person .In
turn those senior students and they taught the rest of his students ,as he had
more than 1 ,000 registered students and 17 ,000 unregistered students . Ma
Rong usually had more than 1 ,000 students . Previously the famous
Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu had adopted this method of teaching
students by senior students . Eminent teachers mainly taught Confucian
classics ,and other schools of thought ,such as Taoism ,legalism ,School of
Positive and Negative forces ,astronomy ,arithmetics and medicine .As the Han
Dynasty was a highly unified dynasty , private teachers could not enjoy absolute
freedom in commenting on politics as scholars did during the Spring and Autumn
and Warring States period . Usually they had to hold identical views with the

・ 90 ・
Chapter Six  

rulers ,though they still regarded their teaching as their personal participation in
politics .
After the Tang and the Song dynasties ,p rivate schools had continued to
flourish ,but the purpose for becoming private teachers was rather different
from that of earlier dynasties .They were making a living through charging
school fees besides the pursuit of the possible official career ,also a way of
earning their living , with the great majority of them having no political
ambitions .Private schools mainly consisted of elementary schools for basic
literacy and secondary schools for advanced study of Confucian classics :in
elementary schools ,the “Three‐Character Canon” (枟三字经枠) ,the “Book of
Family Names” (枟百家姓枠) and the “Essay of One Thousand Characters ”
(枟千字文枠) had been adopted as the basic textbooks ,and then “four classic
books” , the Tang Poems , the writing practice of couplets had then been
taught for making preparations for the imperial examinations . In the
secondary schools , ancient Chinese texts and eight‐legged essays were
taught ,and students were prepared for the imperial examinations . Private
schools , besides preparing students for the exams , had also provided
opportunities for the children of the common people to acquire their basic
literacy ,and promote and disseminate the culture ,which had its historical
contributions .
3 .Education through the Academy of Classical Learning
“Shuyuan” or “Academy of Classical Learning ” (书院 ) first originated
in the Tang Dynasty ,when its primary function was the collection (收藏 )
and calibration ( 校 订 ) of books . During the turmoil of the “ Five
Dynasties” ,some scholars chose the beautiful mountains as the site for their
“ Academy of Classical Learning ” where they began to lecture to their
students , imitating the style of the Buddhist scripture‐delivery in the
Buddhist temples deeply hidden in the mountainous regions . The Song
Dynasty was a militarily weak period in history , with perennial border
troubles ,but economically and culturally prosperous age .It was especially in
the Southern Song Dynasty period ,when “Academies of Classical Learning”
sprang up like mushrooms .The most well‐known were Bailudong Academy

・ 91 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

of Classical Learning in Mount Lu , Jiangxi Province , Yuelu Academy of


Classical Learning in Mount Yuelu , Hunan Province , both Yingtianfu
Academy of Classical Learning and Songyang Academy of Classical Learning
in Henan Province , with the multi‐function of the collection , the
calibration , the lecture , and the research all combined in one . Those
“Academies” ,managed by their heads and their administrations at different
levels ,were financially sponsored by both the government and the people to
p romote their teaching and research .“ Academies” had always been under
the tight control and strict supervision by the imperial court through the
appointment of their heads , and brought into the channel of the imperial
examinations with quotas assigned for domesticating those students .But the
Song Dynasty was comparatively free and ideologically relaxed : scholars
could air their academic views in the “debating forum” (“讲会”) ,as it was
the case in 1167 A .D .when Zhu Xi ,a great Confucian master ,was invited
on an academic tour to Yuelu Academy of Classical Learning , Changsha ,
where he and another erudite Confucian scholar , Zhang Shi (张 轼 ) , had
held a spectacular and eye‐opening debate over the Doctrine of the Mean
before a large audience , really an academic enjoyment for them all as two
scholars ,well versed in classics ,humorous and witty ,behaved gentlemanly
and fairly for three days and nights on end ,attracting students far and wide .
Then in 1175 ,Zhu Xi and another Confucian scholar ,Lu Jiuyuan (陆九渊)
met at the debating forum ,in the Goose Lake Temple ,at Mount Qianshan ,
Jiangxi province .The two men argued back and forth ,and clashed fiercely ,
over the questions of epistemology ,and world outlooks .Though they were
opponents at the forum ,and failed to convince or persuade each other ,they
still maintained a close friendship , which became more intimate after the
debating . Zhu Xi sweetly and excitingly recalled debating with the Lu
brothers years later , and wrote a poem in memory of that unforgettable
event .The debating forum , as a tradition , had been inherited , carried to
the posterity ,and perfected with both erudition and integrity by those great
Confucian masters .It would have been an education to have been among the
audience when two or more great masters were arguing on certain academic

・ 92 ・
Chapter Six  

issues at the debating forum .In the Ming Dynasty ,Wang Shouren ,a senior
official with both administrative and military power , lectured and
disseminated his philosophical ideas in the “ Shuyuan ” he established ,
demonstrating a limited degree of academic freedom ,but the imperial court
could not allow these kinds of lecture to interfere with the implementation of
the official selection through imperial examinations .As Wang Shouren was a
man of integrity and erudite knowledge with high political power , he was
able to promote the system of “Shuyuan” in his time .In the Qing Dynasty ,
the imperial court had finally choked the limited freedom of academic
research in the “ Shuyuan ” by taking over the power of sponsoring the
“Shuyuan” and making it serve the sole purpose of preparing students for the
imperial examinations . The rise , development and fall of the “Shuyuan” ,
with its change of functions , represented the historical tendency of the
feudal China to becoming increasingly autocratic and corrupted .In another
sense ,the “Shuyuan” ,besides the official and private schools ,was really a
special form of education ,with the multiple functions of collection ,lecture
and research all in one , like a quasi‐tertiary education , which was
completely different from the modern European university system , worthy
of systematic study . When he set up his own Hunan Self‐Study University
(湖 南 自 修 大 学 ) , Mao Zedong , in his youth , inherited and carried the
tradition of the “Shuyuan” in the 20 century .
th

Ⅱ .The Evolution of Chinese Educational Thinking

1 .Educational Views of Different Schools of Thought during the Pre‐Qin


Dynasty period
Confucius(孔 子 ) was the first great and influential private teacher in
Chinese history who had systematically collected and compiled “six classics”
(六经 ) as his textbooks for teaching philosophy , political science , history
and poetry to his disciples .First ,Confucius had contributed tremendously to
Chinese education through the clear objective of bringing up his disciples as
intelligentlemen (君子) with integrity and sagacity .He always advocated the

・ 93 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

idea of “A gentleman is not an implement .” ① (“君子不器” 枟论语枠) because


he intended to train the virtuous men with general ability in the
administration of the country ,rather than people specialized in certain fields
capable of doing a specific job .As he also championed the following idea :
“There is a difference in instruction but none in kind .” ② (“有教无类” ,枟论
语枠) he ushered in a new epoch :the education of the commoners , and he ,
through the popularization of education , identified and cultivated more
intelligentlemen for the management of the country , to materialize his
p olitical ambition and ideal .Second , Confucius set a glorious example for
others as a diligent and persistent learner , as he said “ I have never grown
tired of learning nor wearied of teaching others what I have learnt .” ③ (“学
而不厌 ,诲 人 不 倦 。” ) and this is the character of him : he was “ so intent
upon enlightening the eager that he forgets his hunger , and so happy in
doing so , that he forgets the bitterness of his lot and does not realize that
old age is at hand .” ④ (“ 发 愤 忘 食 ,乐 以 忘 忧 ,不 知 老 之 将 至 。” ) and he
successfully and fruitfully explored the effective methods in his life‐long
teaching practice .
Mozi(墨子) was another great private teacher ,also with knowledge and
integrity .He had a clear political consciousness and different view in his
educational activities during which he attached tremendous importance to the
environment in which the personality of students were being cultivated . He
argued ,“ The silk turns blue when it is dyed in blue and it turns yellow when
dyed in yellow . A di ff erent dyestuff will result in a diff erent color of the silk .
Being dyed f ive times , the silk will appear in f ive diff erent colors . The same
is true with the rulers as they are also p rone to change colors under the
in f luence of the peop le around them .” ⑤ (“染于苍则苍 ,染于黄则黄 ,所入者
变 ,其色亦变 ,五入必 ,而已则为五色矣 !’非独染丝然也 ,国亦有染 。” 枟墨子枠) .
Mozi called on his disciples to cultivate and extend their universal love to

① ② ③ ④   T he Analects , T r . Arthur Waley , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign


Languages Press ,1999 ,Changsha & Beijing ,P15 ,183 ,65 ,71
⑤ M ozi ,T r . Wang Rongpei and Wang Hong , Hunan People摧s Publishing House , Changsha ,
2006 ,P11

・ 94 ・
Chapter Six  

their fellow countrymen , to dare to die a martyr摧s death by going through


hell and high water without faltering ; he believed that all the common
p eople could be made his ideal “noble gentlemen” with shared mutual love ;
and he also emphasized the necessity of cultivating skills and practical
abilities ,while teaching both social and natural sciences to his disciples ,with
the special attention paid to the noble character , as illustrated by this
quotation from him , “ Though a gentleman should be well‐read , a noble
character is essential .” ① (“ 士 虽 有 学 ,而 行 为 本 焉 。” 枟 墨 子 枠 ) . Mozi had
observed two essential principles in teaching : First he adopted the natural
p rinciple of “ following Heaven” , “ doing one摧s best” , with Heaven being
their paragon of all virtues : “ T he best way is to f ollow Heaven .
Com p rehensive and unsel f ish in its operations , Heaven bestows abundant
f avor on peop le and is never sel f‐conceited . A nd its light never f ades .
T heref ore , the sage k ings look u pon Heaven as standards to guide them
by .” ② (“莫若法天 。 天 之 行 广 而 无 私 ,其 施 厚 而 不 德 ,其 明 久 而 不 衰 ,故
圣王法 治 。” 枟 墨 子 枠 ) At the same time , he taught students according to
their abilities so that they could grow on their own basic abilities . Second
he adopted the practical principle of learning the people 摧s moral character
through their daily behaviour (以身戴行 ) and ,to be exact ,by “ combining
both their aspirations and achievements” (合 其 志 功 而 观 ) ,stressing both
knowledge and practice ,even more on the combination of both motivation
and results .
Mencius(孟子) considered himself the orthodox successor of Confucius .
In education , he had not only deepened Confucian thinking , but had also
improved it while he , like Confucius , had clearly defined his educational
objectives before he embarked on a mission to bring up the intelligentlemen
with both shaping influence , righteous integrity and introspective ability .
Mencius said ,“ W here a sage p asses peop le are inf luenced . W here he stays
what he achieves is still more wonderf ul . His in f luence moves with the heaven

① ②   M ozi ,T r .Wang Rongpei and Wang Hong , Hunan People摧s Publishing House ,Changsha ,
2006 ,P7 ,17

・ 95 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

and the earth .” ① (“夫君子所过者化 ,所存者神 ,上下与天地同流 。”枟孟子 ・ 尽


心上枠) The people he intended to train must have the ability to influence
others and the strong willpower to remain undaunted and firm in all
circumstances ,“ He can not be led into dissi p ation by wealth and rank , nor
def lected f rom his aim by povert y and obscurit y , nor m ade to bend by power
and f orce — all this is characteristic of a great m an .” ② (“富贵不能淫 ,贫贱不
能移 ,威武不能屈 ,此之谓大丈夫 。”枟孟子 ・ 滕文公下枠) Even in an extremely
dangerous situation ,“ I f , on introspection , I f ind m yself in the right , I will
p ress f orward against even thousands of men .” ③ (“自反而缩 ,虽千万人 ,吾往
矣 。” 枟孟子 ・ 公孙丑上枠) Mencius摧s educational objectives proved to be both
magnificent and mighty , sustainable and suitable for the training of the
noble‐minded and ambitious national talents for the ruling class , but also
fitting for the general education of the masses . Mencius inherited and
improved Confucius摧s idea of “tailoring instructions to the individual levels of
students ” (因 材 施 教 ) , by presenting his even more refined thinking as
follows ,“ The gentlemen gives instruction to his p u pils in f ive ways : The f irst
way is to exert a transf orming inf luence on them as a timely rain nourishes
every thing on earth ; The second is to hel p to bring their moral character to
perf ection ; The third is to have their talents develo ped ; The f ourth is answer
their q uestions ; The f if th is to set an exam ple f or those who can not receive
instruction directly f rom him . These are the f ive ways in which a gentleman
teaches .” ④ (“君子之所以教者五 :有如时雨化之者 ,有成德者 ,有达财者 ,有答
问者 ,有私淑艾者 。 此五者 ,君子之所以教也 。 枟孟子 ・ 尽心上枠) Thus , all
students could have been fostered to develop their own individual talents and
grow into differently and socially suited talents through this educational
p rocess conducive to their personal growth .
After Confucius and Mencius , Xunzi ( 荀 子 ) was the greatest
Confucianist master who had epitomized the thought of both Confucianism
and other schools of thought during the Warring States period ,by inheriting

① ② ③ ④   Mencius ,Tr .Zhao Zhentao ,Zhang Wenting and Zhou Dingzhi ,Hunan People摧s Publishing
House ,Changsha ,1999 ,P297 ,131 ,61 ,313

・ 96 ・
Chapter Six  

Confucian and Mencian thinking of ruling by rites (礼治) and initiating the
thinking of ruling by laws (法治 ) ,or the Legalist School to be refined and
represented by Han Fei Zi , his worthy disciple . Xunzi , first of all ,
established his educational objective :to train his students as “scholars” (士)
first ,then move on to be “intelligentlemen ” (君子 ) ,and ultimately reach
the summit of entering the rank of “sages” (圣人) .Secondly ,Xunzi strongly
believed in the role of environment (环境) and also the combination of both
external factors and internal efforts . He made great efforts to enable his
disciples to be spiritually noble without “ rank ” , intellectually wealthy
without “ emoluments” ,g radually reaching the levels of personal character
cultivation with “ erudite knowledge , accumulated benevolence and self‐
improvement” for accomplishing the future political ideal of “ making the
country rich , and the people prosperous by implementing laws ” . He also
adopted Confucian classics as textbooks following the teaching sequence of
Book of Songs and Book of History first , and Book of Rites and music
second .In the teaching practice ,he put forward the insightful view of “four
stages” (四阶段) ,“ The learning of the gentlemen enters through the ear , is
stored in the mind , sp reads through the f our limbs , and is visible in his
activit y and repose .” ① (“君子之学也 :入乎耳 ,著乎心 ,布乎四体 ,行乎动静 。”
枟荀子 ・ 劝学篇枠) On the first stage of “entering through the ear” ,learners
must be attentive ,whole‐hearted and concentrated on the contents studied ,
through gathering all the impressions of external things by their sense organ .
On the second stage of “being stored in the mind” ,learners synthesized all
the impressions with those already in their minds , compared and judged
them in order to attain a deep understanding of the knowledge acquired .On
the third stage of “spreading through the four limbs” , learners ,with their
systematic knowledge stored in the minds , achieved a comprehensive
understanding of those unknown areas through deductive methods , and
guided the actions of their four limbs with the general “Way” thus deduced .

① Xunzi(I) ,T r .John Knoblock ,Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages House ,
Changsha and Beijing ,1999 ,P15

・ 97 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

On the fourth stage of “ being visible in his activity and repose ” , learners
were ready to put his newly‐acquired knowledge into practice ,which was the
p rocedure from the theory to practice Xunzi cared so much ,“ Not having
heard something is not as good as having heard it ; having heard it is not as
good as having seen it ; having seen it is not as good as knowing it ; knowing it
is not as good as p utting it into p ractice .” ① “不闻不若闻之 ,闻之不若见之 ,见
之不若知之 ,知之不若行之 ,学至于行而至 矣 。” 枟荀 子 ・ 儒 效 篇枠) Putting
knowledge into practice crowned the whole process of knowledge pursuit and
with Xunzi ,Chinese educational explorations by different schools of thought
before the Qin Dynasty had attained their summit in an unprecedented
manner .
Besides those above‐mentioned philosophers and their educational ideas ,
there was another important treatise on education from The Book of Rites
with the author unknown and the writing time indefinite . Some scholars
made an educated guess by assigning the author to be Yue Zhengke , a
disciple of Mencius ,and the time to the later period of the Warring States .
Anyway ,this treatise was an unusual piece of literature which is worthy of
enough scholarly attention , as it comprehensively embraced almost all
important issues of education , such as school system , the function ,
objectives and tasks of school education , teaching methods and questions
related to teachers .As to this treatise ,it was necessary to list the following
p oints : First , the author , with a broad perspective , regarded school
education , especially college education , as an important function of the
state ,elevated the education to the high plane of “ moral cultivation” and
“ nation building ” , approached all levels of education with a grand
educational view .It requested that officials should be sent for the inspection
of schools ,and the emperor should offer sacrifices at the ceremony of sage
worshipping ,at the beginning of a new school year .Second ,he prescribed
the specific tasks of the 9‐year school curriculum ,including moral cultivation

① Xunzi(I) ,T r .John Knoblock ,Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages House ,
Changsha and Beijing ,1999 ,P197

・ 98 ・
Chapter Six  

and intellectual development , and advocated the combination of both


education and cultivation , and both rites and music . The active role of
teachers in fostering the positive thinking of students and facilitating the
smooth and harmonious process of learning through their precepts and
examples was emphasized .Third ,he was the first to conceive the important
concepts of “ honoring the teacher and respecting truth ” (尊 师 重 教 ) and
“teaching benefits teachers as well as students ” ( 教 学 相 长 ) , highly
commended the teaching profession and gave teachers respectable social
status .“Only after learning does one get to know his own insufficiency ,and
only after teaching does one begin to find himself short of knowledge ;full
awareness of one摧s insufficiency forces him to learn insatiably , and full
consciousness of one摧s lack of knowledge enables him to improve himself .
Thus it can be said that teaching benefits teachers as well as students .” (“学
然后知不足 ,教然后知困 。 知不足 ,然后能自反也 ;知困 ,然后能自强也 。 故曰 :
教学相长也 。” 枟礼记 ・ 学记枠) This was a sharp insight into the educational
issues from both angles of teaching and learning .Fourth ,he also probed the
questions of teachers and students , and other problems , offered his own
solutions to them ,by providing neither too difficult nor too easy texts ,by
p roviding a reasonable amount of homework ,and he believes that teachers
should be in particular good at asking questions and answering them
accordingly ,step by step ,with the easiest at the outset ,“ Good at asking ,
he ,like a person working with a hard wood ,starts from the easiest , and
continues to move to the hardest part .” (“善问者 ,如攻坚木 ,先其易者 ,后其
节木 ,及其久也 ,相说以解 ;”枟礼记 ・ 学记枠)“ Good at answering ,he ,like a
p erson tolling a bell ,sounds faintly when struck lightly , and loudly when
struck hard .”( “善问者 ,如撞钟 ,叩之以小者则小鸣 ,叩之以大者则大鸣 。”枟礼
记 ・ 学记枠) Teachers should answer students questions in concise ,terse and
meaningful language so that messages could be conveyed to the students
accurately and efficiently .Judging by contemporary standards ,I believe this
is still a well‐written thesis full of brilliant ideas .
Philosophers of various schools during the pre‐Qin Dynasty period were ,
first of all ,a group of educationists with strong sense of historical mission ,

・ 99 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

and whose objectives of teaching were to bring up “ intelligentlemen ” (士 )


with both integrity and power of thought ,“ national heroes” (国士 ) with
undaunted courage and lofty ideal ,and “elite gentlemen with universal love ”
(兼士) ready to go through hell and high water before dying for their life‐
long pursuit . Their disciples were , first of all , trained as “scholars” with
erudite knowledge and virtues ,then promoted and upgraded to the level of
“intelligentlemen” with a strong sense of mission ,and continued to quest for
their life‐long goals of becoming “sages” .Secondly ,they all believed in the
omnipotence of education ,and almost all chose education as their personal
p articipation in political activities when frustrated and disappointed with
official career .They influenced policy‐making process through the training
of their disciples and encouraged them to enter politics ,in order to realize
their political ideals .Thirdly ,they all had made effective explorations into
the internal laws of education , evolved their individualized models of
teaching with striking characteristics , and contributed to the educational
dissemination , “ the enlightenment and the moral development of the
p eople” tremendously .
2 .Educational Thoughts during the Qin , the Han , the Wei and the Jin
Dynasties Period
Between 221 B .C .when China was unified by the First Emperor Ying
Zheng(嬴政)or Qin Shihuang ,and 581 A .D .when the first emperor of the
Sui Dynasty , Emperor Yang Jian reunified the whole country again , more
than 800 years had passed with great political and social upheavals in
between all over the nation . During this period , China had undergone an
arduous course from the great national unity through the gradual
deterioration of political administration to the ultimate nationwide chaos .
There had produced a host of educationists among whom Dong Zhongshu (董
仲舒 ) , Wang Chong (王 充 ) and Zheng Xuan (郑 玄 ) were the most
representative with their brilliant ideas and unique contributions influencing
China ever after .
Dong Zhongshu (董仲舒 179 — 104 B .C .) was a great Confucian scholar ,
with scholarly attainments and rare gifts surpassing his contemporaries ,who once

・ 100 ・
Chapter Six  

served the senior position in charge of the dissemination of learning (博士) .When
the fifth emperor Liu Che or Han Wudi ascended the throne ,he made up his mind
to readjust the national guiding ideology and the external strategic thinking in
order to change the passive defensive policy adopted since the founding of the Han
Dynasty .Dong Zhongshu appeared on the scene at the right time with his “Three
Discourses on Heaven and Man” (“天人三策” ) and submitted it to the emperor
who ,to his great excitement and appreciation ,immediately adopted his proposal
of “elevating Confucianism to the supreme position over other schools of thought ”
(“罢黜百家 ,独尊儒术”) ,and established Confucianism as the dominant national
guiding ideology ever since .He also put forward his social and political views and
those ideas concerning human nature from his own perspective of theological world
outlook and heaven‐and‐human oneness ,which were all appreciated and highly
approved by the Emperor ,but he was never appointed to any political positions in
the imperial court .As a result ,he devoted his whole life to academic research ,
and his contribution to education was mainly concentrated on the making of
educational policies in the following three aspects :1) Elevating Confucianism to
the supreme position and banning other schools of thought : Dong Zhongshu
believed that unity in ideology could ensure and enhance the political unity of the
country .Confucianism was such an ideology that could serve as glue to unite the
whole nation from within and make China a highly centralized and strong empire .
Confucianism had continuously been adopted by later dynasties as the guiding
principles of the nation ;2) Cultivating people morally and emphasizing the rites
and music : Dong Zhongshu held that the responsibilities of emperors lay in
edifying (教 化 ) the people with the concepts of “ benevolence ” ( 仁 ) ,
“righteousness” (义 ) , “ rites” (礼 ) and “ music” (乐 ) . Emperors , with the
mandate of Heaven ,should rule the country through moral education rather than
punishment . He attached much importance to education as the means of
governance , and approached its function from thence ; 3 ) Creating Imperial
College and emphasizing official selection : Dong Zhongshu , from the point of
view of maintaining the governance , suggested that emperors should not only
eagerly seek political talents ,but should also cultivate them in advance by training
and storing potential official candidate resources . To him , the creation of the

・ 101 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

Imperial College ,with the recruitment of erudite scholars ,was the most important
thing as it would be the base for training the leading talents for the Han Empire .
This proposal was highly approved and adopted by Emperor Liu Che . He also
made the proposal that all local officials were entrusted with the responsibility of
recommending virtuous men with potential political talents (贤 能 之 人 ) to the
central government annually . These men would temporarily be appointed to
certain official posts for a period of probation and carefully evaluated before
formal and official appointments .As he said ,only by eagerly seeking talents ,and
appointing them to their right positions ,could the country be well managed ,with
political talents serving at all national administrative levels .
Wang Chong (王 充 27 — 97 A .D .) , born in a lowly family , loved
reading extensively ,but did not stick fast to the detailed analysis of those
ancient writings from the syntactic and semantic angles . He built his own
independent thinking and materialistic world outlook through his individual
quests on the basis of his interdisciplinary readings .From this newly‐evolved
ideas , he presented his own views in terms of educational functions ,
objectives and methods : 1 ) The most important educational functions ,
contrary to that of Dong Zhongshu , were to facilitate the positive
transformation of men and to purify the evil side of human nature , as he
firmly held that human nature was changeable .Of course ,individual humans
assumed different tendency as a result of nature and nurture interacting
within certain environment , and , without proper education , some minor
evils might gradually grow out of control and develop malignantly .Everyone
could make progress in learning through appropriate education ,just as a jade
could become a work of art through the carving and polishing process .
2) The educational objectives were to bring up the people and make them
different men within the possibility of their natural endowment , by
maximizing the advantages of both nature and nurture .People could usually
be divided into four different categories : (a ) “ Erudite sages” (鸿儒 ) : As
these individuals had a strong power of thought , they could dedicate
themselves to the independent intellectual creations as philosophers ;
(b) “Scholars”(文人) :As these people were learned ,they might be engaged

・ 102 ・
Chapter Six  

in administrative work as statesmen , or scholar‐officials . (c ) “ Men with


good sense” (通人) : As they had a good command of book knowledge and
could teach others with it ,they could not create knowledge by themselves .
(d) “Narrow‐minded men” (儒生) :Those were people with a smattering of
knowledge ,but they were so restricted and limited by their insufficiency of
knowledge that they could not make any sound judgement .They ,therefore ,
belonged to the group of good‐for‐nothing .3) The educational and teaching
issues : Wang Chong first and foremost negated the idea of “ being born
wise” ,and believed that knowledge was acquired through day‐to‐day efforts ;
second , man摧s temperament could be cultivated through the nurturing
influence of rites and music . He clarified the misty questions of human
nature , which was further complicated by Mencius , Xun Zi and Yang
Xiong ,by presenting his brilliant ideas of “implementing rites only after the
materialistic satisfaction” ,and of “determination of men摧s capability largely
by their environments ” , which represented a giant摧s step in educational
cognition .
Zheng Xuan (郑玄 127 — 200 A .D .) ,born in a flatly chaotic age near
the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty ,buried himself in the study of ancient
classics .He once suffered the disaster brought on him by the decree for
excluding him and others of Du Mi摧s clique from the political life and
debarred from holding political positions for 14 years . As he got deeply
involved with politics , he had very good relationships with important
p olitical figures such as Kong Rong , Tao Qian and Liu Bei ,and was on a
study tour to many places ,once even under the supervision of Ma Rong ,a
learned classicist for a brief period of time .He was ,with wide interests ,and
believed in learning from many different masters , rather than from a
p ermanent teacher . In his teens , he was already well reputed as a “ child
p rodigy” (神童) who ,as an accomplished classicist ,had been well versed in
“six arts” (六艺 ) and various schools of thought , and , as a scientist , had
mastered several natural sciences . When he was forty , he returned to the
coastal town Jimo ,Shandong ,and began to do his private teaching ,with an
enrollment of more than 1 ,000 “ registered students ” , and 10 ,000 other

・ 103 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

“unregistered students” .At his funeral ,more than 1 ,000 students attended
from the prefect downward to the commoners , all clad in mourning
garments . Zheng Xuan was a great scientist‐type educationist or a great
educationist with scientific expertise and spirit . He had , besides his
Confucian views ,two noticeable contributions worthy of attention :1 ) His
contents of teaching :He had annotated and calibrated Confucian classics in
the most accurate and terse ways with the results of his scientific and
exquisite researches by which he had not only provided his students with the
most reliable and trustworthy textbooks , but also preserved classic cultural
heritage . Throughout his teaching , he advocated the acquisition of the
correct knowledge ,while cultivating students摧 character .2) Methodology in
research : Zheng Xuan had influenced his students through his scientific
attitude and methodology , which had also exerted tremendous influence
upon the norm and style of Chinese academic circles for more than 2 ,000
years .Zheng Xuan himself adopted scientific methods ,learning from many
different teachers , and , to be more specific , had three methods , namely
“explore both intensively and extensively into classics ” (博 稽 ) , “ read
extensively varied reference books and related literature ” (粗 览 ) , and
“choose accurate and reliable literatures for citation ” (时睹 ) . His scientific
method of “arrival at succinctness through exhaustiveness ” (由博而约 ) and
“return to exhaustiveness from succinctness ” (由 约 返 博 ) had profoundly
affected his students .3 ) Educational and teaching methods : He paid great
attention to the practical principle ,and asked teachers to set good examples ,
influencing students with their charisma , as he said that if people could
behave according to the rites they would become virtuous men ,and if they
could comprehend the spiritual essence , they might become sages whereas
law could serve as a deterrent to evil‐doers .During his educational process ,
he carried this principle through to the end , with the cultivation of both
intellect and character together , for the general promotion of a healthy
social atmosphere .
This period characterized by the great national unity is extremely
different from the previous epoch “ with hundreds of schools of thought

・ 104 ・
Chapter Six  

contending” . In the reign of Emperor Liu Che , Dong Zhongshu timely


p resented his cultural and educational proposals for the unified and
centralized empire ,was adopted as the dominant national guiding ideology ,
and immensely affected China摧s subsequent developments .Wang Chong ,as
a petty official , was seldom limited by the official ideology owing to his
independent spirit ;he ,from his own materialistic world outlook ,held that
education should intend to train sages and scholars , but he mainly
contributed to the understanding of educational issues from his systematic
p hilosophical theory .Zheng Xuan ,however ,was a scholarly educationist ,a
scientist‐type educationist who had produced remarkable research fruits ,
with his scientific attitude and methodology shaping Chinese academic circles
and scholars for more than 2 ,000 years . He , with his private teaching ,
became the greatest private teacher next to Confucius ,and trained countless
number of talents for the nation .As his methods were unique ,his disciples
also compiled “ Zheng Xuan Analects” (枟 郑 志枠) modelled upon Confucian
Analects .
3 .Educational Thoughts since the Sui and the Tang dynasties (605 — 1905 A .D .)
In 605 A .D .when Emperor Yang Guang(杨广) ,the second emperor of
the Sui Dynasty reigned , an epoch‐making event took place , that is , the
imperial examination was formally held for the first time in history ,which
was an official selecting system , but exerted a far‐reaching influence upon
ancient Chinese educational system .Ever since then ,all educational questions had
been related in one way or another with the imperial examinations , and
approached from the perspective of imperial examinations . Representative
educationists during these 1 ,300 years are chosen and introduced as follows :
Han Yu (韩 愈 768 — 824 A .D .) was a great man of letters and an
educationist ,who served in a variety of both local and central governmental
p ositions .He loved education all his life so much that when he was degraded
from formerly‐held high‐ranking post in charge of the dissemination of
learning to be the prefectural governor of Chao Zhou , he spread the
education and taught the local people in person enthusiastically .Many of his
students became so accomplished and unanimously acknowledged themselves

・ 105 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

p roudly as disciples of Han Yu . His contributions to education will be


p resented below :1) His criticism of the imperial examinations was sharp and
insightful : In his time , this examinations were in the process of being
improved as many of their malpractices were yet to be revealed ,but he was
sensitive enough to discern them and bold enough to point them out . To
him ,those poems and articles required in the examinations turned out to be
irrelevant to the management of government . 2 ) His understanding and
definition of teaching profession and teachers were profound . He first
p rescribed three major tasks of teachers ,namely propagating the Confucian
doctrines or classics , imparting the knowledge of the “ six classics ” , and
resolving the doubts of students in learning those classics . He considered it
natural that some might have learned the Confucian doctrines earlier than
others and may have their own professional specialty , but people should
learn from those who have acquired the Confucian doctrine no matter who
they were . Even ancient sages had no constant teachers , as they believed
that where there was truth , there was their teacher . 3 ) Contents of
teaching : Han Yu held that everyone should begin his education out of
sincerity and conscience in the cultivation of his personality , in order to
p repare for the future service of the nation .As he was strongly opposed to
other‐worldliness highly approved and encouraged by Buddhism and Taoism ,
he advocated this‐worldliness through his so‐called “ Classical Prose
Movement” against Pian Wen (骈 文 ) , or the florid , symmetrical style of
p rose for the substance‐rich prose , which was loaded with the truth from
Confucian classics . 4 ) Teaching and learning methods : He adopted the
general principle of “diligence” and “meditation” and called on students to
work hard , day and night , insatiably absorbing Chinese classics and ideas
from different schools of thought ,but they should avoid such defects as the
insufficiency of knowledge , ineffectiveness of methods and uselessness of
writings .
Wang Anshi (王安石 1019 — 1089 A .D .) was a prominent statesman ,a
man of letters and an educationist who served as a local official ,a member
of the Imperial Academy (翰林学士 ) and also the lecturer (侍读 ) for the

・ 106 ・
Chapter Six  

emperor and his sons . He was twice promoted to the position of the prime
minister(宰相)and was ambitious enough to launch a campaign of packaged
measures and policies aiming at “ financial management , economic
development , military capabilities enhancement , and national defence
consolidation” (“理财 、整军 、富国 、强兵”) .However ,he failed to realize his
aspirations ,and retired with a deep regret ,due to the lack of support from
the frail and timid emperor and the jealousy of his corrupted and short‐
sighted colleagues .As for the education ,he ,with a broad vision ,was able
to identify and condemn the evils of traditional schools and their
incompetent teachers , and even the uselessness of what students had been
taught .He said ,“ Teachers now only taught words and sentences , instead of
convey ing general truths to students as they did in ancient times . In the p ast
f ew years , students have been taught ‘ p rescribed essays’ which could only be
memorized by rote learning , both mechanical and time‐consuming . W hen
students have once had a good command of those p rescribed essays , they
would become the peop le who could neither p lan and administrate strategically
nor carry the specific measures f or the government .” (“学者之所教 ,讲说章句
而已 ,固非古者教人之道也 。 近岁乃始教之以课试之文章 。 夫课试之文章 ,非
博诵强学穷日之力则不能 。 及其能工也 ,大则不足以用天下国家 ,小则不足以
为天下国家之用 。” 上仁宗皇帝言事书 ,载枟临川文集枠) Thus Students brought
up in these traditional schools could neither manage in a macro way nor do
errands for their superior departments .Wang Anshi at the same time stated
his own creative ideas : 1 ) He held that school education was of prime
importance ,with the functions of regulating the behaviours and cultivating
the character of students , so factors of both education and social
environment should be taken into consideration ;2) The objectives of school
education ,to him , were to train useful talents in “ financial management ,
economic development , military capabilities enhancement , and national
defence consolidation ” . Only knowledge related to those objectives should
exclusively be included in their school curriculum .Under the guidance of this
“usefulness” p rinciple ,he attempted the reform in different specialties in the
Imperial College ,and local schools .He required students not only to learn

・ 107 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

classics ,but also the rites ,astronomy ,military science ,laws and medicine
and so on . In teaching methods , he followed Confucian principles of “ the
initiative and eagerness of students ” , advocated the training of positive
thinking in students and demanded teachers to “ value the essence over the
form” (重 本 轻 文 ) and to nurture students in a natural way with good
examples set by teachers themselves .This could be considered as successful
education and sure to bring up useful talents for the nation .
Zhu Xi (朱 熹 1130 — 1200 A .D .) was a famous philosopher , and an
educationist who served as a local official and even taught the emperor .He
was another great master of Confucian philosophy only after Confucius ,
Mencius and Xun Zi , and one of the founders of the Li School of
Confucianism (程 朱 理 学 ) . In conducting private teaching and recruiting
students ,he had been the third greatest private teacher since Confucius and
Zheng Xuan .He devoted himself to the teaching in such a passionate and
selfless way that he even enjoyed teaching students as if he were spellbound
and enchanted ,with his chronic diseases being cured by his teaching .In his
thirty‐year long private teaching career , he initiated the Tong An County
school and engaged in the education in the prefecture , and stipulated rules
for Bailudong Academy of Classical Learning (白鹿洞书院教条) and he was
invited to deliver lectures and debated with other philosophers of the day at
the “debating Forum” being held in different places .He dedicated his life to
the study of Confucian classics and presented all his research findings in his
well‐written book ,“Commentaries on Four Books”(枟四书集注枠) ,which had
been the only authoritative textbook for more than a thousand years after
him .In education , his major ideas can be summed up as follows :1 ) The
objectives of education were to“eradicate human selfish desires and maintain
the heavenly principles ” (“ 存 天 理 ,灭 人 欲”) , for ordinary man摧s selfish
desire often overshadowed or eclipsed “ the heavenly principles” . Only in
sages the heavenly principles prevailed , but other people needed to be
p urified through the educational process so that the good side of them would
be fostered with the evil side suppressed , restoring them back to the ideal
p ersonality of “heavenly and earthly Naturalness” (天地之性) .2) In family

・ 108 ・
Chapter Six  

education , he put forward the concept of “ p renatal conditioning of the


foetus” (胎 教 ) , the personal hygiene of the pregnant women , and the
selection of wet nurses for providing a good environment conducive to the
healthy growth of babies . This was very predicative but not necessarily
scientific as it was conceived so early in the Southern Song Dynasty .3 ) In
school education , Zhu Xi held the view that different contents should be
offered to children suited to their age and intellectual maturity from the
human developmental principles :From the age of 8 to that of 15 ,children
were mainly cultivated as “ potential sages” (圣 贤 柸 模 ) , with the basic
manners and conducts and elementary learning being taught ,and then guided
to move ahead with four books , important Confucian classics , for the
acquisition and implementation of those ideas in their daily life in dealing
with all human relations as a foundation of their life . From the age of 15
onward ,their study should be shifted to the more profound and abstract
p rinciples and truths which required such virtues as perseverance ,
consistency and even life‐long dedication to obtain a deeper understanding or
even exhaust their essences with great efforts ,but the requirements of these
two stages were similar in nature .4 ) Teaching methodology : He attached
much importance to the methodology : (a ) “ Exhausting the truths ” and
“Implementing the truths ” were of equal importance . “ One must learn
extensively , examine carefully , think prudently , distinguish clearly and
p ractise sincerely the good way .” ① (“博学之 ,审问之 ,慎思之 ,明辨之 ,笃行
之 。” 枟中庸 ・ 问政枠) The first three steps were about “ exhausting truths” ,
whereas the fourth step concerned “implementing truths” .Zhu Xi said that
if one did not practice what he had known ,his previous efforts at ‘exploring
the truths’ would be in vain .He emphasized that the objective of study was
to put them into practice , and ‘ knowing ’ and ‘ implementing ’ were
identical .(b ) He advocated the active method , encouraging more active
supervision of students , and discouraging preventive and prohibitive
admonishment of them , so that they could accomplish good results only

① A Selected Collection of the Doctrine of the M ean ,Sinolingua ,2006 ,p85

・ 109 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

when they understood the reasons . (c ) Methods of reading : They should


adopt the progressive method in study while they were also encouraged to
read more extensively and think more deeply .All these above‐listed methods
and brilliant views had been refined out of his educational and teaching
p ractice .
Wang Shouren (王守仁 1472 — 1529 A .D .) was an outstanding philosopher ,
statesman and educationist in the Ming Dynasty . He had served in a variety of
official posts ,such as in the ministry of punishments (刑部) ,the ministry of war
(兵部)as senior official ,such as imperial inspector (巡抚) ,governor‐general(总
督) .Politically he could be regarded as the hero who helped defend and preserve
the Ming imperial court through his outstanding service dedicated to the country .
Besides his active political and military career ,he devoted all his life to academic
research and evolved his important philosophical thought of “Three Major Ideas”
(三大纲领) ,namely “Mind is Li” (“心即理”说) ,“The extension of the intuitive
knowledge” (“致良知”说) and “The unity of knowing and doing” (“知行统一”
说) ,which was spread overseas to Japan ,exerting a far‐reaching influence on the
“Meiji Restoration” (“明治维新”) .As to the education ,he had had a life‐long
passion and enthusiasm to open schools or academy of classical learning , and
conduct teaching himself wherever he went .Even when he was in Beijing ,he had
already started his teaching ;and after he was banished from the court to Guizhou ,
he initiated Guiyang Academy of Classical Learning (贵阳书院) ,for the moral
education of local people .Wherever and whenever he moved to different official
posts in different places ,he would set up schools and teach students himself .He
also emphasized village schools and encouraged local governments to establish them
and invited qualified teachers . After his retirement from the official post , he
recruited and taught students from different localities far and wide in his
hometown as a great enjoyment at his old age ,with more and more students being
attracted to him for his reputation . His major educational views could be
summarized as follows :1 ) The objectives of school education were mainly “the
extension of intuitive knowledge” (致良知) ,and the moral cultivation of students ,
on the basis of which their different aptitudes would be fully developed ; in
education the students should always be guided with political correctness towards

・ 110 ・
Chapter Six  

the nurture of kind individuals and fostering of social customs of benevolence .2)
The principles of education should be one of the unity of knowing and doing .
There were two kinds of people of whose attitudes Wang Shouren had quite
disapproved :one kept blindly doing without reflections and comprehensions while
the other was abstractly reflecting all day without any intentions of practising .
Teachers should set good examples by their exemplary conducts and deeds
consistent with their words ; and in teaching , he did not like the methods of
mechanical learning and corporal punishments of students , and instead he
advocated the natural method of cultivating students in the way gardeners tended
their flowers and plants in the gradually nurturing process so that they gradually
learned to acquire rites and righteousness without feeling their difficulties , and
achieved harmony without experiencing them .
Yan Yuan (颜元 1635 — 1704 A .D .) was a famous scholar and educationist at
the beginning of the Qing Dynasty .During his lifetime ,he had never served in
any official posts ,and always engaged in physical labor .He was able to face the
gloomy life ,confront the crisis of the reality ,no matter how cruel it was ,never
got into the empty world of the spirit ,and thought of seeking asylum in Buddhism
and Taoism .He severely condemned those scholars who indulged in empty talks
and criticized those ideas of Buddhism and Taoism ,which turned out to be of no
avail in solving the practical problems ,he said ,“ I would rather have no learning
of any kind in the nation than the f ake learning and I would rather have no real
sages than those self‐assumed ones so as to command the real learning and produce
the real sages f or the country .” (“宁使天下无学 ,不可有参杂佛老章句之学 ;宁使
百世无圣不可有将就冒认标榜之圣 。 庶几学则真学 ,圣则真圣云尔 。” 存学篇) .
He urged the return to the true learning of the Duke of the Zhou and Confucius ,
and called on people to obtain the practical knowledge of administering state
affairs .For the very idea of Dong Zhongshu from the Han Dynasty ,“ Uphold
justice without making personal profit and understand truth without seeking
official positions .” (“正其宜不谋其利 ,明其道不计其功” 。) He refuted ,“Is there
anyone in the world who has worked hard in the field but never expected of the
harvest ?Is there anyone who has gone to the riverside with nets and hooks but
thought of no fish ?” He believed that Confucianists of the Song Dynasty

・ 111 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

misunderstood Confucius and his doctrines .To him ,with the “six arts” learned
from Confucius , one may obtain emoluments if he is successful in his official
career ,but he can make a living at least if he is not .His educational views are as
follows :1) He severely criticized the school education since the Song and Ming
dynasties , because he thought that students had been taught to do four things ,
namely reading books , writing books , sitting quietly and talking idly about
Buddhism and Taoism ,characterized by the “uselessness” in terms of managing
state affairs .He condemned the “eight‐part essays” (“八股文”)in the imperial
examinations as the number one of the four “ nasty things” , to be with “ the
monks ,the Taoist and the prostitute” ,as this kind of education only produced the
frail scholars who read books to harm themselves and wrote books to harm others ,
never contributing positively to the nation .2) He put forward his own ideal school
education and its talent‐training model when he emphatically pointed out that rites
and music should be learned at the same time ,and culture and military prowess
must be cultivated together , in order to bring up talents for enriching ,
empowering and managing the country ,for they must be strongly built ,with both
military ,practical abilities and strategies to administer the state affairs .3) As to
the teaching contents ,he included the following :(a) “Six aspects” :gold ,wood ,
water ,fire , earth and grain (金 、木 、水 、火 、土 、谷 ) ; (b ) “ Three things” :
“ Benevolent administration ” , “ Resources and Talent Maximization ” and
“Enrichment of the people” (正德 、利用 、厚生) ;(c) “Three Sixes” ,namely “Six
Virtues” ,knowledge (知) ,benevolence (仁) ,sagacity (圣) ,righteousness (义) ,
loyalty (忠) ,and harmony (和) ;“Six Conducts” , piety (孝) ,friendship (友) ,
good‐neighborliness (睦 ) , marriage (姻 ) , shouldering responsibility (任 ) ,
solicitude (恤) ;and “Six arts” ,rites (礼) ,music (乐) ,shooting (射) ,driving
(御) ,calligraphy (书) ,arithmetics (数) .Among these ,he believed that military
science ,agriculture and the rites and music were the most practical and useful
knowledge : military science included art of war and fighting skills for
strengthening the country ; agriculture included reclaiming wasteland , water
conservancy ,equal fields and agronomy for making the state wealthy ; and the
rites and music referred to the knowledge for settling the people in a contented and
tranquil state .4) Teaching methods :He emphasized the importance of “learning”

・ 112 ・
Chapter Six  

(习) and “movement”(动) ,he said ,“ The legendary f ive em perors and three kings ,
the Duke of the Zhou , and Conf ucius all taught people to move , so they made
their history . The Han and the Tang dy nasties f ollowed them in moving , and
created their historical achievements . But the Jin and the Song dynasties merely
dragged out their ignoble existence , indulging in the ‘ void’ of Buddhism and
‘ non‐being’ of Taoism , with their philosophers sitting quietly and talking idly ,
and never moving , as a result , their dynasties collapsed , with no talents moving
and helping . I f irmly hold that a person becomes robust with his personal
movement , a f amily becomes strong with their f amily members moving , and a
country becomes powerf ul with their whole people moving , and the world becomes
mighty with all their people moving collectively .” (“五帝三王周孔 ,皆教天下以动
之圣人也 ,皆以动造成世道之圣人也 。 汉唐袭其动之一二以造其世也 。 晋宋之苟
安 ,佛之空 ,老之无 ,周程朱邵之静坐 ,徒事口笔 ,总之皆不动也 ,即人才尽矣 ,世道
沦矣 。 吾尝言 :一身动则一身强 ,一家动则一家强 ,一国动则一国强 ,天下动则天
下强 。” 枟 言 行 录 枠) He attached such an importance to the combination of
knowledge and practice for the purpose of putting their knowledge into practice .
For effective learning ,he held that three things(Superfluities should be simplified
to save energy ,excessive readings should be reduced to cultivate manners and work
assignments should be lightened to avoid complexities ) should be deleted so that
students could learn more professionally and profoundly .
Wang Fuzhi (王夫之 ,1619 — 1692 A .D .) was a great philosopher and
educationist in the Qing Dynasty .As a scholar with strong moral courage ,
Wang Fuzhi held aloft the banner of righteousness to rally the people against
the Manchurian army when the “Eight‐Banner” soldiers (八旗兵 )from the
northeast of China invaded and occupied Beijing ,and went all the way down
southward to his native province Hunan .While disappointed with his failed
armed rebellion against the Manchurians , he turned to academic research
and devoted himself to education as his life pursuit .At his old age ,he lived a
secluded life in the Stone Boat Mountain in the west of Hunan ,also called
himself “Boat Mountain Old Man”(船山老人) ,where he had buried himself
for 40 years in writing his academic books , completed 70 books in total .
Most of them are lost ,but many of his students had accomplished a lot .As

・ 113 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

for politics ,he had his own ideal ,that is ,a highly unified nation with the
government representing the real interests of people ,rather than a dynasty
by an individual family . He believed that the one who ruled the country
should have a benevolent feeling towards his people .For education ,he had
the following views :1 ) The importance of education and environment for
the cultivation of individual personality :Only after basic material needs of
students had been satisfied together with their family members ,could they
be fostered into ones with such virtues as piety , friendliness ,kindness and
obedience . He compared the uneducated students to the logs not yet
carpentered , as both were useless , because only education could produce
useful individuals and carpenters useful logs through their ‘ carving’ and
‘ p olishing’ p rocess .2 ) Great attention to ‘ movement’ and ‘ acquisition’
(“动” , “ 习 ”) : He held that man摧s mind kept thinking day and night ,
inevitably coming up with new ideas ,with skills sharpened ,so ‘movement’
was positive in developing man摧s talents and cultivating their virtues . In
training individuals ,Wang Fuzhi thought highly of ‘acquisition’ ,as he said ,
“ It is human nature that every one can be kind , and it is through the
acq uisition that some people become unkind , which p roves that acq uisition is
of p rime im p ortance to m an . Man摧s innate hearing abilit y is limited by his
actual range of hearing , j ust as his innate sight is restricted by his actual
distance of sight . Children usually are inf luenced by their f athers and brothers
the moment they toddle and lisp , and also by their f ellow villagers and
relatives as soon as they are able to di ff erentiate between the good and the evil .
Once they have develo ped their own mind and sense organs , they might
neither see Mount Tai nor hear the crash of thunder , as their acq uisition over
the years has conditioned them so . They could never be m ade to give u p their
habits , once f ormed and f ixed , even with the admonition and encouragement
of strict teachers and good f riends ; and they could never even be enabled to
recti fy their erroneous concep tions , once evolved and deep‐rooted , by both
plent y rewards and severe p unishments .” (“人之皆可为善者 ,性也 。 其有必不
可为善者 ,习也 。 习之于人大矣 。 耳限于所闻 ,则夺其天聪 ;目限于所见 ,则夺
其天明 。 父兄熏之于能动能言之始 ,乡党姻娅导之于知好知恶之年 ,一移其耳

・ 114 ・
Chapter Six  

目心思 ,而泰山不见 ,雷霆不闻 。 故曰 ,习行性成 ,成性而严师益友不能劝勉 ,醲


赏重罚不能匡正矣 。” 读通鉴论) .Hence man ,once made by the environment ,
could not be made again .3) The issues of teaching :He believed that one had
real knowledge who had known both the name and the reality . For the
relation between the knowing and the doing , he said , “ The doing may
include the k nowing , but the k nowing did not necessaril y include the doing .
The intelli gentleman should never take it as the real k nowing without the
doing at all .” (“行可兼知 ,而知不可兼行 。 君子之学 ,未尝离行以为知也 。”尚
书引义卷三说命) .In him ,the knowing and the doing became unified ,with
the doing emphasized even more .
Ever since the Sui and the Tang dynasties ,many educationists ,such as
Han Yu and Wang Anshi , exposed the ‘ maladies ’ of the imperial
examinations . Yan Yuan , another great educationist engaged in physical
labor all his life , revealed the lingering problems of traditional school
education sharply .Yan Yuan摧s analysis of the ‘uselessness’ of ancient school
education could awaken the dullest people , though his reprimand of the
education of the Song Dynasty with intense indignation might not be
considered fair . At the same time , the constructive contributions made by
those educationists should not be overlooked , whose brilliant views
concerned such broad range as ‘ the question of teachers ’ , ‘ teaching or
education itself’ ,‘how to impart useful knowledge to students for nurturing
useful talents for the nation’ ,especially the idea of ‘unity of knowing and
doing’ , p roposed by Wang Shouren , Yan Yuan and Wang Fuzhi in turns ,
making ancient Chinese education practical and relevant in training useful
talents and managing state affairs ,and avoiding conducting ‘idle talk’ and
cultivating ‘useless’ students .

Ⅲ .A Critique of the Ancient Chinese Education

Ancient Chinese education certainly played an important role in the


p romotion and popularization of culture among people and in the creation of
Chinese civilization , but it had some weaknesses , if approached from a

・ 115 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

modern perspective . Their weaknesses must be pointed out with a view to


innovations on modern Chinese education , while praising and appreciating
its splendor and achievements :
1 .Ancient Chinese education emphasized the moral cultivation and education
in particular :Ancient education ,in this sense ,was a grand education aiming at
the concern and care of the whole nation at the moral level , which had been
carried in the whole educational process , and implemented in such educational
forms as the official , the private and the academy of classical learning , even
permeated in the administrative process of state affairs ,with officials of all levels
being advised to teach the masses before meting punishments out to those violators
of laws ,as Xunzi said ,“ Thus , if one only reproves and does not instruct , then
punishments will be numerous but evil will still not be overcome . If one instructs
but does not reprove , then dissolute people will not be chastened .” ① (“故不教而
诛 ,则刑繁而邪不胜 ;教而不诛 ,则奸民不惩 。”枟荀子 ・ 富国枠) .In ancient China ,
“ Reproving without instructing ” was often considered as irresponsible , and ,
therefore ,reproachable ,which indicated that China was a pan‐moralizing society .
2 . Ancient Chinese education attached importance to the liberal
education and the education of the whole person :Ever since the conception
of Confucius’ “ Intelligentleman is not a tool ” , liberal education and the
education of the whole person were implemented , though during certain
p eriods of certain dynasties ,efforts had been made to encourage specialized
or technical education , such as law , astronomy and medicine , to which a
few examinees were respondent , with only the official‐career‐oriented
imperial examination flourishing . At school education , students were
encouraged to master the “six arts” to the neglect of other specific skills ,as
Confucius showed contempt when asked the question of vegetable‐growing
skills ,though he himself had a good command of all these “mean skills” .In
traditional China ,labor and laboring people had always been looked down
upon ,whereas scholars were encouraged and even stimulated to learn all

① Xunzi(I ) , Tr . John Knoblock , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages House ,
Changsha and Beijing ,1999 ,P295

・ 116 ・
Chapter Six  

Confucian classics including moral cultivation for replenishing official


reserves or filling up the official vacancies .
3 . Ancient Chinese education was also a pan‐p oliticized education :
Traditional China was built on a blood relationships , which became
gradually distant beyond the immediate relatives ,as the people so related in
blood were quite limited in number for everyone and they cared very little
about those “ distant ” countrymen as strangers . As a result , traditional
Chinese society lacked cohesive power ,was disunited like ‘ a heap of loose
sand’ (一 盘 散 沙 ) , which became a problem crying out for solutions .
Ancient Chinese sages and philosophers had been fully aware of this defect
within the structure of the Chinese society and attempted to rectify it with a
strategy of politicized education as the ultimate solution :They had brought
the state and families together ,with the state being the magnified family ,
and the family a reduced state ,and demanded children to be pious to their
p arents so that they would naturally grow into loyal subjects because the
p iety to parents ,when magnified ,would turn to loyalty to their emperors .
All forms of ancient education turned out to be the politicized tools of the
rulers ,so were the official selection system ——— the imperial examinations ,
which came into being as the historical necessity .
4 . Ancient Chinese education neglected natural sciences : Though ancient
China did produce quite a few scientists unravelling the secrets of the universe ,
even had such a tragic “astronautic flight pioneer” (航天开拓者 ) ,Wan Hu (万
虎) ,explorations of nature and researches in natural sciences seldom became the
main stream of Chinese culture .What is more ,many Chinese had the erroneous
conceptions of treating science and technology as “insignificant skills and excessive
ingenuities” negatively . Though natural sciences were taught in some private
schools and scientific researches conducted in some academies of classical learning ,
it had never been established as popularly accepted practices .When the West had
advanced with long strides , leading the world in science and technology ,
traditional Chinese education still remained unchanged as it was , an obvious
indication of the difficulty in shaking off such a heavy historical burden and deep‐
rooted cultural practices .

・ 117 ・
Chapter Seven
The Imperial Examinations and
Ancient China摧s Official Selecting System
科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

    Before the creation of the imperial examinations in ancient China ,


official selection systems had run a long and arduous course .As early as in
the Western Zhou Dynasty ,there practised a hereditary system (世袭制) in
which there was no selection at all .In 221 B .C .the Qin Dynasty ,the first
unified dynasty ,was established ,but it was short‐lived .In the ensuing Han
Dynasty ,innovations on systems including official selection were brought on
the agenda . The newly‐evolved official selection system , Observation and
Recommendation System (察举制) ,came into being and became mature ,but
near the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty , the system became corrupted as
the officials responsible for observation and recommendation became unfair
and partial as a result of bribery and manipulation by powerful families .An
alternative compromised system ,the Nine Rank System (九品中正制) ,was
designed to replace the Recommendation System , which lasted until the
Northern and Southern dynasties in which an entirely new and relatively fair
system was in the process of being conceived ,that is ,imperial examination .
This much advanced and fair system was officially implemented in 605 A .D .
in the Sui Dynasty and finally abolished in 1905 by an imperial edict in the

・ 118 ・
Chapter Seven  

Qing Dynasty .Over 1 ,300 years during which time the imperial examination
was being held ,100 ,000 Jinshi (进士) ,or national level talents ,and 1 ,000 ,
000 Juren (举 人 ) , or provincial level talents had been identified and
appointed to different levels of official positions , which provided
governments with plenty of highly educated official candidates for the
effective administration of the whole country and exerted tremendous
international influence over such neighboring countries as Korea , Vietnam
and Japan .

Ⅰ .The Creation of the Imperial Examination System

After the other six states were annexed by the State of Qin in 221 B .C .,
China was unified by Qin Shihuang ,the First Emperor ,though it was short‐
lived ;and then subsequently the Han Dynasty was founded by Liu Bang ,a
man of humble birth in the wake of an internal turmoil near the end of the
Qin Dynasty . With the unification of whole China , the political system
adopted was totalitarian in nature with emperors at the core of political
p ower ,and aristocracy as the basis .As the highly centralized government
needed continuously to strengthen its control of both officials and ideology ,
they found that imperial examinations were effective measures in its control
of officials and their minds , and also the means through which talented
official candidates could be identified fairly .
Before the adoption of imperial examinations in 605 in the Sui Dynasty ,the
governments had experimented with Observation and Recommendation System ,
and the Nine Rank System in which examinations were also demanded ,but not so
strictly and rigorously practised .With imperial examinations ,however ,it became
so strict theoretically that candidates摧 success or failures depended solely on their
paperwork .In the Tang Dynasty ,a very open society ,imperial examinations had
such obvious characteristics as follows :
1 .The arrangement of subjects :The Tang Dynasty ,which started the
tradition of attaching much importance to literary creation ,had provided so
broad subjects (including both comprehensive subjects and practical subjects

・ 119 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

such as laws and arithmetics ) for candidates to choose , and even designed
some subjects temporarily to meet the practical needs .The subject for Jinshi
was one of the most important ones ,which included the Tiejing or cloze (帖
经) for testing the knowledge of classics and literary creation ,and writing
p olitical essays (策 论 ) . In the beginning of the Tang Dynasty , official
candidates were still required to answer political questions orally as it was a
tradition ,argumentative essays (经义 )focused on the testing of the ability
and the use of cloze in testing the familiarity with classics represented the
standardization of the examinations .
2 .The rules of examination rooms :Dishonest examiners and examinees were
punished but a detailed rules for both prevention and punishment had not yet been
devised . It was prevalent in the Tang Dynasty that examinees could make
themselves known in advance by sending their own writings to potential
examiners ,usually well‐known literary men ,before the examinations ,and it was
recognized as a practice of making prospective examiners have a full understanding
of prospective examinees(行卷) .Positive as it was in certain sense ,this practice
could be abused and was prohibited in later dynasties .
3 . The Imperial Examinations and education : As an official selecting
system ,the imperial examinations had exerted immense influence upon both
official and private education . In the beginning of the Tang Dynasty ,
official schools were assessed by the success rates of their students in imperial
examinations and successful candidates felt so honored that they were
students from official schools , which made those self‐made and privately
educated candidates shame‐faced for lack of official school education . Private
schools ,however ,were an important part of national education system ,which
government could not afford to ignore ,and attempted to “domesticate” to serve
the official ideology . Imperial examinations was also a process of channelling
private schools into the main stream of national education system .

Ⅱ .The Maturity of Imperial Examination System

In 960 A .D ., Zhao Kuangyin , the general of Later Zhou , a lesser

・ 120 ・
Chapter Seven  

dynasty ,established the Song Dynasty through a coup d摧etat and put an end
to the political chaos since the collapse of the Tang Dynasty . The Song
emperors never succeeded in unifying the whole country and was the weakest
dynasty politically and militarily in Chinese history , but it was an
economically prosperous and politically tolerant dynasty .In 1127 A .D .,the
State of Jin (金国) ,a powerful minority regime from northern China ,came
to plunder the country and capture two emperors of the Song Dynasty from
its capital city ,Bianliang (nowadays Kaifeng City ) ,and one of the sons of
the captive emperor ,Zhao Gou ,managed to escape from the ruined capital
city and flee all the way down to the south .In 1127 A .D .,the same year ,
Zhao Gou reestablished the Song Dynasty , historically known as the
Southern Song Dynasty ,in Lin摧an (nowadays Hangzhou ) . During both the
Northern and Southern Song dynasties , imperial examinations were
improved and perfected and became mature in such ways as follows :
1 . The arrangement of subjects : From 605 to 1071 , imperial
examinations mainly followed the normal practice of the beginning of the
Tang Dynasty , but in 1071 , Wang Anshi , the Prime Minister , started to
reform the examination radically :number of subjects was drastically reduced
and only the subject for Jinshi remained .When the dominant role of literary
creation in the subject for Jinshi was challenged , examinees lodged their
complaints against the designer . As a result of careful review of their
complaints ,the subject for Jinshi was divided into two parts : the one for
testing examinees摧 ability of literary creation , the other for testing their
ability of comprehension and analysis of Classics .In the Jin Dynasty ,a third
subject for political essays ,besides the other two ,was added .So far under
the name of Jinshi , three different subjects for literary creation ,
understanding classics and political analysis respectively became
independent . Two ways , the cloze ( The one testing knowledge of the
classical works followed the method of filling in blanks .Usually one page of
a book was chosen and several lines would be omitted .The examinees were
required to fill the missing lines .) and the test of understanding classics
(Examinees might be required to explain some of the lines in the book .

・ 121 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

Therefore the need to be able to recite the work was important .)had existed
side by side for 200 years during both the Tang and the Song dynasties ,but
now cloze was eliminated once for good .
2 .The rules of examination rooms :In the Northern Song Dynasty ,the
Tang practice of sending their writings to potential examiners for more than
200 years was banned thoroughly and any violators could be punished
severely .Many other measures ,such as sealing (弥封) and recopying (誊录)
the examination papers , were adopted , in order to prevent examinees摧s
names from being recognized . What is more , examiners were divided into
inside and outside groups ,entrusted with different responsibilities ,separated
by a curtain and prevented from personal exchanges .During the time when
examinations were being carried out , any acts of passing on information
through pieces of paper or orally were strongly prohibited . Rules and
measures had been stipulated in great detail and enforced strictly .
3 . The Imperial Examinations and education : There were always
contradictions between imperial examinations and official school education
as there was a big difference between the education of officials and contents
of examinations . In the Northern Song Dynasty , there were three great
education promoting campaigns in order to push official school education
forward together with imperial examinations when such famous personages
as Fan Zhongyan and Wang Anshi became prime ministers in turns and even
supported by then emperors . Owing to many factors , they failed to
accomplish their expected results ,but their efforts were not made entirely in
vain as the complete official school system was evolved and consolidated
during this period ,with universal recognition that official schools were the
talent‐cultivating garden ,an important source of bringing talents ,whereas
imperial examinations were the talent‐identifying and selecting system .

Ⅲ .The Decline of Imperial Examination System

The Yuan Dynasty was the first important Chinese dynasty established
by a national minority ,Mongolians .When the Mongolian rulers came to the

・ 122 ・
Chapter Seven  

throne , they made an important improvement in the system of imperial


examinations .As more and more people took part in the examinations ,it
became hard for government to organize the examination ;and there was also
an urgent need to differentiate those successful examination‐p assers so that
they could be suitably placed in different official positions . Therefore , an
innovation on the previous system , the two‐level examination system , was
introduced ,that is ,every year ,there was an examination held in the county
level (乡试) , and every three years , there was an examination held at the
p rovincial level (会 试 ) , which would be inherited by the Ming and Qing
dynasties as an established traditional practice .With the population boom ,
the imperial examinations became so popular and examiners were so heavily
burdened with marking of papers in the last two dynasties of China , the
Ming and Qing dynasties .As a result ,contents of examinations were clearly
defined and forms of exams became so rigid , almost free from personal
p artiality ,so that objectivity of examination results could be guaranteed ,
and admission criteria were rigorous . This examination was extremely
competitive as the ratio of admission was quite low in comparison with that
of the Song Dynasty . As two of last three dynasties of China were
established by national minority , the Mongolians and the Manchurians , it
was highly expected that they might bring some freshness and vitality into
Chinese politics and culture ,but it was a pity that the Yuan Dynasty was so
short‐lived that they did not have enough time to do anything to change the
situation ,and the Qing Dynasty lasted nearly 300 years ,yet was assimilated
so thoroughly into the main stream Chinese culture .What is more ,the Qing
Dynasty ruled the country in a time when both internal peasant uprisings and
external invasions tortured the country in turns ,they failed to revolutionize
or remake this time‐tested system and give it a chance to be reborn . This
age‐old system assumed such obvious features as follows :
1 . The arrangement of subjects : In the Yuan Dynasty , p revious
specialized examinations of different subjects tended to be comprehensive
ones with different subjects combined together ,called Mingjing or Imperial
Examinations on the Mastery of Confucian Classics (德 行 明 经 科 ) , which

・ 123 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

was followed by the Ming and Qing dynasties without any innovations .By
the time of those last three dynasties ,contents of examinations became even
more clearly qualified , forms of examinations highly standardized and
evaluation of papers objective and fair ,with almost no room for examinees
to demonstrate their individualized views . The exam form of cloze in the
beginning had gradually evolved into a kind of special essays with
standardized explanation of classics ,and finally resulted in an eight‐legged
essay (八股文) ,a rigid and ossified essay which could be evaluated easily and
objectively ,and also heralded the decline of this official selecting system .
2 .The rules of examination rooms :In the last three dynasties ,sealing
and recopying of exam papers became even more rigorous and examination
work was further divided into administrative and evaluative ones separated
by a curtain ,so‐called “inside curtain”and “outside curtain”system ,in order
to prevent examinations from being influenced by interested people . This
had extended to all levels of imperial examinations , even to local
examinations ,with clearly defined responsibilities of each of examination‐
related officials , administrative rules and examination‐related flow of
examinations . Until the Qing Dynasty , the last dynasty , any standards
concerning imperial examinations could not be more detailed and
sophisticated .
3 .The Imperial Examinations and education :In the Liao ,the Jin and
the Yuan dynasties , they were all minority regimes , which held different
views of education from that of the Han people . In the Liao Dynasty ,
Chitans ,their own people ,were generally not allowed to take part in the
imperial examinations ,they used examinations only as a way to buy off the
hearts of the Han people .In the Yuan Dynasty ,imperial examinations were
suspended for 35 years , half of its whole dynasty , official schools ,
therefore , had nothing to do with the imperial examinations . Once they
restarted the examinations , they adopted a policy of racial discrimination ,
and combined school education with imperial examinations , until schools
were reduced to the position of a dependency .In the Ming Dynasty ,the first
emperor ,Zhu Yuanzhang ,thought highly of school education and regarded

・ 124 ・
Chapter Seven  

it as a means to help to consolidate his reign .There introduced a system of


internship for students from Guozijian (国子监 ) , a royal college , that is ,
students served their internship in different government departments in the
capital city during the day and went back to study in the evening so that they
acquired practical experiences while never neglecting their studies . If they
could distinguish themselves in the internship , they might have the
opportunity to be appointed to senior official positions in the capital or to
different prefectures and counties after the assessment .As a result ,students
were highly motivated to study and work well at the same time . The Qing
Dynasty ,in many aspects ,followed the Ming Dynasty and made no changes
at all .During these two dynasties ,official schools and imperial examinations
fundamentally merged into one ,with schools wholly devoted to the preparations
of students for imperial examinations .Official schools ,by this time ,sank into a
subordinate ,without any academic explorations ,and students had only one thing
to care or worry ,that is ,to pass the examinations and enter into officialdom .

Ⅳ .The Evaluation of the Imperial Examinations

In the Qing Dynasty , the last dynasty of China , the imperial


examination system had improved and perfected to such an extent that as far
as the system itself was concerned , nothing had been left undone . In the
examinations , rules and stipulations were minutely designed and strictly
implemented to effectively prevent and severely punish those violators for
guaranteeing the fair selection of talents .As for the system ,there were truly
some defects or weaknesses .But China suffered both internal troubles and
foreign invasions near the end of the Qing Dynasty , which made many
p eople blame the imperial examinations , the scapegoat , for all these
p roblems .Strong calls for the abolition of this system kept pouring in from
such personages as Zhang Zhidong and Yuan Shikai and so on , it was
abruptly abolished by the emperor with only an imperial edict in 1905 .
More than a century has passed since the abolition of the imperial
examination system ,yet the replacement of its kind is still in the process of

・ 125 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

being created . With a hundred years cooling off , Chinese people are now
more rational than they were ,are able to stand aloof and evaluate it more
objectively and fairly ,though they still cherish a love‐hatred feeling towards
this emotion‐loaded system .
As a thousand year old system ,it certainly has many advantages ,with
following three being major advantages :
1 .An Official Selecting System : This system ,in the spirit of fairness and
equality ,bestowed upon everyone ,rich and poor alike ,even foreigners ,regardless
of their age and nationality ,a chance to change their life .Undoubtedly ,it was a
revolutionary advance on the former mechanism which was based exclusively on
kinship .Before the imperial examination system ,personal relations played a very
important role in the appointment of officials . So , the sons of the rich and
powerful could easily get official positions .Since the adoption of this new system ,
examinees摧s written papers had been marked objectively and they had been selected
solely by the results of their examinations .As history has already proved , this
open and equal examination system for a long time gathered the best talents to
serve their country . Through this path , talented people obtained the chance to
facilitate social development and push the country to the peak of ancient
civilization .Among those selected ,there were many famous statesmen ,generals
and literary men .
2 . A Culture Disseminating System : In the long history of imperial
examinations ,Confucian classics and literature had always been compulsory ,
though subjects examined had been changed constantly . Because of this
requirement ,all examinees had been quite familiar with Confucian classics
and had absorbed the core values of traditional Chinese culture . Most of
them became well‐educated and dedicated scholar‐officials who could
shoulder the responsibility of the nation when the country was in the national
crisis ,such as General Wen Tianxiang who braved the death calmly and
never turned a traitor to his emperor while being captured by the enemy ;and
in the time of peace , those scholar‐officials , such as Han Yu , Liu
Zongyuan ,Su Shi and so on ,taught people and disseminated culture in the
remote and uncivilized frontiers under their administration .

・ 126 ・
Chapter Seven  

3 . An Education Controlling System : This was also a system that


controlled education as it had closely related with both official and private
education ,or in a deeper sense ,it controlled education in many ways . As
the imperial examinations were so influential and penetrating , school
education had to cater to what was needed in the examinations , or had to
p repare students for the examinations .School education ,therefore ,turned
slowly into a dependency on the imperial examinations and was recorded
under the part of official selection in the history book ,as there was no such
an independent part as schools or education ,which clearly reflected Chinese
understanding and prioritization of education , that is , the only purpose of
education was for preparing students to take part in the imperial
examinations ,“To Enter Officialdom” .
As an official selecting system affecting China for 1 ,300 years ,it proved
to be a controlling or shaping force in Chinese history .It exerted negative
influences upon Chinese society and the people and even today it roamed in
the collective unconscious of the nation like a spirit , which can not be
overlooked .Three main disadvantages will be presented as follows :
1 .Twisting the psychology of scholar‐officials :As an official selecting
system , it had always been competitive and comparatively fewer people
could be recruited and appointed to the official positions . Imperial
examination rooms turned out to be a battlefield for examinees .In the Tang
Dynasty ,there were a variety of subjects for examinees to choose , which
could satisfy the needs of the country for different talents , but ,since the
Song Dynasty ,examinees were only interested in the subject for Jinshi which
could offer them better future including both prestigious social positions and
large amount of emoluments . Scholar‐officials considered the official
p ositions they sought after as their life pursuit ,in the process of which their
psychology had been twisted ,and as a result ,they ,most of them ,became
bookworms ,constantly buried themselves in the mechanical memorization of
classics .Both successful passers and ignoble failures had abnormal mentality
for the passers became greedy senecurists (禄 蠹 ) without integrity and
failures useless people who could not survive all by themselves owing to their

・ 127 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

lack of basic life skill‐training .


2 .Corrupting the social morals :Official selecting system was an organic
p art of political system and imperial examination rooms were closely related
with officialdom . It followed naturally that the widespread corruptions of
officials would inevitably contaminate examinees , the would‐be officials ,
and eventually the general social morals . Even the emperors and famous
statesmen as Sima Guang and Wang Anshi encouraged students to make
efforts to pass imperial examinations successfully with their vulgar poems full
of philistine ideas , under the influence of which they grew into self‐fish ,
narrow‐minded and opportunistic men ,only caring their own successes in the
examinations and never cultivating their character .Confucian classics were
regarded as a stepping‐stone to officialdom ,rather than the end in itself .
3 . Dwarfing the national spirit : Under the imperial examination
system ,learning classics was pragmatically connected with the obtaining of
official positions and students studied only to pass the exams and be officials .
They learned only relevant book knowledge and examination skills ,so that
their knowledge was quite limited in sphere and their spirit thus became so
p etty , dwarfish , and Liliputian‐like , as a result of this training over the
years . People were classfied into four important stratum in feudal
hierarchical orders ,namely scholar‐officials (士) ,peasants (农) ,craftsmen
(工) and businessmen (商) ,with scholar‐officials at the front ,in traditional
China . As the first of four strata , scholar‐officials , national spirit
incarnate ,were generally considered the backbone or the pillar of the nation
and the conscience of the society ,entrusted with responsibilities and missions
even for leading the general public in virtues and setting noble examples for
the ordinary men and women , yet they became incorrigibly corrupted
themselves and unable to shoulder the responsibilities , who were also the
victims of this official selecting system through examinations .
As a 1 ,300 year old system ,the Imperial Examination System stood the
test of time and inevitably fell in the river of history .Even today ,it is still a
topic of much divided views and there is much to be explored as it is a rich
and rational heritage of human creativeness .

・ 128 ・
Chapter Eight
Tributary System and Ancient
China摧s External Relations
朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

    The Huaxia people ,later called Han people ,originated in the Central
Plains in East Asian landmass , started to spread outwards and integrated
with the people around ,which made the Chinese nation the most populous in
the world .In the early history ,the ancestors of Chinese created the splendid
civilization ,which the neighboring people so admired and were eager to
imitate . They came from afar to pay their tribute to Chinese emperors ,
which made the Huaxia people feel so proud of themselves ; and hence the
tributary system was gradually formed , with China as the centre , the
suzerain (宗主国 ) , and the neighboring minority regions and countries as
tributary states (朝贡 国 ) . This tributary system , a relationship with both
domestic and international nature ,or something in between ,was the major
system of ancient China摧s external relationship , which had , as a dynamic
p rocess ,embraced both the relationship of the central government with the
neighboring minorities and also with foreign countries , traditionally called
tributary countries ,but gradually regarded as “other countries” in the Qing
Dynasty .With the development of this tributary system ,Chinese conception
of managing “tribal affairs” or “tributary affairs” became so deeply‐rooted at

・ 129 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

the core of Chinese culture , exerting tremendous influence upon Chinese


management of external relationships ,even when Chinese has long shed this
tributary system and entered into modern international relations . This
tributary system is obviously a key to understanding ancient China摧s external
relationship with both minority people and foreign nations , even of great
help in explaining many Chinese diplomatic behaviours and measures in
modern times .

Ⅰ .The Origination and Establishment of Tributary System

According to the legend ,in the time of King Yao and King Shun ,the
chieftains of neighboring tribes had already started to pay tribute to them .
In the Xia Dynasty (2100 B .C .— 1600 B .C .) , there evolved a system of
Wufu (五服) ,or Five Hierarchical Orders ,that is ,subjects were classified
into five grades according to the intimacy of their relationships to the
emperor ;whole China was divided into nine administrative prefectures ,with
the constant tributary relationship between the central and local governments
established ;vassals or prefects offered their local products to the emperor
and acknowledged the principle of “Paying local products as tribute” (任土作
贡 ) , symbolizing their obedience and loyalty . Emperor Cheng Tang
overthrew the Xia Dynasty and established the Shang Dynasty ;he extended
his territory , and issued the decree in which the specific local products
offered as tributes were stipulated , and , for the first time , neighboring
minority came all the way from afar to pay their tributes to the emperors of
China .
In the Zhou Dynasty ,there practised the system of enfeoffment and the
“ Wufu” or the Five Hierarchical Orders ,“ Those who are en f eoffed within the
roy al domain do roy al service . Those who are en f eoffed without the roy al
dom ain do f eudal service . Those who are in the f eudal marches zone do guest
service . The Man and Y i nations do service according to treat y obligations .
The Rong and Di do irregular service . Those who do roy al service p rovide
off erings f or the sacrif ices of thanks ; those who do f eudal service p rovide

・ 130 ・
Chapter Eight  

off erings f or the cult sacrif ices ; those who do guest service p rovide f or the
drinking ceremonies ; those who do service according to treaty p resent tribute
off erings ; and those who do irregular service come to p ay their respects at the
succession of the new king .” ① (“封内甸服 ,封外侯服 ,侯 、卫宾服 ,蛮 、夷要服 ,
戎 、狄荒服 。 甸服者祭 ,宾服者享 ,要服者贡 ,荒服者王 。 日祭 ,月祀 ,时享 ,岁
贡 ,终王 。” 枟荀子 ・ 正论篇枠) ,this was designed by the Duke of Zhou ,for the
p urpose of establishing the relationship between the emperor and his vassals .
With the first three orders being the closest vassals or dukes , they were
either intimate with the royal family in blood or close with them politically
who were required to attend the sacrifice‐offering ceremony and whose
relationship might be rightly defined as that of central government and local
governments . In the fourth order , they were the tribe people (minority
p eople) to the east and south of Central Plains , whose ways of life were
quite close to the Huaxia people because they were also agricultural people
who were required to come once a year to pay the tribute to the emperor .
The fifth order included those horse‐riding people engaged in animal
husbandry to the north and west of the Central Plains whose ways of life
were rather different from agricultural Chinese , and they were militant ,
aggressive , and hard to control . For those people , the emperor only
expected their new king to come once upon the time of his coronation ;these
two relationships might be rightly defined as that of the Huaxia people and
the minority people .
As early as in the Shang Dynasty , the position of “ guest (宾 ) affairs”
was set up to be entrusted the responsibility of dealing with both emperors摧
meeting of courtiers and the tributary affairs .In the Zhou Dynasty ,special
organ for managing tribal affairs was set up , responsible for providing
reception , interpreting service , looking after the accommodation of those
delegates whose mission was to pay tribute to Chinese emperors .The Zhou
Dynasty paid much attention to the rites in receiving delegates , which

① Xunzi ,( Ⅱ ) T r . John Knoblock , Hunan People摧s Publishing House & Foreign Languages


Press ,Changsha & Beijing ,1999 ,P571‐573

・ 131 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

became a tradition inherited by later Chinese dynasties as an essential part in


developing external relationships .

Ⅱ .The Development and Perfection of Tributary System

Tributary system was also an indicator of overall national strength .In


the beginning of the Han Dynasty , as the country was rather weak , the
emperors had to adopt the Taoist philosophy as the national guiding principle
and the rehabilitation policy (休养生息) internally ,and had to keep peaceful
relationship with the Huns (匈 奴 ) by the external policy of pacification
through marrying princesses to kings of the Huns (和亲) .Only in the period
of the fifth emperor , Han Wudi after more than 70 years of recuperation
and development , he had the national strength enough to beat the Huns .
Emperor Liu Che or Han Wudi ,with a strong determination and willpower ,
had wisely employed a new and effective national strategy of offensive ,
instead of previous passive defence .Within decades of military campaigns ,
the Huns were finally driven out of the northern frontiers and forced to
retreat deep into the desert .On the basis of victory over the Huns ,Emperor
Liu Che was able to make the tributary system systematic while inheriting
what previous dynasties did , which included “ tribute ” ( had specific
stipulations) and “ royal awards ” ( nobility title‐conferring , imperial seal
offering and imperial belt presenting ) . For the Han Dynasty , tributary
system had far‐reaching significance , as an effective measure of national
security ,and the Huns and other minority people in the Western Regions (西
域) saw a great opportunity to make money in the name of tributary system .
In the Wei ,the Jin ,the Southern and Northern dynasties ,though the
whole country was disunited , the system of title‐conferring was established
institutionally .Delegates of one of Japanese kingdoms came to ask for a
title ,with which he could swagger about in borrowed plumes ,boast before
other kingdoms of Japanese Archipelagoes and even interfere with the
internal affairs of Korea . Since the Eastern Jin Dynasty , China set up a
typical tributary relationship with Korea , which was maintained well

・ 132 ・
Chapter Eight  

throughout the long history until the end of the Qing Dynasty when this
system was finally ‘dead’ of the old age .Also during this period ,China set
up tributary relationships with some south and south‐east Asian countries ,
besides resuming tributary relationships with certain countries in the Western
Regions .
In the Tang Dynasty ,China was the strongest and the most prosperous
country in the world and tributary system was made even more rational and
standardized ,many countries came to establish tributary relationships with
China , which made it necessary to set up the frontier prefectures for
ushering tributary emissaries and carrying their tributes ,with clearly defined
responsibilities .Emperors of the Tang Dynasty enjoyed the respects from the
tributary countries and experienced the satisfaction derived from the tributes
from so many countries , and they also felt the financial burden of awards
they had to give to those tributary states in return ,wealthy and affluent as
the Tang Empire was . Though there were more than 70 countries with
tributary relations with the Tang and the royal awards proved burdensome ,
the emperors still maintained the principle of “ more royal gifts for fewer
tribute articles” ,as a matter of face .
The Song Dynasty ,the weakest one in Chinese history ,lost one battle
after another to the minority power , but it made great efforts to “invite”
other countries to “ p ay tribute” to its emperors even in the wake of defeats
for saving face . It was understandable and acceptable for the prosperous
Tang to grant more awards to the tributary countries for vanity摧s sake or
face摧s sake ,but it was absurd and ridiculous for the weak and even defeated
Song court to “ invite” and even pleaded with some overseas countries to
come over and pay their so called “ tributes” for saving face , when they
themselves had already become the tributary country under some militant
northern horse‐riding minority people . The Yuan Dynasty of Mongolian
rulers ,however , gave up the tradition of previous dynasties摧 p rinciple of
granting “ more royal awards for fewer tribute articles ” (厚 往 薄 来 ) ,
demanded too many tributes from tributary countries and interfered with
their internal affairs ,just like greedy and brutal colonialists in modern times

・ 133 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

with strong military backing . This was some new and different cultural
elements injected into Chinese culture as a result of Mongolian rule of the
whole country .

Ⅲ .The Prime and Decline of Tributary System

With the Ming Dynasty ,the political power of China was restored to the
Han Chinese again ,the rulers ,on the one hand ,inherited the tradition of
p revious dynasties摧 p rinciple of offering “more royal awards for fewer tribute
articles” ,and ,on the other ,increased the number of tributary countries to
the unprecedented level , with the tributary management greatly improved
and enhanced . The first emperor Zhu Yuanzhang or Hong Wu sent his
envoys overseas to announce the dynastic change in China and were willing ,
and even eager to resume the tributary relations with them by following the
p eaceful foreign policy .
For the national security , the first emperor had his own judgement ,
“ Those countries sep arated by the ocean and mountains constituted no real
threats to China , but the militant nom ads f rom the northern and north‐west
grassland encroached the f rontiers constantly , and best soldiers and generals
should be chosen and trained f or the saf eguarding of the country .” Those
remnant forces of the overthrown Yuan Dynasty and other aggressive
minority people , he thought , must be dealt with seriously , whereas the
Japanese pirates could be eliminated through imposing the ban on the
maritime trade and intercourse with overseas countries .As the government
imposed a ban on maritime trade , the only legal official trade route was
through tributary system ,and it really set the highest record . Against this
background of imposing strict ban on maritime trade and other intercourse
with overseas countries , foreign countries were vying for the only Sino‐
foreign intercourse route — p aying tributes to Chinese emperors . Many
countries ,therefore ,were actively engaged in all kinds of trade transactions
with China under this disguise of tributary relationships . In the Ming
Dynasty , tributary system reached its prime with the largest number of

・ 134 ・
Chapter Eight  

tributary countries in history as the Chinese emperors were highly motivated


to encourage and establish tributary relations with foreign countries who
were greatly stimulated by their strong zest for trade .
When the Ming Dynasty was established in 1368 , there were two
troubles for the newly‐established dynasty : Japanese harassment along the
south‐east coastline and the defeated Mongolian remnant forces in the north .
All other emperors quite agreed with the view of the first emperor that the
defeated Mongolian remnant forces should be taken seriously and swept out
thoroughly ,whereas the Japanese harassment could be solved easily with
only the imposition of a ban on maritime trade . All throughout the Ming
Dynasty , however , these two problems were never eradicated , only
p revented from becoming worse in the beginning .
In 1407 ,the third emperor ,Zhu Di or Yong Le decreed that the special
organ for translation and interpretation was set up , with many different
languages being taught . Special attention was paid to the training and
management of translators and interpreters who were being evaluated
dynamically in order to push them forward in their language skills and
competence .Private foreign language teaching and learning were forbidden
as national secrets might be leaked through this channel if this were allowed
to go rampant .
In 1644 , the Qing Dynasty was established with Manchurians , a
minority people from north‐east of China . As the minority people , Qing
rulers learned from the defeats of the Yuan Dynasty and actively became
Sinonized in language , customs and ways of governance . They inherited
traditions of previous dynasties ,including tributary system ,but made some
changes : 1 . Before Qing resumed tributary relations with any former
countries ,they had to hand out the imperial mandate and edict (封诰印敕)
issued by the Ming Dynasty . 2 . Though the Qing followed the Ming and
other previous dynasties , it was not so active as to reach out and invite
tributary countries to pay tributes .3 .Though the Qing imposed a strict ban
on maritime trade ,it also achieved a bit in dealing with tributary affairs .
Before Manchurians came to power over the whole country , they had

・ 135 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

already set up Tribal Affairs Ministry responsible for Mongolian affairs ,


later extending to all minority‐related affairs ,even including foreign affairs ,
such as Russian affairs . The Qing rulers strengthened the management of
tributary affairs ,translation and interpretation work in a special organ with
clearly defined responsibilities as follows : 1 . Making arrangement of
tributary delegates ; 2 . Providing accommodation for them ; 3 . Taking
charge of collecting tributary credentials , checking tributes and ushering
delegates to the court ; 4 . Supervising the trade transaction in operation
within the designated place and stopping unauthorized trade with officials
and people ;5 . Providing translation service in tributary rites and training
translation talents .
Before Western colonialists came to Asia in the 18th century ,Chinese
rulers indulged themselves in tributary system . In meeting Western
colonialists for the first time ,Chinese rulers still regarded them as tributary
countries , but gradual contacts awakened Chinese rulers from their long
dream of suzerain and learned to treat them as their equals ,finally proved
that Chinese rulers were not qualified to be their equals ,which was a bitter
experience of gradual acceptation of China摧s degraded position in modern
international relations .

Ⅳ .Ideological and Institutional Basis of Tributary System

It is universally acknowledged that national self‐centricity has been a cultural


phenomenon existing everywhere and perennially .With the passage of time ,many
civilizations , such as ancient Greece , gradually gave up their ideas of self‐
centricity through constant interactions with other civilizations . Chinese
civilization ,however ,strengthened its self‐centricity owing to its lack of effective
interactions and confrontations with other great civilizations in ancient times ,
because China was encircled in a relatively isolated geographical position ,with the
Himalayas in the south‐west ,the Pamirs in the north‐west ,desert and grassland in
the north ,and long coastline in the east and south‐east ,separating China from
other major civilizations .

・ 136 ・
Chapter Eight  

Starting from the Central Plains where Huaxia people originated ,they
spread outward in four directions and met the neighboring tribesmen who
were backward and less developed , which enhanced their sense of cultural
superiority ,even when they were defeated by those so called “babarians” and
became their subjects , Huaxia people could still comfort themselves by
seeking refuge in their cultural superiority . This cultural superiority was
deeply rooted in the Hua‐xia Centric Consciousness and the Concept of Great
National Unity , which was evolved and fixed as essential parts of Huaxia
p eople摧s national psychology .Before Qin Shi‐huang , the first great unifier
of China ,unified China in 221 B .C ., Huaxia people had already had this
idea of Great National Unity , of course in mind or psychology ; national
unification in reality had been made true only in the Qin and the Han
dynasties , p reviously only an idea of people yearning for unification , and
now a reality .Traditional Chinese society was a rigidly stratified one ,with
p eople being placed or predestined in different strata or classes .State was
modeled upon family , as state was the magnified family and family the
reduced state .With this idea in mind ,Chinese rulers designed their external
relations with neighboring people and adopted tributary system with rigid
strata , demanding them to acknowledge allegiance to Chinese emperors
p olitically ,and in return bestowing upon them a lot of financial awards as
stimuli .For many tributary states ,their relationship to the suzerain ,China ,
was only nominal , and Chinese emperors were greatly satisfied with their
merely acknowledging the nominal position as “ Emperors of the World ” .
This aspect of Chinese culture , valuing face above everything else , was
inherited by posterity and further strengthened as “Chinese Idea of Face” or
“Excessive Considerations of Face” to the extent that they were even willing
to make great sacrifices to save face .

Ⅴ .Evaluation of Tributary System

As a system governing Chinese external relationships , tributary system


became a thing of the past ,but the idea that helped make the system is never

・ 137 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

dead ,existing either explicitly or implicitly . The idea behind the system
p roved perennial and even everlasting ,affecting modern Chinese diplomatic
behaviours and international communications and exchanges .
As to the features of tributary system ,there are three as follows :
1 . The tributary system reflects the introversion or inwardness of
Confucianist culture : Confucius believed that Chinese emperors should
improve their morality so that they would win over minority people in the
frontiers who might come over to pay the tribute to Chinese emperors .Our
ancestors seldom thought of reaching out and contacting them in their land .
What is more ,they had strong prejudices against those people in the distant
land .Ban Gu ,a great historian from the Han Dynasty says ,“ The Rong and
the Y i peop le , with their weird hairst y le and strange garment , are greedy
beasts in human shape , who live by hunting and cattle‐herding in the cold
northern grassland , with clothes , customs and languages rather di ff erent
f rom ours . They are sep arated f rom us by mountains and deserts as Heaven
will the di ff erence between the outside and the inside . So f ormer wise kings
considered them so lowl y as beasts that they neither concluded treaties with
them nor con q uered them , f or they believed that they might be cheated i f
signing treaties , and would spend more money in vain in attacking them ,
which might invite more troubles ; their grassland is not suitable f or f arming
and their peop le can not be m ade submissive sub jects . Those peo ple should
never be considered as close and intimate as ours , f or our political education
in Con f ucianism never reached them , and they are not p art of us . They
should be resisted if they came down to invade , and military def ensive
p rep aration m ust be m ade af ter they lef t . W hen they off ered tribute in the
name of admiration , they should be received with due rites . This has been the
established policy ancient sage kings adop ted .” ① This fully reveals the
suspicion of minority people ,lack of confidence ,and timidity of Chinese in
dealing with the nomads or alien people : They tried to keep those alien
p eople far away from them ,never concluded treaties with them for fear of

① 枟汉书 ・ 匈奴传赞枠

・ 138 ・
Chapter Eight  

being cheated ,seldom fought them for fear of courting more troubles ,and
always had to join the war passively only when the war was imposed on
them . They never had the avarice to occupy their land and sometimes
thought of educating their people with our values . The Italian Catholic
missionary Matteo Ricci (1552 — 1610 ) came to China in 1582 , lived for
nearly thirty years and died in Beijing in 1610 ,who had a thorough study of
Chinese and their culture .He once says ,“ They are never allowed to see their
em perors , and their di p lomatic and other f oreign aff airs are dealt with by
special im perial commissioners . All people f rom the high‐ranking off icials
down to the com mon masses are f orbidden to have any contacts with f oreigners
excep t in the specially designated place and time .” ① Thus ,there was only one
route left for Sino‐foreign interactions : tributary relations . In comparison
with modern European international relations ,within this tributary system ,
Chinese rulers emphasized the moral education of “babarians” and treatment
of them with courtesy , and keep them safely away , as a means of
safeguarding national security , whereas European colonialists simply
conquered ,slaughtered the aboriginals ,even shipped them to Americas and
sold them into slavery . Chinese aim was defensive , whereas European
colonialist offensive ,in pursuit of maximum profits .Chinese never felt at ease
even when they had normal relations with minority or alien people , how could
they be expected to go out of their ways to develop commercial relations with
them ,deep in the desert ,far over the mountains and distant across the oceans ?
They had only one way as their natural choice ,establishing and fostering tributary
relations with minority and neighboring people .
2 . Chinese vanity and tributary avarice are embodied in tributary
system :Within the tributary system , Chinese had not only restricted what
they considered as “troublesome problem” — dealing with alien people to the
controllable degree , but also maximized the satisfaction of their vanity
derived from these contacts .Those minority or alien people came from afar ,
carrying with them all kinds of rare treasures , kneeling down before our

① 利玛窦 、金尼阁 ,枟利玛窦中国札记枠 ,何高济 、李申译 ,何兆武校 ,中华书局 ,1983 年 ,第 95 页 。

・ 139 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

emperors , submissively pleading for rewards and titles , with piety and
loyalty ,which greatly satisfied the vanity of our emperors and even their
subjects . Of course , Chinese emperors were fully aware of their real
intentions of paying tributes under the disguise of ‘ great admiration of
Chinese culture摧 ,and continuously encouraged and even motivated them with
abundant material awards and benefits ; those tributary states also took
advantage of offering tributes to maximize their benefits : both emperors摧
bounty grants and profits made from the tributary trade within the specially
designated places , which greatly satisfied their strong desire for profits .
Driven by the tremendous profits , some tributary states , such as Korea ,
applied for more opportunities to pay tributes to Chinese emperors ‘in order
to express their loyalty and piety摧 .In this sense ,it is mutually beneficiary ,
otherwise it is hardly thinkable that this system should have lasted more than
a thousand years . “ For Chinese rulers , the moral value is the most
im portant , f or the tributary states , m aterial value f rom trade most
attractive .” ( J .K . Fairbank ) ; Chinese rulers understood clearly that
tributary states sought material benefits in the name of admiration for the
magnificence and profundity of Chinese culture ,and still welcome them to
come and pay tributes because they knew that this system was built on the
interdependence and mutual benefits .The highest national interests of China
were to build peaceful and stable neighborly relations , ensuring the peace
along the frontiers , whereas the maximum profits were what they were
after .
3 .The tributary system indicates the Chinese psychology in suppressing
the commercialism and tributary psychology in fostering mercantilism :
China had never been a country with any tendency of mercantilism ,instead
it suppressed trade .In Chinese history ,businessman was considered as the
last among four social strata ,after scholar‐officials ,farmers and craftsmen ;
during certain dynasties ,they were even discriminated against and forced to
wear certain clothes as a mark of disgrace ; they were excluded from the
eligible candidates for imperial examinations ,for their participation in the
examination were thought to be insults to all other examinees if they were

・ 140 ・
Chapter Eight  

allowed to take part in the examinations .From the time when the tributary
system was established , the inclusion of trade within this system itself was
actually an act of restriction on trades , rather than the encouragement of
trades ; trades and other business activities were originally beneficiary to
both the people and the country , but they were made ‘ baits’ to attract
overseas countries to pay tributes in order to create an atmosphere of peace
and prosperity reigning across the nation . Tributary states from around
China , however , displayed a general tendency of mercantilism , taking
advantage of Chinese craving for vanity ,and harvesting their profits as they
had a better understanding of Chinese culture and their people . Thus a
century‐old ‘win‐win摧 system had been built ,with both sides being satisfied
as each got what it wanted .This was admittedly an unequal political system ,
but it was only nominal or symbolic ,without any legal validity . Though it
was unequal ,it is different from the unequal treaties in modern world in that
modern unequal treaties have the legal validity , harming the national
interests and integrity of colonized countries .Tributary System was unequal
p olitically but it gave tributary states real material benefits and Chinese
emperors only satisfied their own vanity .
Tributary System was a mixture of ancient international and trade
relations , connecting many Asian countries and regions politically ,
economically and culturally before the advent of Western colonialists .As a
thousand‐year‐old system ,it became inevitably dead in the 19th century .But
the idea behind this system is still alive , persistently , affecting Chinese
international interactions , communications and exchange in many ways .
Modern Chinese feel the burden of this heritage , the difficulty in its
eradication and the necessity in its total abandonment .If they are to create a
new future ,they have to clean up this cultural “Augean Stable” .

・ 141 ・
第一章

两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

    中国向来是以农立国 ,每个王朝都非常重视农业 ,而不重视商业 ,甚至忽视


商业和商人 。 中国人口的绝大多数是农民 ,直接或间接从事着农业生产 ,由此
形成了农耕民族特殊的生活习惯和生活方式 ,也养成了农耕民族特有的思维方
式 :在小村庄过着悠然自得的生活 ,非常容易自我满足 ,从未有更大的野心 ;很
少学习军事斗争 ;他们思想纯朴 ,心地善良 。

一 、两种经济并存

在古代中国 ,一直存在着两种不同的经济形式 ,东南部的农耕经济和西北


部的游牧经济 ,由此形成了大致以万里长城为分界线的农耕文化与游牧文化 。
从地理学上讲 ,400 毫米等降水线 ,是中国半湿润和半干旱的地区分界线 。 400
毫米等降水量线的东南 ,是受太平洋及印度洋季风气候影响的湿润地区 ,适宜
农业生产 。 400 毫米等降水线西北部 ,虽然有少量的内陆河与地下水灌溉的绿
洲农业 ,但主要还是游牧经济 。 在古代 ,中原的农耕生产方式向北最远只能扩
展到这条线 ,而北方的草原游牧部落如果向南突破了这条自然环境划定的界
线 ,也会感到自己的畜牧生产不合时宜 。 于是 400 毫米等降水线就成为农耕民
族和游牧民族的边际线 。 从军事角度来看 ,历代汉人政权都要修筑长城 ,长城
确实在一定程度上保护了农耕经济区人民的生活与生产 ,发挥了军事屏障作
用 ,但也造成汉人对于长城防御的过分依赖 ,在思想上形成被动防御的思维习

・ 143 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

惯 ,长期处于迎战状态 ,很少产生主动进攻 、彻底铲除边患的积极进攻思维 。 从


经济文化类型的角度来看 ,与其说万里长城是古代人为的地理屏障或军事设
施 ,毋宁说它是两种不同的经济文化类型间的自然界线 。 农耕文化一般不借助
外力即可维持自身的生存和发展 ,虽然有时生存会非常艰难 ,但总体而言 ,还是
可以衣食无忧 ,而游牧文化则恰恰相反 ,他们逐水草而迁徙 ,对于大自然的依赖
大于农耕文化 ,生活中的不确定因素也多于农耕文化 。
这两种不同的经济与文化并存于东亚广袤的大陆之上 ,不同的生活方式造
就了完全不同的民族性格与特征 :游牧民族长期迁徙 ,常年骑马 ,活动范围广
阔 ,流动与迁徙练就良好的体格 ,动荡与不安培育了尚武精神 ,他们常常以与他
们为邻的农耕民族为劫掠对象 ,满足他们的生活必需 ;农耕民族则以土地为生 ,
生活安定 ,家中多坛坛罐罐 ,难以搬迁 ,长期的定居与安逸生活使他们的思想纯
朴 ,对于他们赖以为生的土地有一种割舍不了的依恋之情 ,从未离开土地到更
远的地方使他们对外部世界感到恐惧和害怕 。 这两种生活方式几乎贯穿了中
国的历史 ,由此形成了东亚特有的一道风景线 ,即农耕文化一直处于“拒胡自
保”的被动状态 ,只有在强盛的王朝和那些勇武的帝王(如秦始皇 、汉武帝)执政
之时才能采取主动的和积极的战略 ,与游牧人作战 ,将他们赶走 ,以解除边患 。
可以说 ,大多数时候和大多数王朝都没有从根本上解决边患问题 ,总是处于被
动挨打的境地 ,而游牧文化则长期侵扰掳掠农耕文化 ,有时小股骚扰 ,有时举族
南侵 ,甚至灭亡中央王朝 ,入主中原 。 其中游牧的蒙古族和满族分别建立了元
朝和清朝 ,只有在这两个游牧的少数民族主政时期 ,基本上不存在那些传统的
边患问题 。 清朝末年 ,西方列强以“炮舰政策”对中国武力相加 ,则完全是西方
列强对于主权国家的赤裸裸的侵略行径 ,致使中国沦落为半殖民 、半封建的
国家 。

二 、农业文明的社会理想和人生追求

中国自古就是农耕文化与游牧文化并存 ,相对立而互为依靠 ,相斗争 、冲突


而不断发展融合的历史过程 ,农耕文化无论是人口 、所占地域以及对于中国整
体历史所发挥的决定性作用都处于主导地位 ,游牧文化则被置于从属地位 。
中华文明源远流长 ,华夏的先民无疑是“以农立国” ,其文化的各方面都无
不打上农耕文化的烙印 ,属于典型的农耕文明 。 从先民的衣食住行都可反映出
这一农耕特征 :早期的衣服主要是腰间围一块布 ,方便田间劳动 ;饮食以粮食为

・ 144 ・
第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

主 ,使用陶器炊具蒸煮 ;住在固定的房屋 ,定居在村落里 ;交通则靠走路或马(或


牛)车 ,后来还发明了独轮车运输货物 。 在当时所创造的文学艺术世界里 ,他们
的审美情趣 、社会理想以及人生追求都自然流露出来 :在诗歌中 ,他们喜欢“愉
悦地静听雨打芭蕉 ,轻快地欣赏茅舍炊烟与晚云相接而笼罩山腰 ,留恋村径闲
览那茑萝百合 ,静听杜鹃啼 ,令游子思母” 。① 这一意境 。 在小说与戏剧里 ,故事
的叙述是缓慢的 、从容不迫的 ,结尾大多以“大团圆”收场 ,对于戏剧 ,观众更多
是在“听”唱腔 ,不追求故事的推进 。 在绘画艺术中 ,他们多描写自然山水 、泼墨
写意 ,感悟“空灵” 、“淡雅” 、“含蓄”的气韵 。 这些艺术特点完全产生于农耕民族
“崇拜田园生活的心理” ② 。 从华夏民族创造的“牛郎织女”神话可透射出他们
对于理想生活的勾画与设计 :男耕女织 ,家庭和睦 ,婚姻美满 ,夫妻和谐 ,天人合
一 ,社会和平 。 在农耕社会里 ,人们过着田园般生活 ,生活波澜不惊 ,鲜有戏剧
性变化 ,人们一般很少奢望和贪欲 ,极容易感到满足 。 对于社会 ,只要没有兵荒
马乱 、连绵战争 ,他们就感到很幸福 ,“民以食为天” ,吃饭问题的解决往往是生
活里的头等大事 。 只要能吃饱 ,他们便感到满足 ,而家庭又是他们幸福和满足
的港湾 ,夫妻和睦带给他们完满人生的全部乐趣 ,这“和平 、和睦 、和谐”便是农
耕民族的最高社会追求 。

三 、中国古代农业的诞生及演变

古代农业产生与发展主要围绕以下四个主要方面展开 ,即作物栽培 、动物


驯养 、农具发明以及水利工程建设等 。
(一) 作物栽培与引进
农作物栽培成功是农业诞生的标志 。 中国古代的先民在大约距今七八千
年以前就在黄河流域种植粟 、黍 、稷等旱地作物 ,麦则是在距今五千年前种植 ,
水稻种植大约是一万年前长江流域的先民首先开始尝试 。
粟从野生狗尾草驯化而来 ,属禾本科一年生草本作物 ,一直是黄河流域普
遍种植的主要作物 。 黍 、稷属禾本科一年生草本作物 ,特别适合在北方旱地种
植 ,与粟一样都是北方人民的主要粮食作物 。 麦的种植则是比较晚些 。 水稻从
野生稻驯化而成 ,属一年生禾本科草本作物 ,最早在长江流域开始种植 ,约五千
年前在我国南方的广大地区普遍种植 ,甚至也扩展到北方的某些地区 ,成为南

① ②   林语堂著枟吾土与吾民枠 ,华龄出版社 ,1995 年 ,第 246 ,259 页 。

・ 145 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

方先民的主要粮食来源 。 除了这些粮食作物以外 ,先民们还食用蔬菜瓜果 ,其


中有葫芦 、菱芡 、甜瓜子 、莲子等 ,但基本上属于野生 ,没有人工培植 。 茶树起源
于我国西南地区 ,先民在采集植物时 ,发现茶树的嫩芽可以食用 ,食用之后让人
顿感神清气爽 ,便把它从其他植物中区分开来 ,作饮料 。 后逐渐成为全国广泛
使用的饮料 ,还传播到世界其他国家 。
中国各地区之间交流以及与外国的交流 ,极大丰富了人民的食物种类 ,也
增加了食物总量 ,满足了人口增长所需的食物 。 这种交流总是双向的 ,而不是
单向的 。 中国稻谷很早就东传朝鲜半岛和日本列岛 ,中原地区与南方也从我国
的西域以及中亚 、南亚和西亚 ,甚至从后来发现的美洲传入许多作物 ,其中有些
具有非常重要的意义 。
苜蓿是汉代张骞从伊朗引入 ,它是饲养良种马的重要牧草 。 葡萄是从西域
传入中原 ,成为中原和其他地区重要的水果之一 ;胡桃 、石榴 、胡麻 、胡瓜 、胡蒜 、
胡椒等均是从伊朗引入中国 ,成为我国人民的重要水果 、干果 、蔬菜 、调料和油
料作物来源 ;有些作物的引进具有战略意义 ,苜蓿的引进与成功种植促进了古
代畜牧业的发展 ,畜牧业同时带动了农业的迅猛发展 。 从西汉之后 ,各个朝代
都有引进 ,隋唐引进莴苣和菠菜等 ,宋引入占城稻 ,元引进胡萝卜 ,明清更是从
美洲大陆引进了番薯 、玉米 、马铃薯 、花生等耐瘠 、耐旱粮食作物 ,南瓜 、辣椒 、番
茄 、菜豆 、洋葱和荷兰豆等蔬菜 ,以及芒果 、菠萝 、番木瓜 、番荔枝等水果 ,满足人
口日益增长的需要 。
满足食的需要之后 ,先民才开始考虑穿的问题 。 从披兽皮和树叶开始 ,逐
渐学会种植葛 、麻 ,利用其纤维制作衣服 。 我国先民在采集桑葚的过程中 ,发现
野蚕结茧 ,继而驯化 、饲养 ,后掌握缫丝技术 ,纺织丝绸 ,制作精美衣服 ,可谓人
类文明史上划时代的创举 。
(二) 动物驯养
我国先民在距今大约八千年左右 ,已经开始饲养狗 、猪 、牛 、羊 、鸡 ,而马则
比较晚 ,那么对于这些动物的驯化则还要早一些 。
狗是由狼驯化而来 。 早在先民狩猎之时就用狗作为他们的帮手 ,同时也是
人的部分肉食来源 。 猪由野猪驯化而成 ,是先民主要的肉食来源 。 羊由野羊驯
化而来 ,是先民主要肉食来源 。 牛分黄牛和水牛 ,都从不同野牛驯化而来 ,除了
在农耕时代提供畜力 ,还能供先民食用 。 鸡由野生的原鸡驯化而成 ,各地都普
遍饲养 ,是人们的肉食来源 。 马的驯化则比较晚 ,主要由蒙古野马驯化而来 ,很
可能就是蒙古地区的先民首先驯马 。 这就是所谓“六畜” ,它们的驯养基本上与

・ 146 ・
第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

农作物栽培同时进行 ,互为补充 ,既提供肉食来源 ,又使先民有“畜力”可供役


使 ,提供动力 ,开垦耕种 ,成为农业文明的有机组成部分 。
(三) 农具发明
农具发明是农业发展的重要一步 。 原始农业所使用的农具可分为三大类 ,
即整地 、收割和加工等三类农具 ,制作这些农具的材料也有一个演变过程 ,在铁
器发明之前 ,先民曾用木 、骨 、石 、蚌等材料 。
1 .整地农具
(1) 耒(ancient fork‐like farm tools ) :耒是最古老和原始的工具 ,类似于
现在的犁 ,但又不完全相同 。
(2) 耜(ancient spade‐shaped farm tools ) :耜是从耒演变而来 ,在耒的底
部安上动物肩胛骨 ,或把木耒底部做成板状刃 ,类似于现在的铲子 。
(3) 铲(spade) :考古发现的古代翻土工具 ,很像今天的铲子 ,故称作铲 。
(4) 锄 、 (hoe and pick ) :锄和 都是掘土工具 。 耜 、铲是直装木柄插地
起土的农具 ,使用者是边起土边往后退 ,而锄是横装木柄由上向下掘入地里 ,边
挖土边向前 。
(5) 犁(p lough) :石犁一般穿孔 ,使用时安装在木柄上 ,用人力牵拉向前 。
石犁的发明具有重要历史意义 ,因为它是连续运动的农具 ,而其他耒 、耜 、
铲 、锄 、 等农具都是断续运动的农具 ,劳动生产率因之大大提高 ,这就为犁耕
农业的产生创造了必要的技术条件 ,可谓原始农业上的巨大进步 。
2 .收割农具
(1) 石刀(stone knife) :这是由采集经济时期人们利用天然蚌壳 、石片逐
渐改进 ,制作出的收割工具 。
(2) 陶刀(pottery knife) :在利用天然材质的同时 ,人们也尝试用陶土烧制
陶刀 。
(3) 蚌刀(clam knife) :蚌刀多是将蚌壳磨制加工后做成的 ,虽不齐整 ,但
比较锋利 。
(4) 石镰(stone sickle ) :石镰需安装在木柄上才可使用 ,石镰刃部呈锯齿
状 ,使用起来很顺手 ,不仅可收割谷穗 ,还可收割禾秆 ,这是一项重要的发明 ,极
大地提高了收获的效率 。
3 .加工农具
(1) 石磨盘(millstones) :最早人们把谷物放在石板上 ,再用另一块石头来
回碾磨 ,脱掉谷壳 ,取出米粒 ,以便食用 。

・ 147 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

(2) 杵臼(mortar and pestle ) :最早的臼是在地上挖坑 ,铺上动物皮 ,倒上


谷物 ,用木棒舂打 ,后逐渐发明了石凿臼 ,这比磨盘和地上挖坑的土臼都要先
进 ,石臼耐用 、干净 ,而且便于移动 ,这又是一项重要发明 ,大大提高了谷物加
工效率 。
(四) 水利工程建设
水是农业生产的重要保障条件之一 ,但水患则给人民的生命和财产造成巨
大损失 。 在中国先民与洪水搏斗 ,控制水患 ,兴修水利设施 ,以利于农业灌溉的
历史进程中 ,修筑了各种水利工程 ,成为了“以农立国”的中华民族的历史丰碑 ,
保障和促进农业发展 ,同时还综合发挥了它们的航运等作用 ,在国家统一 、民族
繁荣等方面都起到了积极作用 。 这些水利工程不仅修筑年代久远 ,设计理念先
进 ,而且规模宏大 ,经久不衰 。 历代王朝都比较重视水利工程的建设和修缮 ,早
在夏朝人们就掌握了原始的水利灌溉技术 ,到西周便形成了以蓄 、引 、灌 、排为
一体的初级农田水利体系 ,到春秋战国以及秦王朝建立时期 ,都江堰 、灵渠 、郑
国渠等一大批水利工程相继建成 ,促进中原 、川西 、华南等地农业的发展 。 西汉
时期主要水利设施在北方 ,如六辅渠 、白渠等 ,同时也将灌溉工程开始修筑到长
江以南 。 魏晋继续向南方推进 ,到唐基本遍及全国 ,宋代修水利更是如火如荼 ,
元明清时期大兴水利工程虽不及前代 ,但小型水利工程则星罗棋布 ,对农业生
产发挥重要作用 。 下面试举两个有代表性的水利工程 。
1 .都江堰
都江堰是秦国蜀郡太守李冰父子在秦昭襄王 51 年(公元前 256 年)设计修
建的 ,那是一项令当代水利专家都赞叹不已的水利工程 。 都江堰坐落在四川省
会成都附近的岷江上 。 今天 ,它仍然发挥着作用 ,灌溉着大片良田 。 工程包括
三个部分 ,各个部分彼此协和 ,既分洪减灾 ,又灌溉田地 。 首先是“鱼嘴” ,因其
酷似鱼嘴而得名 ,这是工程的重要组成部分 。 它把岷江分为内外江 ,内江水流
量约占总量的 40% ,涨水时则会达到 60% ,内江水流入灌溉区 ;其余的水则从
外江排出 ,并将泥沙冲走 。 其次是“飞沙堰” ,它有二百米宽的洪道 ,连接内外
江 ,溢洪道前修有弯道 ,江水形成环流 ,江水超过堰顶时洪水中夹带的泥沙便流
入外江 。 第三是“宝瓶口” ,这是李冰从山里凿出的 ,也是工程的最后部分 。 水
通过这个通道流入农田 ,这个狭窄的小口兼有闸门的功能 ,水流形成环流 ,使多
余的水从飞沙堰上溢出 ,达到控制洪水之目的 。 工程竣工以来 ,再无洪水之患 。
这一水利工程遂使四川成为中国重要的产粮区 。 从此以后 ,四川被人们誉之为
“天府之国” 。 为了纪念李冰父子的功绩 ,人们在都江堰东侧建造了“二王庙” 。

・ 148 ・
第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

2 .京杭大运河
京杭大运河 ,或称中国大运河 ,可谓世界上最长的人工运河 。 北起通州 ,流
经天津 、山东 、江苏 、浙江 ,南达杭州 。 运河最古老的部分可追溯到公元前 5 世
纪 ,但其他部分多是在隋朝贯通 。 大运河是一项大规模的综合水利工程 ,它集
运输 、灌溉和排洪于一体 。 运河两岸是皇家大道和信息传递通道 ,历代王朝还
在运河两岸植树 ,以美化两岸环境 。
大运河的早期历史 :早在春秋晚期 ,吴王夫差企图向北征服临近的齐国 ,
于是他命人挖凿运河 。 此举既有通商的目的 ,又有在他征战宋国和鲁国时运
送军需的计划 。 这段运河被称作“邗沟” 。 公元前 486 年在江苏扬州开始此
项工程 ,三年后 ,邗沟通过现成水道 、湖和沼泽地把长江与淮河相连 。 邗沟事
实上是大运河第二古老的部分 ,因为鸿沟的挖掘很可能早于它 。 它在开封城
边将黄河与泗水和汴水连接 。 鸿沟开凿的准确时间难以断定 ,战国时期的外
交家苏秦讨论国家之间边界时首次提到鸿沟 。 司马迁认为它比公元前 4 世
纪早多了 ,应该是传说中的大禹的杰作 。
大运河的竣工与维修 :隋朝开国皇帝隋文帝开始这一浩大工程 ,但工程
的完全建成是从公元 604 年至 609 年 ,在第二代皇帝隋炀帝时全线完工 。 它
首先连接洛阳与扬州和长江流域 ,然后向南扩展到杭州 ,向北到达北京 。 当
运河全线贯通时 ,它沟通了钱塘江 、长江 、淮河 、黄河和海河五大水系 。 杭州
和长江之间的南方河段称作江南河 ,意思是长江以南 。 今天看到的大运河的
大部分河段是隋朝人挖凿的 ,这是中国经济和文化中心从黄河流域向今天江
浙地区转移的结果 。 隋朝之后 ,各代为了缩短时间都对河道有小的增添 ,但
总的来说与隋时期并无本质区别 。 公元 10 世纪发明了双闸门 ,以利于大船
安全行走 。 船可以在大闸门内等待 ,当水位降或升到比较合适的位置 ,船方
可上行或下行 。 船闸门上还加有顶篷 ,为船只提供更加安全的 保障 。 元朝
时 ,都城迁至北京 ,这样船只就不必向西到开封或洛阳 。 13 世纪 80 年代 ,在
山东截弯取直 ,使整个运河长度减少了 700 千米 (使运河全长成了 1800 千
米) ,首次把杭州和北京通过直接的南北水路连接起来 。

四 、中国农业的重要发展阶段

早在距今 10000 年前的新石器时期 ,中国的原始农业文明就在渔猎与采撷


基础上开始萌芽 。 后来经不断发展 ,到夏 、商 、周 (约公元前 2100 年 — 公元前

・ 149 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

771 年)三代 ,我们的先民发明了金属冶炼技术 (smelting technology ) ,于是青


铜农具初次应用到农业中 ,促进农业开始发展 ,同时他们也开始学习控制水患 ,
兴建水利工程 ,这是原始农业从产生到发展的第二个阶段 。 第三阶段是春秋战
国(公元前 770 年 — 公元前 221 年) ,那是个社会剧烈变革的时期 ,不仅在思想
领域出现“百家争鸣 ,百花齐放”的空前局面 ,而且在技术方面 ,也是一个大发展
时期 ,其主要标志是炼铁技术的成熟与普遍应用 ,为农业生产注入新的活力 ,铁
农具应用和畜力利用极大地推动农业生产进步 。 从秦朝统一 ,经两汉到魏 、晋 、
南北朝(公元前 221 年 — 公元 589 年)是中国古代农业发展的第四个阶段 ,或者
说是北方旱地农业技术成熟时期 ,在这一时期 ,耕 、耙 、耱配套技术完全形成 ,还
有其他多种大型复杂农具被发明出来 ,并广泛投入使用 ,极大改进了北方旱地
农业的耕作方式 ,增加了产量 。 第五阶段 ,隋唐至宋元 (公元 581 — 1368 年)中
国经济发展中心南移 ,尤其是宋以后 ,随着南宋王朝偏安临安 ,与金形成长期对
峙局面 ,江南的开发步伐加快 ,南方自然环境 、气候等都完全不同于北方 ,这一
时期 ,南方水田耕作配套技术迅速成熟 ,同时适合水田的专用农具也被先后发
明出来 ,广泛使用于南方省份 ,促进了生产力的大发展 。 第六阶段从明朝开始
至清朝前期(公元 1368 — 1840 年) ,中国人口增长非常迅速 ,产生了地少人多的
矛盾 ,其解决办法有两个 ,即进一步精耕细作 ,以提高单位面积产量 ,和引进更
多的不同作物 ,充分利用不同作物的生长特点和成熟特点 ,使中国的粮食多样
化 ,在此期间 ,许多美洲的新作物成功引进 ,使中国农业产生了多种经营和多熟
种植的新格局 。

新中国成立以后 ,中国农业的发展建立在以科技为基础 ,从科学育种 、田间


管理 、科学施肥到耕作机械化等方面发生了革命性的变化 。 以袁隆平院士为代
表的农业科学家更是将中国粮食产量提高到了发达国家的水平 ,不仅解决了中
国人吃饭问题 ,而且为解决世界饥饿作出了卓越贡献 ,国际上甚至把袁隆平教
授的“杂交水稻”誉之为中国人的“第五大发明” 。 中国以仅占世界 7% 的土地养
育了世界上五分之一的人口 ,可以说 ,古老的中国农业在现代又焕发出了勃勃
生机 。

五 、中国古代农学重要成果

中国古代不仅有发达的农业生产实践 ,同时也产生了许多世界级农学家 。

・ 150 ・
第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

他们投身到农业生产实践活动中 ,进行实践和实验 ,并将自己和劳动人民创造


的农学经验上升到理论高度 ,著书立说 ,传至后代 ,甚至翻译成多种文字 ,影响
其他民族的人民 ,使更多的人们分享他们的研究成果 ,使之成为人类的共同财
富 。 以下介绍几位重要的农学家 。
(一) 贾思勰与他的枟齐民要术枠

贾思勰 ,生卒年不详 ,大约生活在公元 5 世纪末至 6 世纪中叶 ,益都人(今


寿光人) 。 中国北魏时期伟大的农学家 ,曾任高阳太守 ,著农学经典枟齐民要
术枠 。 枟齐民要术枠是我国 6 世纪最完整 、最系统 、内容最丰富的农学百科全书 ,
也是世界农学史上最早的农学经典 。 该书在唐代就已传入日本 ,现有二十多种
译本出版 。 英国 19 世纪著名生物学家达尔文在他的枟物种起源枠中写到 :“我看
到一部中国古代的百科全书 ,清楚记载着选择原理 。”达尔文所说的中国古代百
科全书就是指枟齐民要术枠 ,可见该书传播之广 、影响之深 。
枟齐民要术枠共 10 卷 ,92 篇 ,11 万字 ,其中正文部分约 7 万字 ,注释约 4 万
字 。 书前还有“自序”和“杂说”各一篇 。 正文涉及内容非常丰富 ,主要包括以下
主要内容 :
1 .枟齐民要术枠建立了比较完整的农业科学体系 ,从开荒 、耕种到生产后的
加工 、酿造和利用等全过程都作了详尽记录 ,同时还论述了种植学 、林学及各种
养殖学 。
2 .枟齐民要术枠论证了农业生产应遵照因时 、因地 、因作物品种而异的原则 ,
讨论了抗旱保墒 、增加土地肥力 、作物轮作套种等农学问题 。
3 .枟齐民要术枠充分认识到选育良种的重要性 ,以及生物与环境关系问题 ,
并搜集 80 余中谷物品种 ,按成熟期 、植株高度 、产量 、质量 、抗逆性等特性进行
分析比较研究 ,说明保持种子纯正性的意义 。
4 .枟齐民要术枠详细研究了动物养殖技术 ,记述了牛 、马 、鸡 、鹅的养殖方法 ,
以及涉及外科 、内科 、传染病 、寄生病等兽医问题的防治 ,著作还提出了如何利
用畜力等问题 。
5 .枟齐民要术枠还涉及农产品加工 、酿造 、烹调 、贮藏等技术 ,阐述酒 、醋 、酱 、
糖稀等的制作过程 ,其中蔬菜贮藏技术在北方广泛使用 。
6 .枟齐民要术枠关于植物生长发育的记述十分详细 ,作者很重视对农业生
产 、科学技术与经济效益的综合分析 ,探讨了多种经营的可能性 ,为使农民增加
收入 ,作者还介绍了一些“小本赚大钱”的方法 。

・ 151 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

总而言之 ,枟齐民要术枠首先提出了农业耕作精湛技艺和精耕细作完整结构
体系的农学大全 ;其次 ,它是提高经济效益的农业经营指南 ,其三 ,它还为农产
品加工方面的研究提供了理论依据 。

(二) 宋应星与他的枟天工开物枠
宋应星(1587 — 1661 年) ,江西奉新县人 ,明朝杰出科学家 ,被赞誉为“中国
的狄德罗” ,曾任江西分宜县教谕 。 在为官期间 ,勤于著述 ,完成多部著作如枟论
气枠 、枟谈天枠 、枟原耗枠 、枟美利笺枠 、枟杂色文枠 、枟天工开物枠等 ,可惜大多失散 。 他的
研究兴趣广泛 ,文学造诣深厚 ,并具有朴素的唯物主义思想 。
枟天工开物枠是他最有影响的著作 ,17 世纪末传入日本 ,后逐渐传播到欧洲 ,
现有两个日文全译本 ,两个英译本 ,还有法 、德 、俄 、意大利等文的摘译本等 。 作
者在继承发扬前人优秀研究成果的基础上 ,进行了自己独创性研究 。
1 .在作物分类学上 ,提出一些新的方法与标准 ,其方法与标准和今人有令
人惊奇的相似 ,如他将古代农业归纳为乃粒 、乃服 、彰施 、粹精 、甘嗜 、膏液 、曲蘖
七大类 ,这完全是他自己的独创 。 他提出将水稻列在五谷之首 ,稻下分水稻和
旱稻 ,麦下分大麦和小麦 ,认为荞麦不是麦等观点 。
2 .在水稻栽培技术上 ,比较早地阐述秧龄与早穗之关系 ,提出再生秧技术 ,
以及冷浆田中以骨灰 、石灰包秧根技术 ,对提高产量意义重大 ,还记述了早稻在
干旱条件下变异的问题 ,在世界生物变异理论史上具有重要意义 。
3 .在麦类田间管理上 ,首先提出以砒霜拌豆麦种子 ,防治病虫害 ;在养蚕技
术上 ,最先提出“早雄配晚雌”的杂交优势培育新品种 ,以及防治家蚕“软化病”
的方法等 ;还记述山羊绒可用于织造之事 。
4 .在金属冶炼方面 ,空前绝后地提出串联式炒炼法 ,记述了明代灌钢工艺
的发展 。 在铸造技术上 ,以图文并茂的方式记述了大型器物的铸造工艺 ,图示
了活塞式鼓风箱的使用 。 在金属加工方面 ,记述了响铜的合金成分以及有关响
器的成型工艺 ,钢铁拉拔工艺等 。
5 .在煤炭技术方面 ,较早提出了煤的分类问题 ,以及煤井排除瓦斯的方法 。
在化工技术方面 ,记述了银朱生产过程中的质量互变关系 ,这可以说是“化合
物”观念的萌芽 。
总之 ,枟天工开物枠洋洋十八卷 ,内容包括农业技术 、金属冶铸技术以及其他
相关知识与技术 ,但农业技术是其主要部分 。 作者的目的是向世人介绍农业 、
手工业的生产知识 。 作者认为 ,知识都要靠别人口授 ,或自己亲自观察实践 ,那

・ 152 ・
第一章   两种经济与中国古代的农业文明

是没有办法做到的 ,只有向书本学习才是最经济的和快捷的方法 ;其次他认为


生产知识非常重要 ,他对于那种轻视 、甚至鄙视生产劳动的思想予以批评 。
(三) 徐光启与他的枟农政全书枠
徐光启(1562 — 1633 年) ,明代著名科学家 ,上海人 ,他是第一个把欧洲先进
的科学知识 ,尤其是天文学知识介绍到中国的近代科学先驱 ,他曾与耶稣会传
教士利玛窦等人合作翻译了诸如枟几何原本枠 、枟泰西水法枠等西方科学著作 。 不
过 ,他一生用力最勤 、影响最广的还是在农学方面 ,他的枟农政全书枠几乎是他毕
生心血的结晶 。
枟农政全书枠总计 60 卷 ,50 多万字 。 作者亲自写作约 6 万字 ,其余是作者引
录古代和当代的文献 ,达 229 种之多 。 全书分 12 门 ,包括农本 、田制 、水利 、农
器 、农时 、开垦 、栽培 、蚕桑 、牧养 、酿造 、造屋 、家庭日用技术以及备荒救荒等方
面 。 占全书一半以上篇幅则是开垦 、水利和荒政等 ,而这些内容在以往的农学
书中都不曾系统叙述过 ,徐光启则系统提出来 ,成为本书特色 。 书中贯穿徐光
启治国治民的农政思想 ,因此可以把他的著作分为农政措施和农业技术两大部
分 ,前者是全书的纲 ,后者则是实现总纲的技术措施 。 他对历朝历代备荒的议
论 、政策作了综述 ,水旱虫灾进行统计 ,并分析了救灾措施和利弊得失 ,还在书
后附录可资充饥的草木野菜四百多种 。 他认为 ,救荒仅治标 ,水利才治本 ,因此
他以九卷的篇幅谈论水利问题 ,他思考的大多是如何从根本上扭转南粮北调的
大问题 ,正是从这个高度思考开垦与水利问题 。
但他并不因重视农业政策措施而忽视农业技术问题 ,恰恰相反 ,他还亲自
从事农事试验 。 他一生有两次比较集中的时间进行农业试验 :第一次是为父亲
守孝的三年里(1607 — 1610 年) ,他在家乡开辟双园 、农庄别业 ,进行农业试验 ,
从试验得到的结果写成枟甘薯疏枠 、枟芜菁疏枠等 ;第二次(1613 — 1618 年) ,徐光启
到天津垦殖进行农业试验 。 后来他还两次到天津进行更大规模的农业试验 ,后
将试验得到的成果写成枟北耕录枠 、枟宜垦令枠和枟农遗杂疏枠等著作 。 这些亲身试
验都为他日后编写大型农书奠定坚实基础 。 基于多年研究和亲自试验 ,他高度
重视农业技术问题 ,例如他对棉花栽培技术的总结就是一个很好的例子 。
总之 ,枟农政全书枠是一部集农政思想 、农政政策 、措施和农业技术于一体的
农学经典著作 ,作者征引两百多种文献 ,可谓博采众长 ,系统传承前人研究成
果 ,同时又是作者自己潜心研究 ,充满原创性的个人成果之经典 。 在中国农学
史乃至世界农学史上 ,都是一部不朽之作 。

・ 153 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

六 、中国农业文明简论

中国是世界上少数几个农业起源中心之一 ,也是人类文明的重要发祥地之
一 。 在人类大多数文明还处在萌芽状态时 ,中国的农业文明已如太阳升起在东
方一样开始普照大地 ,这个古老的东方文明已经成熟了 。 由于农耕社会的相对
稳定和生活基本有保障 ,中国人口一直都比较众多 。
但是 ,在中国古代 ,农耕文化与游牧文化如连体婴儿一样不可分离 ,互相斗
争 ,又互为依存 ,注定要通过血与火融为一体 。 在数千年的历史上 ,大多数王朝
都饱经边患 、游牧民族侵扰之苦 。 中国大多数朝代和大多数时候都采取被动防
御 ,甚至采用“和亲”等屈辱之策 ,以换得短暂的和平 。 对于游牧民族的侵扰 ,汉
民族历来只作道德谴责 ,认为这些“化外之民” ,不谙“圣人之教” ,汉人以此逻辑
对他们鄙视一番 ,赢得了心理优势 ,也就得到自我安慰 ,但是 ,现实是残酷的 ,于
是年复一年 ,或小股骚扰 ,或大举南下 ,在中原地区和边关上 ,这一幕幕“捕猎
者”与“猎物”的追逐不断上演着 ,形成了中国历史上一道“凄惨”亮丽的风景线 。
在数千年的历史上 ,除了道德谴责和诅咒外 ,汉人很少对游牧民族的生存
形态 、状况作更进一步思考 ,也几乎没有深入到他们的草原了解一番 ,因此也就
不可能得出任何真正解决问题的有价值的结论 。 农耕民族的思维定势就这样
牢固形成 ,并随着历史发展而愈加巩固 ,两个少数民族入主中原的王朝(元朝和
清朝)以及历史上多次少数民族建立的小朝廷逐渐改变了中国历史的走向 ,加
速了民族融合的步伐 ,给汉民族的思维定势注入了新鲜血液 ,使之视野开阔 。
历史进入近代 ,当西方列强以坚船利炮打进国门 ,清政府也予以道德谴责 ,
并未认真研究这些国家 。 对于外部世界发生的事情 ,一味以自己的“一厢情愿”
的思维思考 ,因此 ,总是缺乏积极有效的应对之策 。 如果我们能跳出自己的思
维定势 ,站在对手的视角看问题 ,甚至跳上太空 ,俯视这“小小环球” ,获得更加
开阔的视野 ,弄清那些困扰我们民族生存与发展问题的症结所在 ,问题也就容
易解决了 。
中华民族的先祖以无与伦比的智慧与勇气 ,开创了人类历史上灿烂辉煌的
农业文明 ,但是他们在农耕时代形成的思维定势却成了后代人难以摆脱的历史
积习和包袱 ,影响了中国历史的发展进程 。 当然 ,后代中国人决不能以此怪罪
先祖们 ,认为他们的荣耀成了后世的积习 ,而应与时俱进 ,不断打碎“思想枷
锁” ,卸掉“思想包袱” ,以先祖的勇气和智慧开创现代的“不世之功” 。

・ 154 ・
第二章

礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化

    中国素有礼仪之邦的美誉 ,更精确地说 ,应该是“礼乐之邦” 。 礼乐制度是


中国古代文化的一个重要组成部分 ,它对于维护古代等级森严的社会秩序 、人
伦和谐 ,以及进行礼乐教化都曾发挥过至关重要的作用 。 在古代中国 ,礼乐制
度是每个王朝治理国家 、教化人民的政治实践操作体系 ,更是一种植根于中国
人文化心理深层的哲学理念 。 孔子曰 ,“夫礼 ,先王以承天之道 ,以理人之情 ,失
之者死 ,得之者生 。” ① 因为在先秦时代 ,“礼者 ,法度之通名 ,大别则官制 、刑法 、
仪式是也 。” ② 可见古代的礼不仅仅是社会的规定和仪式 ,它还囊括了国家的政
治制度 、法律体系等在内 。 音乐也与礼密切配合 ,与政治息息相关 ,“是故治世
之音安以乐 ,其政和 ;乱世之音怨以怒 ,其政乖 ;亡国之音哀以思 ,其民困 。 声音
之道与政通矣 。”(枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠)礼和乐与王朝兴衰 、社会治乱和人民安危息息
相关 ,为政者不可不察 。 先贤们正是从这样的高度认识礼与乐的重要性 ,并为
国家的长治久安因时制宜地编制相应的礼乐制度 ,辅助政治教化与国家治理 。

一 、礼乐制度的产生

礼与乐可以追溯到远古先民们的原始崇拜 ,枟左传枠云 ,“国之大事 ,在祀与

① 杜佑编枟通典 ・ 礼志枠 。
② 章太炎枟检论枠 ,转引自枟中国古代文化史讲座枠 ,王力等著 ,广西师范大学出版社 ,2007 年 10 月 ,
第 104 页 。

・ 155 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

戎 。”可见祭祀祖先与战事同等重要 。 在古汉语中 ,“礼”的繁体字“禮” 左边是


“示”(凡“示”字旁的字基本上都与祭祀祖先或神灵有关 ,如“神” 、“社”等) ,右边
分上下两个部分 ,上面是个“曲”字 ,为象形字 ,象征一个器皿 ,里面放着两串玉 ,
下面则是一个“豆”字 ,即置放器皿的凳子 。 由此可见 ,“礼”表示祭祀神灵或祖
先的仪式 ,器皿里的玉则是献给神灵或祖先的祭品 。 “乐”字也是象形字 ,象征
一种乐器 ,古代祭祀活动都有音乐伴奏 ,“乐”不仅包括演奏乐器 ,还有表演舞蹈
和歌唱 ,所以乐是古代艺术的总称 。
相传禹传位于他的儿子启 ,开始了家天下的时代 ,这就是“夏朝” 的开始 ,
“天下为家 ,各亲其亲” ,于是“大人世及以为礼” ,礼制慢慢建立起来了 ,但切实
可考的历史记载很少 ,无法知其端详 。 根据大量的考古材料以及司马迁枟史
记 ・ 殷本纪枠比较丰富的记载 ,礼仪制度到殷商已有了长足的发展 。 至周朝 ,礼
乐制度更加完善 ,由于出现了两位重要人物 ——— 周公和孔子 ,使中国古代的礼
乐制度在周朝达到成熟和完善 ,其显著标志是礼乐制度不仅在形式上系统完
备 ,而且被赋予丰富的道德人文内涵 。
周朝开国之君武王崩 ,其子成王年幼 ,周公摄政 。 周公花费了大量心血 ,
“六年制礼作乐” ,进行礼乐制度建设 ,他把远古直到商朝的礼乐作了系统改造 ,
使之上升到系统化的典章制度的高度 ,并赋予其深刻的伦理道德内涵 ,以约束
臣民的行为规范 。 孔子则生活在周朝末年 ,在这个“礼坏乐崩”的时代 ,他以高
度的历史使命感 ,肩负起承继 、整理 、提升 、弘扬礼乐制度的责任 ,主动传播礼乐
制度的道德精神 ,使之在人伦教化过程中发挥“润物细无声”的潜移默化作用 。
班固说 ,“乐以治内而为同 ,礼以修外而为异 ;同则和亲 ,异则畏敬 ;和亲则
无怨 ,畏敬则不争 。 揖让而天下治者 ,礼乐之谓也 。 二者并行 ,合为一体 。” ① 可
见 ,中国人很早就认识到 ,“礼乐”有“修外”和“治内”的功效 ,同时也注意到 ,礼
教与乐教是合二为一 、融为一体的 ,“达于礼而不达于乐谓之素 ,达于乐而不达
于礼谓之偏 ,”(枟礼记 ・ 仲尼燕居枠)还特别强调“礼乐”在操作层面的重要性 ,以
便使抽象的“礼”和“乐”更好地发挥教化人民的作用 。 孔子对于礼与乐历来是
高度重视的 ,认为“不学礼无以立” (枟论语 ・ 季氏枠) ,而且还说 ,“兴于诗 ,立于
礼 ,成于乐 。”(枟论语 ・ 泰伯枠) ,并有意识地将礼与君臣政治关系结合起来 ,认为
“礼者 ,君之大柄也 。 所以别嫌明微 ,傧鬼神 ,考制度 ,别仁义 ,所以治政安君
也 。”(枟礼记 ・ 礼运枠)荀子则把礼的重要性强调到了空前的高度 ,“天地以合 ,日

① 枟汉书 ・ 礼乐志枠 。

・ 156 ・
第二章   礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化

月以明 ,四时以序 ,星辰以行 ,江河以流 ,万物以昌 ,好恶以节 ,喜怒以当 。 以为


下则顺 ,以为上则明 。 万物变而不乱 ,贰之则丧也 。 礼岂不至矣哉 !” (枟荀子 ・
礼论枠)在荀子看来 ,礼不仅是社会政治上的准则 ,而且是宇宙自然的法则 ,仿佛
遵照了礼 ,日月星辰的运行和江河湖海的周流都会顺畅 。

二 、礼乐制度的内容及兴衰

中国是礼乐文化发达的国度 ,礼方面就有三部重要文献 ,称“三礼” ,其一是


枟仪礼枠 ,相传为周公所作 ,也有人认为是孔子及其弟子完成 ,还有人认为是秦汉
时期的学者所作 ,其礼仪制度是周朝的 ,但后代制定各礼乐制度时一般都以此
为圭臬 ;其二是枟周礼枠 ,记载周朝政治制度以及相关的礼仪与习俗 ,内容十分丰
富 ,分类也很精细 ;其三是枟礼记枠 ,成书在汉末 ,至唐尊为经典 ,内容较之枟周礼枠
还要丰富 ,既有详细的日常生活礼节 、孔子言录 ,更有系统的儒家论文如后来单
独成篇的枟大学枠 、枟中庸枠 等 。 先秦所传“六经” ,到汉朝 ,遗失了枟乐经枠 ,仅存
枟诗枠 、枟书枠 、枟礼枠 、枟易枠 、枟春秋枠等“五经” ,不过枟礼记枠中有一篇枟乐记枠 ,从中可
以考察出先贤们的“乐教”思想 ,以及“乐”与“礼”在教化人民中的重要作用 ,他
们认为 ,声音之道与政治相通 ,雅正的音乐可以正风俗 、明人伦 。
(一) 礼制的内容
从先秦儒家思想出发 ,班固将“礼乐”归于“四政”之中 ,即“礼节民心 ,乐和
民声 ,政以行之 ,刑以防之 。”历代王朝都高度重视“礼乐”的教化功能 ,一般都在
开国伊始 ,邀请精通历代礼乐制度的鸿儒为本朝制定礼乐制度 ,即所谓“功成作
乐 ,治定制礼” 。 由于周公制礼乐的传说深入人心 ,后代都在制定礼乐之时奉周
礼为圭臬 ,遂产生一系列礼乐典章与文献 ,秦朝有枟礼枠 (六经之一 ) ,汉代亦有
枟礼枠 ,至唐朝确定“九经” ,将先前的礼乐典籍归为枟仪礼枠 、枟周礼枠 、枟礼记枠等所
谓“三礼” ,其中有五个方面的“礼仪”最为重要 :
1 .祭礼 :祭礼为五礼之首 ,其内容包括 :1) 祭天地 :古代天子行“封禅”之
礼 ,是国家层面的祭拜天地 ,是最为隆重的祭奠 ;2 ) 祭宗庙 :祭祀礼仪包括参
拜 、降神 、进馔 、受胙等程序 ,古代“祭礼立尸”很特别 ,一般由受祭祀者的嫡孙或
同姓嫡孙扮演 ,以“尸”代替受祭的祖先接受瞻仰和朝拜 ;3) 祭日 、月 、星 、辰 :先
由祭日于坛 、祭月于坎 、祭五星 ,后逐渐将祭星数量扩大 ,象征农耕经济的自然
崇拜的泛神论特点 ;4) 祭社稷 :社为土神 ,稷为谷神 ,祭祀目的在于祈求五谷丰
登和国泰民安 ,这祭奠更是反映了农业文明的特色 。

・ 157 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

2 .嘉礼 :嘉礼是有关宴请 、婚嫁 、冠冕 、宾射 、贺庆等喜庆的礼仪 ,其目的在


于和睦人际关系 、沟通人际情感等 ;饮食礼既有族内兄弟间的 ,旨在“亲宗族兄
弟” ,又有皇帝赐宴 ,大宴群臣 ,以密切君臣关系 。
3 .宾礼 :宾礼是指国家 、朋友或宾客之间交往的礼仪 ;朋友之间的礼尚往
来必须是有来有往 ,“往而不来 ,非礼也 ;来而不往 ,亦非礼也” ;国家之间 ,最主
要是“朝觐”和“会同” ,“朝觐礼”是指诸侯或藩属国向皇帝述职 ,确定他们朝觐
的次数等 ,而“会同礼”则是指“四方会同 ,六服来朝”的大典礼 ,天子与诸侯祭拜
日月山川诸神 ,礼毕赐宴 ,赏赐诸侯等 。
4 .军礼 :军礼是指军队出征讨伐敌人之前所举行的礼仪 ;军礼既有出征前
的祭祀礼 ,祈求神灵和祖先保佑 ,又有誓师礼 ,鼓舞士气 ;还包括阅兵 、狩猎 、军
事工程奠基等礼仪 。
5 .凶礼 :凶礼是指发生了瘟疫 、灾荒或丧葬所举行的礼仪 ;国家在发生了
瘟疫 、灾荒等天灾之时 ,要进行救济和赈灾 。 同时 ,根据死者不同的等级和爵
位 ,举行隆重的葬礼 。 这一方面 ,后世大多遵守周礼的礼仪 ,中国厚葬之风历史
悠久 ,因为国人一般据此评判后辈是否孝敬父母 。
(二) 乐制的内容
“乐”原本产生于民间 ,它最能反映和表达普通人民的情感 ,中国的先民很
早就知道音乐对于统治人民过程中的重要作用 ,这也为历代统治阶级所高度关
注 ,并设立专门机关制定乐制和管理音乐 ,把乐置于与礼同等重要位置 ,统称
“礼乐” 。 中国古代的乐制可以分为孔子诞生之前与孔子之后的两个大阶段 ,其
实孔子之前古代音乐已经过四个阶段 :
第一阶段 :孔子诞生前 。
1 .远古圣人制乐 :理想化音乐
远古圣人所制音乐 ,基本上可以断定是被孔子等人理想化了 ,甚至极端美
化了的 ,关于上古圣人所作音乐名称也大致都是传说 ,但被儒家后学奉为经典 ,
成为后代踵武的至高典范 。
2 .殷商末年“淫声” :靡靡之音
枟史记枠等文献都曾记述商朝末年 ,“作新淫声 ,北里之舞 ,靡靡之乐” (枟史
记 ・ 殷本纪枠)历史学家多对殷纣王沉迷“上古巫风” 、“养女乐”颇有微词 ,甚至
把殷商的灭亡归咎于尚“淫声”和好“女乐” 。 枟桑林枠乐舞也因其“淫”为孔子诟
病 ,成了“郑声淫”的恶典型之一 。

・ 158 ・
第二章   礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化

3 .西周初年礼乐 :乐本于德
西周创建 ,以殷商为鉴 ,在乐制方面也一反商之淫风 ,兴正礼乐 ;在祭祀上 ,
也一改殷人“尚声色”的传统 ,注重祭品之馨香以慰先祖之灵 ,逐渐将祭品馨香
气味内化提升为内在的道德精神 ,从中可以看出 ,周人在制乐中充分体现了“以
德为乐本”的思想 。
4 .东周末年“新声” :礼坏乐崩
东周末年 ,诸侯争霸 ,天下大乱 ,其特点则是“礼坏乐崩” ,天下无道 。 孔子
对此痛心疾首 ,并以自己儒学的正统思想对此进行了无情的鞭笞 。 这一时期 ,
就音乐自身的发展 ,古音乐体系基本形成 ,其标志是“五音” (宫 、商 、角 、徵 、羽)
阶体系与“十二律”(黄钟 、大吕 、太簇 、夹钟 、姑洗 、仲吕 、蕤宾 、林钟 、夷则 、南吕 、
无射 、应钟)的绝对高音的形成 。 孔子就礼乐制度提出儒家明确的标准 ,推崇西
周乐制 ,赞美“雅乐” ,反对“新声” ,孔子曰 ,“乐则枟韶枠 、枟武枠 ,放郑声 ,远佞人”
(枟论语 ・ 卫灵公枠) 。 他认为 ,舜帝时代的枟大韶枠是最为雅正的音乐 ,尽善尽美
的音乐 ,而反映武王伐纣的枟大武枠虽行“霸道” ,“以暴易暴” ,但属于正义的讨
伐 ,不能说是尽善之音乐 ,但也可归于壮美 、雄奇的“圣乐”之列 。 这里相当明确
地体现了孔子的以雅乐“正风俗 、明人伦”的乐教思想 。
第二阶段 :孔子之后 ,即秦汉之后 。
秦汉建立乐府 ,专门管理音乐 ,至武帝改制 ,基本健全完善了乐府制度 。 大
一统巩固后的西汉在音乐方面呈现两个特点 :汉朝乐府既继承周朝的乐制 ,关
注音乐所反映的民情民意 ,以及发挥音乐的教化功能 ,又以宏大的气魄兼收并
蓄各国如赵 、秦 、楚等的音乐 ,甚至也吸收了新声 ,不似前朝那样“雅乐”与“新
声”截然对立 。
魏晋南北朝时期 ,一方面继承传统乐制 ,另一方面也吸收佛教的“法曲”和
少数民族的“胡乐” 。 唐朝以空前的开放使胡 、汉文化交融 ,传统的“雅乐”更是
与西域少数民族音乐实现前所未有的交融 ,真正模糊了雅音与郑声的界线 ,唐
明皇更是沉溺于“夷音” 。 北宋初年皇帝还比较重视雅乐 ,整个宋朝也还是产生
了一大批精通声律的大臣 ,但他们大多不被朝廷重用 ,竟出现宫廷音乐衰落 ,古
代雅乐衰亡难以挽回 ,以至于宫廷活动还得请民间艺人代为表演 ,民间艺人开
始出现专业组织 ,到唐宋之后 ,古代雅音的衰亡已是很难挽救了 。
(三) 礼乐制度的兴衰
从夏商周三朝至秦统一六国 ,再从秦汉至末代王朝清的被推翻 ,中国历史
上王朝更迭 ,此兴彼亡 。 每一次王朝兴替 ,对于社会经济都是一次大的破坏 ,生

・ 159 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

灵涂炭 ,民不聊生 ,同时对于礼乐制度也是一次摧毁 ,更是一次新生 。 新王朝建


立后 ,首先组织精通礼乐制度的专家制定新的礼乐制度 。 武王伐纣 ,灭掉了暴
虐的殷商王朝 ,周公制礼 ,创造了新王朝的礼乐制度 ,开创了一个礼乐制度的新
时代 。 到春秋战国末年 ,周天子威仪不再 ,天下无道 ,诸侯征伐 ,礼坏乐崩 ,孔子
“知其不可而为之” ,执意要“克己复礼” ,恢复西周的礼乐制度 ,事实上 ,他肩负
起再造礼乐制度的历史使命 ,将礼乐制度道德化 、伦理化 ,普及到了民间 。 秦朝
短暂统一之后 ,“秦失其鹿 ,天下共逐之” ,楚汉相争数十年 ,至汉帝国建立 ,以黄
老学说为国家指导思想 ,与民休息 ,历七十余载 ,武帝时 ,国力强盛 ,西汉一代鸿
儒董仲舒 ,以“罢黜百家 、独尊儒术”谏武帝 ,武帝欣然用之 ,董生遂以毕生之精
力致力于礼乐经学化 ,将礼仪升华至三纲五常 ,又一次使礼乐制度成为中华政
治制度的重要组成部分 。 经魏晋南北朝 ,佛学传入 ,道学兴盛 ,礼乐面临重大考
验 ,南宋理学大师朱熹等将礼推上神圣宝座 ,奉若神明 ,礼乐至此已经成为了中
国政治制度不可或缺的有机组成部分 。 纵观历史 ,王朝兴亡处在一个循环往复
的动态过程之中 ,每当天下大乱 ,必有“礼坏乐崩” ,而后必有堪当大任者 ,以再
造礼乐为己任 ,将礼乐制度提升到一个前所未有的历史高度 ,礼乐制度虽屡遭
破坏 ,但它仿佛如凤凰涅槃一般 ,经千年而尤具生命活力 ,不断盘桓上升 。

三 、礼乐制度对于构建伦理文化的重要作用

儒家将各种复杂的社会关系归纳为夫妇 、父子 、兄弟 、君臣 、朋友等五种基


本而恒定的伦理关系 ,称为“五伦” 。 怎样处理才能使人们做到“父子有亲 ,君臣
有义 ,夫妇有别 ,兄弟有序 ,朋友有信”呢 ? 怎样做才能使这五种关系纳入一个
和谐有序的系统呢 ? 于是儒家的先贤们找到了使这“五伦”关系和谐有序的
“礼”和“乐” ,并将它们上升到礼乐制度的高度 ,同时关注如何在社会生活的现
实层面使礼乐制度更具有操作性 。
在处理“五伦”关系的过程中 ,“礼”和“乐”因其特点不同而发挥着不同的作
用 。 “礼之于正国也 ,犹衡之于轻重也 ,绳墨之于曲直也 ,规矩之于方圆也 。”
(枟礼记 ・ 经解枠)“礼”与人犹如衡 、绳墨 、规矩之于轻重 、曲直 、方圆一样不可须
臾离开 ,所以 ,“礼”首先是人类文明进步的重要标志 ,以“礼”来区别人类与动
物 、区分文明与野蛮 ,“鹦鹉能言 ,不离飞鸟 ;猩猩能言 ,不离禽兽 。 今人而无礼 ,
虽能言 ,不亦禽兽之心乎 … … 是故圣人作 ,为礼以教人 ,使人以有礼 ,知自别于
禽兽 。”(枟礼记 ・ 曲礼枠)因此 ,人们必须从这样的高度认识“礼”之重要意义 。 其

・ 160 ・
第二章   礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化

次 ,“礼”是维系和规范人们的社会关系和社会秩序 ,使人知道谦让 、礼让和尊敬


长辈和其他人 ,人人君子风度 ,社会井然有序 。 其三 ,“礼”更是一种社会道德规
范 ,指引人们积极向善 ,自觉自律 ,使人能区分是非 ,知道该做什么和不该做什
么 。 孔子曰 :“道之以政 ,齐之以刑 ,民免而无耻 ;道之以德 ,齐之以礼 ,有耻且
格 。”(枟论语 ・ 为政枠)文明社会正是通过“礼”之规则内化 、实施与遵守 ,使人们
个个知礼 、守礼 ,彬彬有礼 ,达到各安其位 ,实现“和谐”之目的 ,但儒家也是很讲
原则的 ,“有子曰 :礼之用 ,和为贵 。 先王之道 ,斯为美 。 小大由之 ,有所不行 ,知
和而和 ,不以礼节之 ,亦不可行也 。” (枟论语 ・ 学而枠)不能单纯为追求“和谐”而
“和谐” ,甚至是牺牲原则换取“和谐” ,这都是不可取的 ,那么这个原则是什么
呢 ? 就是守礼 。 同时 ,儒家也深刻认识到 ,人性是不完美的 ,没有“礼”的指导 ,
纵有天然美德也会犯错误 ,“恭而无礼则劳 ,慎而无礼则葸 ,勇而无礼则乱 ,直而
无礼则绞 。”(枟论语 ・ 泰伯枠)也就是说 ,因为没有“礼”的指引 ,恭敬者可能劳而
无功 ,谨慎者可能畏缩不前 ,勇敢者可能失之鲁莽 ,率直者可能出口伤人 。 由此
可见“礼”之重要 。
而“乐”则是以其和美之声 ,辅助“礼”实现其目的 。 首先 ,“乐”是通过音符
触动人们的感觉器官 ,在人的情感里产生“和谐”之感 ,培育“和谐”精神 。 “故乐
者 ,审一以定和 ,比物以饰节 ,节奏合以成文 ,所以和合父子君臣 、附亲万民也 。
是先王立乐之方也 。”“故乐者 ,天地之命 ,中和之纪 ,人情所不能免也 。” (枟礼
记 ・ 乐记枠)音乐具有和合各种社会关系 、协调宇宙万物的功效 。 当“乐”作用于
人们的情感 ,人们必然为之震撼 ,内心的情感闸门将被打开 ,产生“乐”所欲达到
的效果 。 其次 ,先贤们赋予“乐”更多的伦理内容 ,“宫为君 ,商为臣 ,角为民 ,徴
为事 ,羽为物 。 五者不乱 ,则无怗懘之音矣 。” (枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠)他们以“五音”比
喻各种人物 ,强调秩序之协调 ,以及各种社会角色须各安其位 ,则社会必然和美
协调 。 其三 ,“乐”在陶冶人们情操 ,培养昂扬向上精神 ,以及移风易俗 、改变民
风等方面具有潜移默化的作用 。 “致乐以治心 ,则易直子谅之心油然生矣 。 易
直子谅之心生则乐 ,乐则安 ,安则久 。” (枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠)由于音乐有如此之强而
持久作用 ,孔子特别重视人们对音乐的选择 ,他要人们多听雅乐 ,远离淫音 。
在伦理构建中 ,“礼”与“乐”是同等重要而有相辅相成的 。 “乐者 ,天地之和
也 。 礼者 ,天地秩序也 。” (枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠)“礼”是关乎“天地秩序” 和“人伦秩
序” ,而“乐”则是和合“人伦关系”和“天人关系” ,这就是礼乐文化的主旨 。 一般
而言 ,“乐者为同 ,礼者为异 。”(枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠)“乐”主“上下之协调” ,而“礼”定
“先后之次序” 。 “乐”所要达到的“和”正是为了实现“礼”的目的 ,因此“乐”是辅

・ 161 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

助 、服从“礼”的需要 。 “礼节民心 ,乐和民声”(枟礼记 ・ 乐记枠) ,先贤们已经注意


到由于社会等级固化 ,“礼”之分在人们心理产生的“不和”倾向 ,须以“乐” 之
“和”平衡 、调节和弥合 ,以便达到社会整体和谐之目的 。
礼乐制度对中国文化的深远影响首先是从政治实践操作开始 ,儒家先贤和
历代君王都高度重视 。 周朝是中国历史发展过程中第一个重要阶段 ,周人将原
始氏族习俗礼法升华为国家政治伦理秩序 ,开始具有了国家的意识与理念 ,周
公是这个历史转折关头的重要人物 ,他制定了礼乐制度 ,具有开创意义 。 第二
个重要阶段是东周末年 ,春秋战国 ,天下大乱 ,“礼坏乐崩” ,以孔子为代表的儒
家先贤再一次把周人的“礼”伦理化 、道德化 ,使礼乐文化更加普及和深入人心 。
第三个阶段是两汉 ,在大一统的背景下 ,以董仲舒为代表的汉儒把“礼”经学化 ,
把“礼仪”提升到“三纲五常” ,使之礼教化 ,对于巩固大一统的汉帝国具有纽带
作用 。 第四个阶段 ,在魏晋时期外来佛教和本土道教的双重挑战下 ,传统礼学
陷入危机 ,宋明时期的理学家如朱熹等人通过五伦设计 、整体和谐和伦理政治
等策略将“礼”提升至神圣的 、绝对的“天理”之至高无上的地位 ,使之具有了宗
教的“神”的地位 。 至此 ,经过这四个重要阶段的发展与提升 ,“礼”不再停留在
政治操作层面上 ,而且已完全渗透到了中国国民的心理 ,实现了对整体国民人
格和文化心理的重塑 ,成为了中国人心理结构的有机组成部分 :从“血缘 — 伦
理 — 政治”结合 、“个人 — 家庭 — 国家”一体 、“孝亲 — 忠君 — 爱国”相连产生了强
大的民族凝聚力和高度的国家认同感 ,达到了社会伦理化 、国家家庭化 、伦理政
治化这一境界 ,从而把中国的礼乐文化推向巅峰 。

四 、礼乐制度与伦理文化评价

中国以礼乐之邦闻名于世 ,盖其礼乐制度是政治制度的重要组成部分 。 中
国先贤们早在夏商周 ,甚至更早 ,就已经在创造着礼乐制度 ,并将其与国家管理
密切结合起来 ,令人赞叹 ,令人仰慕 。 礼仪对于一个社会的重要性是不言而喻
的 ,而能将乐与之配合 ,发挥谐和作用则是中华民族先贤的高度智慧和治世能
力的体现 。
传统中国社会是一个等级森严的“礼不下庶人 、刑不上大夫”的社会 ,且认
为“惟上智与下愚不移也” 。 “礼”明确规定了社会各个等级的尊卑贵贱 ;礼在定
位人们的社会地位 、使人们安于其位 、勿生非分之想 ,巩固社会秩序 、稳定社会
人心等方面起到了无与伦比的作用 ,正所谓“礼节民心” ,而那些繁复的礼仪又

・ 162 ・
第二章   礼乐制度与中国古代的伦理文化

使古代社会变得彬彬有礼 、温文尔雅 。 音乐则配合礼仪 ,达到“乐和民声”之目


的 ,使人们沐浴在“正风俗 、明人伦”的雅乐之中 ,精神受到陶冶 ,心灵得到浸润 。
然而 ,这个礼乐制度的负面作用也是显而易见的 :儒家历来崇尚繁文缛节 ,在当
时就受到其他学派的抨击 ,后世不断有人批评 。 礼仪的繁复和音乐的雅正则从
里到外把古代中国人变得亦步亦趋 、谨小慎微 ,不敢越雷池一步 ,给他们思想上
设置了许多条条框框 。

・ 163 ・
第三章

“天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

    在中国文化中 ,“天人合一”是非常重要的几个核心理念之一 ,它透射着中


国人的世界观 、人生观 ,以及他们的价值取向 。 从这一核心理念出发 ,中国人开
始构筑自己的民族文化追求 :和谐 ,具体说 ,就是天人和谐 ,家国和谐 ,以及宗藩
和谐 。 总之 ,与宇宙万物 、与上下左右 、与外藩国度都要和谐 。 由此可见 ,中国
人是世界上真正的和平主义者 ,渴望与一切人和国家和平相处 ,“和为贵 ,忍为
高” ,欲达和谐之目的 ,“忍”就是必要之策略 。 纵观中国历史 ,以“忍”为核心的
各种策略层出不穷 ,如“和亲”就是一种“忍”的策略 ,甚至连人类建筑史上的奇
观长城也彰显着中国人“忍”的精神 ,以求宇内和平 ,与藩国和谐 ,希望永远不要
有战争 。 当然 ,追求“和谐”也只是中国文化的一个重要方面 ,而不是全部 ,每当
国难当头 ,面临亡国灭种 ,“忍无可忍” ,“是可忍 ,孰不可忍”之时 ,我们中华民族
也有“与自己的敌人血战到底的气概 ,”有“宁为玉碎 ,不为瓦全”的悲剧精神 。
不过 ,追求和谐始终是贯穿中国文化的一条永恒主线 ,追求和谐是中国的主流
文化 。

一 、“天人合一”文化内涵

“天人合一”是中国传统哲学的一个重要概念 ,不同哲学流派对此都有具体
阐发 。 先秦时期已经产生了这一思想 ,即天与人存在“互通”的关系 ,中医名著
枟黄帝内经枠认为 ,人“与天地相应 ,与四时相副 ,人参天地” (枟灵枢 ・ 脉要精微

・ 164 ・
第三章   “天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

论枠) ,“人与天地相参也” (枟灵枢 ・ 岁露枠 ,枟灵枢 ・ 经水枠) ,“与天地如一” (枟素


问 ・ 脉要精微论枠) ,也就是说 ,人虽有独立之精神 ,天虽是一种客观存在 ,但是 ,
天与人有着相同的本原 、属性 、结构和规律 ,可见枟黄帝内经枠 也主张“天人合
一” 。 西汉董仲舒是首先明确使用“天人合一”这一概念 ,甚至用“天人相类” ,
“人副天数”解释人是如何与天相符合的 ,虽有牵强附会之嫌 ,但表明了古人渴
望从这一方面寻找到天人关系的生物学解释 ,反映了古代中国人感到内心深处
与自然的亲近之感 、契合之感 ,甚至觉得自己与自然有亲戚血脉渊源 。 董仲舒
还将这一思想引申为“天人感应”之说 。 到宋代 ,程朱理学将这一思想引申成天
理之说 。 道家也认为 ,“有人 ,天也 ;有天 ,亦天也” ,“天地与我并生 ,万物与我为
一”(枟庄子枠) 。 天就是自然 ,人则是自然的一个部分 ,天与人是并生 、合一的关
系 。 可见 ,中国古代各个哲学流派对于“天人合一”的基本思想都是认可的 ,也
基本上是认同的 。
在枟周易枠开篇的枟乾卦枠就这样写道 ,“大哉乾元 ! 万物资始 ,乃统天 。 云行
雨施 ,品物流行 。 大明终始 ,六位时成 。 时乘六龙以御天 。 乾道变化 ,各正性
命 ,保合大和 ,乃利贞 。 首出庶物 ,万国咸宁 。”先民们把万物起源统统归于天 ,
天无时无刻不在繁衍着宇宙万物 ,而人则是“万物之灵长” ,因此应该效法天的
榜样 ,“以自强不息”之精神 ,积极进取 。 可见中国古代文化之中 ,宗教意识相当
淡漠 ,全无犹太民族拜倒在上帝面前祈祷之虔诚 。 取代这宗教意识的则是天人
之和谐关系 。 从一开始中国人就将“天人合一”理念植根于伦理 ,认为所有人一
出生就“陷入”与他人的关系之中 ,如何协调这些关系就构成硕大无朋的伦理之
网 ,因此人一降生便与天形成一种密切的和谐关系 ,神学已经深深融合在高度
关注人性的伦理意识之中 ,中国人的精神世界再也没有宗教的容身之地了 。
中国“天人合一”的哲学思想与西方传统思想的根本区别在于 :从古希腊至
中世纪 ,西方的哲人们都充分认识到人的有限性 ,在此基础上产生了对超越于
人类有限性之上的更高存在的无限敬畏之情 。 古希腊哲学认为 ,神的智慧是真
正的智慧 ,而人的智慧则无足轻重 。 中世纪基督教认为 ,人生来就带着原罪 ,必
须敬畏上帝以求得到拯救 ,因此产生了浓烈的宗教情感和宗教崇拜 。 恰恰相
反 ,中国儒家认为天人关系是内在关系 ,天道即人道 ,从未把天与人看成两个东
西 ,天需要人来彰显 ,没有人则天毫无意义 ,人要为天地立心 ,由此观之 ,儒学并
未深切体认到人的有限性 ,也就理所当然地不可能产生对于超越于人类之上的
更高存在的敬畏之情 ,宗教之情淡漠也在情理之中 。 儒家虽也有敬畏 ,“君子有
三畏 :畏天命 ,畏大人 ,畏圣人之言 。”其中只有畏天命属于畏惧非人之存在 ,但

・ 165 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

决不是敬畏宗教之神灵 。 那么 ,孔子的“天命”究竟是指什么呢 ? 孔子首先继承


了春秋时期的观念 ,即天为万有的主宰和人格神 ,天命主宰着人的生死和社会
的治乱 ,以及传统的天命鬼神观 ,但是他又主张“敬鬼神而远之” ,也就是在祭祀
时对鬼神表示诚敬之意即可 ,对于鬼神是否存在这个问题则完全可以不探究 ,
因为孔子更注重人事 ,更强调人的主观能动性 ,更是把人生的实际问题置于重
要地位 。 当然 ,孔子的天命观仅停留在感性认识层面 ,从未上升到抽象的绝对
精神层面 ,进入宗教的领域 。 孔子终其一生都在伦理和政治层面探讨人生的问
题 ,几乎很少从形而上角度思考过人生的重要问题 。 这完全是由孔子的价值倚
重和人文关怀所致 ,他的儒学思想是积极进取的入世思想 。
地理原因 :中国大部分地区处于温热带 ,气候温和湿润 ,土地肥沃 ,适宜农
耕 ,在人类历史的早期就创造了发达的农耕文明 。 中国的先民从农耕实践中 ,
享受着自然赐给他们的种种恩惠 ,过着安闲的有保障的生活 ,当然也承受着自
然灾害所造成的种种打击 ,对于“天” ,自然的代表 ,先民们是既感激之至 ,又敬
畏有加 ,甚至有时还牢骚满腹 ,但是他们生长在自然的怀抱 ,对自然感到亲近则
是永远的情感 ,还相当依恋自然 ,这可能是“天人合一”观念产生的地理原因 。
宗法氏族 :从部落氏族制度发展到宗法制国家 ,大约在夏朝 ,古代中国人逐
渐产生了“家国一体”的概念 ,这完全可能是由“天人一体”诱发出的思想 ,既然
人与自然的关系是合二为一的 ,那么自己的小家与国家难道不也是一体的吗 ?
于是 ,开始出现了以家为模式的国的设计 ,可以说这就是“家国同构”的雏形 。
随着历史的推移 ,家国关系通过细致的制度设计和实施进一步得到强化 ,其中
宗法制度对于“家国一体”关系的密切与凝聚产生了至关重要的意义 。
伦理原因 :从原始的生殖崇拜与赞美中 ,先民们逐渐勾画出了中国独特的
伦理思想 ,“有天地然后有万物 ,有万物然后有男女 ,有男女然后有夫妇 ,有夫妇
然后有父子 ,有父子然后有君臣 ,有君臣然后有上下 ,有上下然后礼仪有所措 。”
(枟易 ・ 说卦枠)张载将这一思想生发开来 ,认为 ,天是父亲 ,地是母亲 。 君主是天
地的宗子 ,大臣是宗子的管家 。 所有的百姓都是我的同胞 ,一切有生命的事物
都是我的朋友 。 中国人就这样把自己与自然万物从血缘伦理上亲密地结合在
一起 ,形成了独特的“天人合一”理念 。
当然 ,一种哲学思想的产生可能是由多种因素在特定的历史条件下和特定
的地域里共同造就的 ,但是孕育这一思想的主体 ——— 人或特定的民族才是创造
这一思想的最重要因素 。 中国先民亲近自然 、与自然谐和是他们天性中最为本
质的因素 ,这构成了中国文化的重要特色 。

・ 166 ・
第三章   “天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

二 、中国文化哲学中的和谐理念

中国文化是格外强调和谐的文化 ,从中国人的现实生活 、他们创作出的文


学作品 ,以及他们处理各种关系 ,包括人与天 、臣与君以及对外关系 ,采取了各
种手段或方式以达到和谐 ,并始终将和谐作为最高追求 ,这完全与中国人的个
性与先天形成的世界观密不可分 。
(一) 天人和谐
枟周易 ・ 乾卦 ・ 文言枠说 :“‘大人’者与天地合其德 ,与日月合其明 ,与四时
合其序 ,与鬼神合其吉凶 ,先天而天弗违 ,后天而奉天时 。”这就是“天人合一”的
理念 ,也自然是人生最高的理想境界 。 孔子对天的看法有些矛盾之处 ,他既有
把天看做自然的一面 ,又有视天为可以决定人的命运的神 ,但孔子又不大信神 。
枟孟子 ・ 万章上枠说 :“莫之为而为者 ,天也 ;莫之致而致者 ,命也 。”孟子认为人只
要尽心养性就能认识天 。 枟春秋繁露 ・ 人副天数枠中说 :“人有三百六十节 ,偶天
之数也 ;形体骨肉 ,偶地之数也 ;上有耳目聪明 ,日月之象也 ;体有空窍理脉 ,谷
川之象也 。”枟阴阳义枠中说 :“天亦有喜怒之气 ,哀乐之心 ,与人相副 ,以类合之 ,
天人一也 。”到了董仲舒可以说儒家学派明确提出“天人合一”的思想 。 其实对
于天人合一关系的认识 ,其他学派也有很精彩的见解 ,决不限于儒家 ,老子说 :
“人法地 ,地法天 ,天法道 ,道法自然 。”枟庄子 ・ 齐物论枠说 :“天地与我并生 ,而万
物与我为一 。”看来 ,道家的“天人合一”思想比儒家有过之而无不及 。 “天人合
一”就是关于人与大自然相和谐的思想 。 枟中华思想大辞典枠说 :“主张‘天人合
一’ ,强调天与人的和谐一致是中国古代哲学的主要基调 。”这些都是中国古代
圣贤们的关于“天人合一”的思想观念 ,那么在现实中人们又是怎样体现“天人
合一”或“天人和谐”呢 ?
中国传统哲学以“天人合一”为最高理想 ,贯穿中国古代历史之中 ,它既是
中国传统文化的基本精神 ,也是中国古代士大夫的人生准则 ,渗透在他们的思
维 、言行 、人格理想之中 ,甚至普通的中国人也耳濡目染深受影响 。 从他们生活
的环境营造 、人生道路选择 、生活方式 、宗教信仰 、文学艺术情趣等方面无不打
上“天人合一”的烙印 。 首先 ,在府邸环境营造上 ,中国古代士大夫能主动调节
自己心理以适应外在的大自然 ,使自己与自然达到和谐境界 ,他们以风雅之情
怀 ,徜徉于山水泉林 ,那里是他们体味“天人之际”的最佳地方 ,所以他们多在自
己宅地营造“可居可游” 、参乎造化 、妙和自然的私家园林 ,达到“不出城郭而得

・ 167 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

山林之趣”的目的 。 甚至连中国皇家园林也极力追求“虽由人造 ,宛如天开” 、


“外师造化 ,中得新源”的天成之美 ,打破形式上的和谐与齐整 ,造出模山范水的
天趣 ,本质上是追求人与天之和谐 。 其次 ,在宗教信仰上 ,他们信奉中国化了的
佛教“禅宗” ,也就是“人既在宇宙之中 ,宇宙也在人心之中 ,人与自然并不仅仅
是彼此参与的关系 ,更确切地说是两者浑然如一的整体 。” ① 如此 ,宗教意味大大
淡化 ,但人与自然更加亲近 。 其三 ,在中国绘画艺术中 ,以主客体高度融合 、物
我两忘为前提 ,画家已不是在对具体山水草木进行物理性的临摹 ,而是将自然
拟人化 、渗入画家对自然的参悟和感受 ,画布上出现“气韵生动”的绘画已是画
家对自然对象所作的个人解读后的艺术转化物 ,这里主客体已完全交融了 。 其
四 ,在文学作品中 ,作家们也在追求一种“天人合一” 、天人和谐的境界 。 宋朝哲
学家 、文学家程颢曾做过一首枟秋日偶成枠 :“闲来无事不从容 ,睡觉东窗日已红 。
万物静观皆自得 ,四时佳兴与人同 。 道通天地有形外 ,思入风云变态中 。 富贵
不淫贫贱乐 ,男儿到此是豪雄 。”作者在这里创造了一个天人和谐的画卷 ,这是
一个不刻意追求“天人和”而“天人”自然“而合”的自然妙成的境界 。
(二) 家国和谐
为了使家与国的关系和谐 ,传统的中国政治制度设计使国家家庭化 、家庭
政治化 ,一个家庭就是一个雏形国家 ,而国家则是家的放大 。 君臣关系正如家
庭里的父子关系 ,臣应该无条件地忠于君主就如同儿子要无条件孝敬父母一
般 ,他们之间的关系自然也就和谐了 。 这一“家国同构”的社会组织结构肇始于
古代中国的父系氏族社会的家长制 、家族制 ,形成了以血缘纽带维系的宗法制
度 ,影响中国封建社会达两千多年 。 宗法制度就是以家族为中心 ,以血统远近
区分亲疏的一种制度 。 其主要特征如下 :
1 .以嫡长子继承制为核心 :在宗族内部 ,正嫡作为宗子 ,接受宗族成员的
敬奉 ,有主祭宗庙的特权 ;有主掌宗族财产的特权 ;有主持宗族事务的特权 ;有
规范宗族成员礼仪的特权 ;有对族人实施刑罚的特权 ;还有享嗣 、享祀以及享禄
等特权 。 这就从制度上规定了长子继承权 ,从而避免兄弟相争 ,保障了家庭内
部的和谐关系 。
2 .营造“封建亲戚 ,以藩屏周”的政治格局 :在周朝 ,规定嫡长子继世为天
子 ,其余诸子都分封为诸侯 ;诸侯 ,也由嫡长子继世为君 ,其余都是卿大夫 ;卿大
夫也实行嫡长子继承 ,其他儿子都是士 ;士也由嫡长子继承 ,其他儿子不再分

① 洪修平 、吴永利枟禅学与玄学枠 。

・ 168 ・
第三章   “天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

封 ,作为平民 。 这个不断分封的国真正是一个大家庭 ,各诸侯国与周天子的关


系应该是和谐的 。
东周末年 ,即春秋战国时期 ,完全不同于西周的新制度如郡县制 、官僚制 、
俸禄制如雨后春笋般涌现 ,对宗法制度构成了强有力的挑战 。 郡县制逐渐代替
分封制 ,政权进一步与族权分离 ,贵胄宗族世袭制必然走向家族优势阶段 ,这便
进入了“家国同构”的帝国专制时期 。 战国时期的客卿制 ,秦汉战乱 ,社会重组 ,
产生西汉初年的姓氏平民化 ,朝廷对于潜在的强宗大族予以打击 ,至西汉末 ,没
有形成强大的氏族和严密的宗族组织 。 从东汉到魏晋南北朝 ,世族出现 ,豪强
崛起 ,逐步发展到可以也敢于和国家政权抗衡的地步 。 隋唐以科举取士 ,为寒
门庶族入仕敞开了大门 ,宗法秩序受到冲击 。 宋朝开始重建遭到重创的宗法制
度 ,但不是简单地恢复周朝的宗法制度 ,而是有所创新 ,形成了“宗族共同体” ,
实际上已经由原来的宗法制度发展为“封建家族制” 。 新建的这个制度目的在
于巩固国家政权 ,稳定农耕经济 。 在地方建设中 ,宗族共同体发挥了重要作用 ,
如村组织与家族的结合 、地方长官与宗族首领的共治 ,不仅是族权与政权合二
为一 ,而且使家与国在政治上更为紧密地结合在一起 ,形成真正意义上的“家国
同构”的政治结构 。 这一政治架构的营造是通过对周朝宗法制度的创新而实现
的 。 首先 ,在家族中 ,仍以族长为核心 ,但族长不一定是原来的嫡长子 ,而是由
族人推举产生 ,主持全族事务 ,制定各种族规 、族约等制度 ,并执行和监督它们 。
其次 ,重视续写家谱和建造祠堂 ,通过整理记录家族的历史 ,祭祀列祖列宗 ,宣
讲族规家法 ,达到全族关系和睦 ,为地方和睦作出贡献 。 其三 ,颁布族规家法 ,
作为约束族人 ,惩戒违规者 ,起到重要作用 。 其四 ,教育族中弟子 ,奖掖学业精
进者 ,发挥了培养人才 、纯化社会风气的作用 。 其五 ,置办族田 ,其收入可用来
祭祀祖先 ,教育族人 ,补助生活困难者 ,增加宗族的凝聚力 。 以上种种 ,都为国
家政权巩固和地方稳定发挥了不可替代作用 。
(三) 宗藩和谐
中国很早就创造了灿烂的古代文明 ,其发达程度远远超出周边少数民族和
邻国 。 中国地处东亚 ,在历史上 ,崇山峻岭 、沙漠草原将它与其他重要文明阻
隔 ,自然形成了以中国为中心的东亚古代国际体系 ,即朝贡关系 ,中国为宗主
国 ,周边少数民族和邻国则是它的藩属国 。 宗主国接受藩属国称臣纳贡 ,并给
予他们丰厚的赏赐和相应的册封 ,藩属国则定期携带礼品觐见宗主国皇帝 ,以
示臣服 。 中国完全是将国内的君臣关系移植嫁接到对外关系上 ,他们先进发达
的文明使他们处于制定规则的优越地位 ,又加之天性敦厚而又崇尚虚荣的特

・ 169 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

性 ,才使他们设计出这以“和谐”为中心的宗藩关系 。 为了鼓励周边少数民族和
邻国朝贡创造和谐的宗藩关系 ,达到中外和谐 ,周边安宁 ,共享太平 ,中国朝廷
采取了种种有效的激励政策和措施 ,使他们更加仰慕中华文化 ,同时又感到有
利可图 。
首先 ,“远人不服 ,则修文德以来之” ,努力提高宇内治理的“文德”和教化水
平 ,苦修“内功” ,使“远人”感到更加仰慕和向往中国发达先进的文明 ,愿意跋山
涉水 、不辞辛劳远赴中原 ,学习借鉴中国文明 ,其中在唐朝就有许多国家的留学
生或遣唐使远赴长安学习中国文化和制度 ,日本是其中学习最为虔诚 ,而且效
果最好的 ,他们深入研究并吸收了唐朝的许多制度 ,以创制日本自己的制度 。
这是以“文德”折服四夷 ,使他们倾心中华 ,为其吸引 。
其次 ,朝廷以“厚往薄来”的恩惠政策 ,以优厚的物质赏赐激励“远人”积极
主动前赴中原 ,通过朝贡获得丰厚物质赏赐 ,外加朝贡贸易利润 ,他们当然愿意
不惜一切代价 ,甚至远涉重洋 ,进行朝贡 。 这是所谓“怀柔” 、“羁縻”政策 ,以“利
益”驱动四夷 ,使他们感到有利可图 ,“不虚此行” ,其中高丽国经常要求增加朝
贡次数以表达“孝敬之心” ,其实主要还是物质诱惑难以抗拒 ,这让宗主国有时
都感到不堪重负 ,难以承受 。
其三 ,朝廷主动赴海外去招徕“藩属国”前来朝贡 ,以营造宇内一统 、天下太
平 、万国来朝的盛世景象 ,明成祖曾派遣郑和以庞大的舰队七下西洋 ,既不征服
所访国家 ,也不与他们进行贸易活动 ,毫无经济目的和征服野心 ,仅仅为了招徕
一些藩属国前来朝贡 ,建立和谐宗藩关系 ,这些国家也确实派遣了人员前来朝
贡 ,有些甚至派遣王子等高级别贵族前去北京称臣纳贡 ,皇帝也以慷慨的赏赐
回赠他们 。
历史上 ,中国朝廷曾采取的这一系列政策和措施 ,建立了以中国为宗主国
的宗藩体系 ,其目的是缔造和谐的宗藩关系或和谐的中外关系 ,以求宇内和睦 ,
四海安宁 ,天下太平 。

三 、“天人合一”思想评价

世界各种文化的先民们首先遇到的问题都是人与天所代表的人与自然的
关系问题 ,因为地理 、人文 、历史等种种原因 ,不同文化设定了不同的关系 ,也就
给出了不同的解决方式或者相处方式 。 西方人设定出主客二分的关系 ,即人是
主体 ,而自然万物是客体 ,自然从一开始就处于人的对立面 ,是人要认识与征服

・ 170 ・
第三章   “天人合一”与中国人的和谐理念

的对象 ,自然在这里完全是异己 ,与人截然对立 。 中国古人则恰恰相反 ,提出


“天人合一”的思想 ,认为人与自然的关系应该是合二为一的 ,从一开始就将自
己摆在与自然谐和的位置上 ,对自然感到很亲近 ,认为应该“物我一体” 、“和谐
统一” 。 西方的主客二分思想导致人对自然的征服达到空前的程度 ,特别是工
业革命之后所产生的严重的生态危机 ,人们开始寻找解决的方案 ,于是在东方
古老哲学思想宝库中发现了“天人合一”的理念 ,这无疑是当代生态伦理的重要
资源 。 当然 ,西方人也可回归到基督教文化中 ,重新确认他们曾经有过的对于
超越人类之上的至高无上的神的敬畏 ,以便对上帝的造物表示出他们应有的尊
重和敬意 ,同时借助东方“天人合一”的思想 ,共同应对人类共同的生态危机 。
中国人则要从传统的“天人合一”理念出发 ,构筑自己新的精神家园 ,以便在解
决温饱问题 ,达到比较富裕的生活的过程中 ,一方面继续与自然保持谐和的亲
密关系 ,一方面寻找到能使自己心灵得到永久安慰的形而上的“最高实在” ,诗
意地安栖 ,全方位地提升生活品质 。
西方文化更多关注冲突斗争 ,在他们的文学作品中 ,更多表现充满冲突 、暗
杀 、死亡的悲剧题材 ,从古希腊悲剧到 20 世纪美国现代悲剧 ,无一不是反映这
些血腥的悲剧 ,观众则很愿意从这些悲剧性冲突与死亡的震撼中 ,心灵得到净
化 ,情绪得到舒缓 ,感到无比畅快与满足 。 中国文化则不然 ,它更加关注和谐 ,
他们的现实生活则是平静如止水 ,仿佛是一幅幅静态的画 。 在中国的文学作品
中 ,大多表现田园生活 ,即使有斗争和冲突 ,作品也要以大团圆结束 ,如作品结
束时 ,不能出现大团圆结局 ,也要像枟窦娥冤枠一样 ,人物的冤情在幻想的世界得
到倾诉 ,正义在想象的世界得到伸张 ,这样读者或观众方可感到心满意足 。 东
西方两种不同的世界观和价值观 ,必然造就两种不同的民族 ,不同的生活方式
和行为方式 ,以及截然不同的审美情趣 。

・ 171 ・
第四章

儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

    在中国众多的哲学流派中 ,就其对中国文化以及中国士人的心灵建构所产
生的深远影响而言 ,任何一个流派都无法与儒家和道家相比 。 儒家和道家两派
看似互相对立 ,实则互为补充 ,在塑造和影响中国士人的心灵建构方面发挥了
不可替代的互补作用 。 孔子以及他所创立的儒学在塑造中国国民性格和文化
心理结构上的历史地位是毋庸置疑的 ,孔学甚至成了中国文化的同义语 。 孔子
以理性主义精神阐释中国古代原始文化 ,不作抽象的玄思 ,以理性观照现实生
活 、伦理情感和政治理念 。 孟子和荀子承继孔子的理性精神 ,沿着孔学的基本
思路 ,完善了儒学体系 ,形成了儒家无神论 (怀疑论)的世界观和积极入世的人
生观 。 道家 ,作为儒家最主要的对立学派 ,有效地平衡和补充了儒家学说 ,相辅
相成地塑造中国人的世界观 、人生观 、文化心理结构 。 在中国士大夫的心灵深
处 ,完美地体现了儒道两种哲学思想的兼容并蓄 ,互相依存 ,互为补充 ,“达则兼
济天下 ,穷则独善其身”就是他们人生的真实写照 。

一 、孔子其人及儒家思想

孔子 ,名丘 ,字仲尼 ,生于公元前 551 年 ,卒于公元前 479 年 ,春秋末期鲁国


陬邑人(今山东曲阜人) 。 幼年丧父 ,家道中落 。 少时管理过仓廪 ,放过牛羊 。
“吾少也贱 ,故多能鄙事 。”(枟论语 ・ 子罕枠)这是他对自己早年生活的描绘 ,但他
贫而有志 ,15 岁开始发奋学习 ,而且终生都保持“学而不厌”的精神 。 30 岁时已

・ 172 ・
第四章   儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

经学有所长 ,开始周游各国 ,希望施展自己的政治才能 ,积极有为 ,实现自己的


政治理想 ,最终因自己的政治主张不被各诸侯国的君主接受 ,而不能“入仕” ,但
他“知其不可而为之” ,从他学成之后 ,便开始授徒讲学 ,创立私学 。 通过创办教
育 ,培养人才 ,鼓励推荐学生入仕 ,以此作为自己参与政治的另一种手段 ,且终
生不辍 。 在办学的过程中 ,他创立了儒家思想并用这些思想培养了大量人才 。
他一生办教育的几个重要阶段 :
1 .开创私学 ,声名远播 。 自学成到去齐国宦游之前 ,仅有 7 年的时间 。 这
一时期 ,时间虽短 ,但此时的孔子刚过而立之年 ,以自己超凡的聪慧和超人的勤
奋 ,饱读历代典籍 ,可以说是满腹经纶 ,正在创立自己的学派 。 这一时期 ,学生
也不多 ,但却已有只比他小 6 岁的颜路 ,即孔子终生最得意的学生颜回之父 ,还
有比他只小 9 岁的子路 ,子路几乎是一生陪伴在孔子左右 。 孔子的私学在社会
上已经是声名远播 ,其思想开始流传 。
2 .宦游列国 ,授徒不辍 。 从孔子 37 岁到 68 岁这 31 年间 。 他周游列国 ,期
间有 4 年多的时间从政 ,这是孔子仅有的实践政治主张的官场实验 ,同时他并
没有停止授徒 。 这是孔子一生中教育生涯的黄金时期 。 他的教育理念更趋成
熟 ,教学经验更加丰富 ,教育水平愈加高超 。 一时间 ,学子从各国慕名而来 ,拜
师学艺者如云 ,人人都以能成为孔门弟子为荣 。 其著名弟子 ,如颜回 、子贡 、冉
求等 ,大都在这一时期进入孔门 。 这些人有的后来跟随孔子周游列国 ,侍奉左
右 ,聆听教诲 ,有的则学成之后进入官场 ,实践孔子的主张 ,但仍时时拜见孔子 ,
请教治国理政问题 。
3 .整理典籍 ,培育英才 。 他 68 岁停止周游列国活动到去世 ,大概 5 年 。 一
生的政治追求虽告失败 ,但他不愧是一位“达人” ,仍能“发愤忘食 ,乐以忘忧 ,不
知老之将至 。”(枟论语 ・ 述而枠)对于政治仍不时发表一些政见 ,尽管没有人听他
的意见 。 晚年 ,孔子把主要精力用到办教育和整理古代文化典籍上 ,卓有成效 。
晚年孔子培养了子夏 、子游 、子张 、曾参等优秀弟子 ,他们则是儒学创立的参与
者和传播者 。
孔子一生经历常人难以承受的打击 :人生理想的破灭 ,周游列国 ,遭受各国
君主的冷遇 ,以及小人的围攻 ,有时还会挨饿 。 晚年遭受诸多不幸 :丧失了独生
子孔鲤 ,最得意的门生颜回病故 ,终生陪伴自己的忠诚学生子路阵亡等 。 在中
华民族的历史长河中 ,对国人性格 、气质 、为人处世方式等发生永久性影响者 ,
首推孔子 。 孔子首先是一位品德高洁的知识分子 ,伟大的思想家 ,独步古今的
教育家 ,失败的政治家 。 他生性正直 ,乐观向上 ,积极进取 ,“学而不厌 、诲人不

・ 173 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

倦”是他真实的人生写照 。
儒学基本内容 :儒学为孔子首创 ,由孟子 、荀子等儒学大师发展完善 ,到汉
代 ,董仲舒的“天人三策”得到汉武帝赏识 ,遂“罢黜百家 ,独尊儒术” ,成为国家
主流和主导意识形态 ,以后虽有短暂衰落 ,但其主导性地位始终未能撼动 。 宋
代的“程朱理学”以及宋代陆九渊和明代王阳明的“心学”则是儒学发展到封建
社会末期的最后辉煌 。 纵观中国两千多年的封建历史 ,自孔子创立儒学以后 ,
它基本上成为了中国封建社会的官方意识形态 ,受到历代统治阶级的高度重视
和特别推崇 。
孔子的儒学核心是“仁” ,所谓“仁者爱人” ,主张以爱人之心调节各种社
会关系 ,其思想应用到治国方面就是“以德治国” ,反对滥用民力 ,滥施杀伐 。
面对春秋末年 ,天下大乱的局面 ,孔子感到痛心疾首 ,称之为“礼崩乐坏” ,主
张“克己复礼”(枟论语 ・ 颜渊枠) ,维护周礼 ,其主要思想渗透在他晚年审编的
枟诗经枠 、枟尚书枠 、枟易经枠 、枟礼记枠和枟春秋枠中 。 孟子在战国时期 ,发展了孔子
的“仁政”思想 ,提出“民贵君轻” (枟孟子 ・ 尽心下枠)的民本思想 ,荀子则从唯
物论的角度提出“制天命而用之”的思想 ,他认为 ,自然规律完全可以被人认
识 ,并能为人带来福祉 。 除孔子修订的五经 ,孔子的弟子以及再传弟子们编
写了枟大学枠 、枟中庸枠 、枟论语枠和枟孟子枠四书 。 这“四书五经”遂成了儒学的开
山之作 。
秦始皇以武力扫平六国 ,定鼎天下 。 为了尽快安定人心 ,统一思想 ,他仍
以法家思想 ,雷霆手段 ,“焚书坑儒” ,秦王朝的短命使统治者无暇考虑儒学的
问题 。 汉初 ,以黄老之学 ,与民休息 ,经六七十年 ,国力强盛 ,武帝乃采纳一代
鸿儒董仲舒“罢黜百家 、独尊儒术”的建议 ,把儒学提升为国家统治思想 。 董
仲舒还提出了“天人感应”的思想 。 唐朝皇帝以老子姓李而尊道家思想 ,出现
了儒道佛并驾齐驱的局面 。 宋朝出现以二程和朱熹为代表的“程朱理学” ,朱
熹则是“理学”的集大成者 ,他的主要思想都记载在枟四书章句集注枠和后人编
的枟朱子语类枠里 ,这些重要思想都是以儒学为基础的 。 宋朝的陆九渊和明朝
的王阳明创立了“心学” ,他们认为“心是万物之源” ,“心外无物 ,心外无理 ,心
外无事 。”“理学”和“心学”都是儒学在封建社会的后期不同的历史阶段的发
展 ,为当时的统治阶级所尊崇 ,成为科举考试的经典范本 ,也是主流的国家意
识形态 。

・ 174 ・
第四章   儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

二 、老子其人及道家思想

老子作为道家创始人被后代敬仰 ,但他的生平事迹一如他的哲学思想扑朔
迷离 ,令人很难捕捉到他的踪迹 。 想象当年他的生活必定是闲云野鹤 ,居无定
所 ,终日以自然为伴 ,谛听天籁之声 ,参悟着其中的玄机 。 老子的生平并不是因
为年代的久远 ,在今天变得模糊 ,其实在司马迁的时代就已经是个传说 ,“老子
者 ,楚苦县厉乡曲仁里人也 ,姓李氏 ,名耳 ,字摐 ,周守藏室之史也 … … 或曰 :老
莱子亦楚人也 … … 或曰儋即老子 ,或曰非也 ,世莫知其然否 。 老子 ,隐君子也 。”
司马迁这里已经认为有三个可能的老子 ,后世更是众说纷纭 ,莫衷一是 。 据枟史
记枠记载 ,孔子曾向老子请教 ,回来说“其犹龙邪” ,可见老子有龙之雄奇 ,高深莫
测 ,孔子都敬若神明 ,可见老子应该早于孔子 。 从传说中的老子个性 ,他肯定不
像孔子那样以授徒讲学为己任 。 虽有弟子 ,但为数不多 ,其后世主要代表人物
为庄子 。 庄子 ,名周 ,战国宋国蒙人(今河南商丘东北) ,是老子之后最著名的道
家学派代表人物 ,著名思想家 、哲学家 、文学家 。 庄子继承和发展了老子的思
想 ,他的哲学思想虽包罗万象 ,反映了当时社会的各个侧面 ,但他的基本思想还
是与老子一脉相承的 ,后世称“老庄哲学” 。 庄子一生潦倒 ,但却不接受楚威王
的聘请 ;他虽做过漆园小吏 ,生活仍很贫穷 。 庄子品德高洁 ,个性鲜明 ,言语犀
利 ,天性淡泊名利 ,主张清静无为 。 庄子表面平静 ,与世无争 ,也很率性 ,骨子里
有着强烈的爱憎 ,其文汪洋恣肆 ,博大雄奇 ,非常富有想象力 。
道家主要思想 :老子高屋建瓴 ,从形而上的角度探索人与自然的关系 ,创立
了他的本体论和宇宙论 。 “道”的概念是老子哲学的最高范畴 ,更是中国古代哲
学中的重要概念 。 以“道”为核心 ,老子创立了自己的哲学体系 ,甚至可以说 ,老
子是中国哲学的开创者 。 老子对于宇宙起源和本体的探求 ,他的认识论和丰富
的辩证法思想 ,都是他学说中最具有“独创性”的人类哲学思想 。 “老子的道论
是中国哲学本体论的开始 ,这是确然无疑的 。 在中国哲学本体论的发展过程
中 ,道家学说居于主导地位 。” ① “道”是老子思想中最为重要的命题 ,老子说 ,“有
物混成 ,先天地生 。 寂兮寥兮 ,独立而不改 ,周行而不殆 ,可以为天地之母 。 吾
不知其名 ,强字之曰道 ,强为之名曰大 。 大曰逝 ,逝曰反 。 故道大 ,天大 ,地大 ,
人亦大 。 域中有四大 ,而人居其一焉 。 人法地 ,地法天 ,天法道 ,道法自然 。”

① 张岱年枟道家在中国哲学史上的地位枠 ,刊于枟道家文化研究枠第六辑 。

・ 175 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

(枟道德经枠第二十五章)可见这个“道”是先天地而存在 ,又是无形的 、本原的 、物


质的 ,宇宙万物发展变化 ,最终都要返回到“道” 。 第二个重要概念是“无” 和
“有” ,老子说 ,“天下万物生于有 ,有生于无 。”宇宙万物有名有形 ,但其根源则在
于“道” ,因此“无”才是其本原 。 “有无相生 ,难易相成 ,长短相形 ,高下相盈 ,音
声相和 ,前后相随 ,恒也” 。 (枟道德经枠第二章)“有”和“无”是相辅相成的 ,“难易
高下长短”也是互相成就的 。 因此 ,宇宙间既要有有名有形的万物 ,也要有无形
无名的“道” 。 第三个重要概念“无为无不为” 。 老子说 ,“为学日益 ,为道日损 ,
损之又损 ,以至于无为 ,无为而无不为 。”(枟道德经枠四十八章)学习模仿别人 ,则
要做的事会愈来愈多 ,遵循道而行事 ,则要做的事会愈来愈少 ,最后可以“无
为” ;老子认为 ,“道法自然” ,道也是自然的 ,也就是无为的 ,人就应该效法道 。
人尽量不要干预万事万物 ,让它们自由发展变化 ,这看似“无为” ,实际上则是
“无不为” ,或者说收到“无不为”之效果 。
“道”是老子和庄子哲学的核心范畴 。 庄子对“道”的解释基本上没有超出
老子哲学的本意 ,他们有着一种非常直接的师承关系 。 庄子有宏大的视野和开
阔的胸襟 ,主张人在精神层面上试图达到一种不需要依赖外力而能成就的境
界 ,逍遥自在 ,自由翱翔 ,他把宇宙与人的关系看成是“天人合一”的 ,具有通达
的生死观 。 庄子自觉继承老子哲学 ,并能深刻指出儒家学说异化人的本质这一
问题 。 庄子对老子思想的体系化和深化堪与孟子对孔子思想的体系化和深化
相媲美 。 老子是道家的开山鼻祖 ,他的哲学更多关注于本体论哲学 ,是真正意
义上关于“道”的哲学 ,人生与社会的问题仅处于从属地位 。 庄子则完全把人如
何在社会上存在提升到了他哲学的核心地位 ,他所说的“道”则完全是为其人生
哲学服务的 ,庄子哲学是一种真正意义上的生命哲学 ,他的思考也具有终极的
意义 ,深化和丰富了道家思想 。

三 、儒道学派异同及其互补

(一) 儒道学派之异同
从表层看 ,儒 、道是完全对立的 ,一个主张入世 ,一个主张出世 ;一个乐观进
取 ,一个消极退避 ;但在哲学的深层上两家相互补充 、相得益彰 。 老子和孔子哲
学思想的差异是十分广泛的 ,但就其最主要的方面而言 ,莫过于理论上各有偏
重和价值观念的不同 。

・ 176 ・
第四章   儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

1 .关注点不同
老子仰望浩渺太空 ,专注形而上的问题和人与自然的关系问题 ,建立的是
本体论和宇宙论 。 孔子则注视烟火人间 ,思索人与人的关系问题 ,建立的是伦
理学 。 如果就本体论和宇宙论而言 ,孔子在这方面基本上是没有进行探究 ,因
而也就没有建树 ,而如果就伦理学而言 ,老子基本上没有发表过什么见解 ,到了
庄子 ,他从“道”出发 ,关注人 ,也更多是关注个体生命的生存问题 ,人生的终极
思考 ,迥然不同与儒家所关注的人与人的关系问题 。 老子和孔子由于所关注和
思考的主要问题的不同 ,形成了他们在哲学思想上各有偏重就是自然而然的 。
2 .价值观念不同
孔子的儒学价值观以人文主义为其基本特征 ,关注人们的道德完善和人格
提升 ,主张积极进取 ,献身社会事业 。 老子的道家则以自然主义为其基本特征 ,
珍重人们天然的真朴之性和内心的宁静和谐 ,主张超越世俗 ,顺应自然 。
儒道两家由于关注点和价值观念不同 ,所以为人们和社会设计出的道路也
就不同 。 儒家主张个人“修身 、齐家 、治国 、平天下” ,个人的价值只有在社会群
体中才能实现 ,因此必须以天下为己任 ,积极进取 。 道家对于文明发展持一种
谨慎的态度 ,老子和道家大师们深刻洞悉人性异化问题 、文明进步扭曲人的心
灵问题等 ,采取自然主义策略以避免 、预防和矫正 。 相比之下 ,有人就认为老庄
等道家学派不如儒家那么有责任感和事业心 ,其实恰恰相反 ,老子和庄子都是
一些具有强烈社会责任感和历史使命感的知识分子 ,只是他们关注社会和解决
问题的方式不似儒家那么直截了当 。 孔子与孟子等儒学先贤虽有“知其不可而
为之”的精神 ,但面对社会的黑暗也常怀超然物外的心态 ,孔子在“道不行”之
时 ,也曾萌发“乘桴浮于海”(枟论语 ・ 公冶长枠)之念 ,也曾说 ,“天下有道则见 ,无
道则隐 。”(枟论语 ・ 泰伯枠)浩气凛然的孟子不也主张“穷则独善其身 ,达则兼济
天下”吗 ? 孔 、孟 、老 、庄毕竟是达人 ,哲学见解不同 ,但都具有强烈的社会责任
感和历史使命感 ,都能以旷达洒脱的精神面对社会现实 ,提出各自不同的解决
方案 。
(二) 儒道思想互补
儒道互补指在两种学说的发展过程中互相借鉴 、不断完善自身发展 ,从开
始的截然对立 ,逐渐发现自身之不足 ,从对方汲取学养 ,丰富和弥补自己的学说
体系 。 当然 ,儒道互补也指中国士大夫对于两种哲学体系的综合运用 ,当人生
得意 ,仕途顺利 ,即将大展宏图之时 ,他们都踌躇满志 ,奉儒学为圭臬 ,积极进
取 ,一旦仕途失意 ,进取受挫 ,则立刻调整自己思想 ,转入道家 ,以超然物外的态

・ 177 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

度面对人生的不如意 ,求得心灵的平衡 ,以待新机遇的到来 ,甚至能把这暂时的


失意与逆境当做积聚力量 、磨炼意志的绝佳机会 ,很多人毕竟是在这失意中走
完了人生全部历程 ,只有极少数人能东山再起 ,奋发有为 ,无论如何 ,这道家思
想给了他们以无穷力量 ,使他们处逆境而不馁 ,保持乐观的人生态度 。
从枟史记枠记载孔子曾问礼于老子 ,这很可能是个传说 ,但这个传说很有象
征意义 。 两派创始人都有这样的胸怀 ,希望学习对方 、了解对方 ,与对手切磋 ,
或者对话 ,这也可理解为儒道互补的肇始 。 战国末期应该是儒道两家互相借鉴
的第一次高峰 ,其时黄老道家几乎是吸收了各家 ,尤其是儒家的所长 ,如儒家的
伦理 、仁义 、礼治等思想 ,而孟子和荀子为代表的儒家后起之秀则深受道家宇宙
观和自然观的影响 ,吸纳其合理成分 ,丰富儒学体系 ,他们感到了孔子儒学在自
然观 、宇宙观 、认识论 、辩证法等哲学层面的诸多缺失 。 孟子等在思辨方面可以
说从谈玄论道中发展了他们的思辨能力 。 宋明时期的新儒学正是程 、朱 、陆 、王
吸收道家思想 、实现儒道互补的第二个重要时期 ,他们大量引进道家的重要哲
学概念 ,如“无极” 、“太极” 、“无” 、“有” 、“道” 、“器” 、“动” 、“静” 、“虚” 、“实” 、
“常” 、“变” 、“天” 、“理” 、“气” 、“性” 、“命” 、“心” 、“情” 、“欲”等 ,以此再造儒学新
体系 ,使之更加完善 、深邃 ,道学通过新儒学家们的吸纳逐渐进入儒学 ,成为儒
学的有机组成部分 ,也构成了士大夫的思想意识 。 从先秦时期诞生的儒道和道
家 ,开始对立 ,逐渐互相吸收 ,成为影响中华民族的两大哲学流派 ,最后终于通
过冲突 、交融到达了“你中有我 、我中有你”的境界 。
孔子对世界的认识中其实就包含了怀疑论的因素与积极进取两个方面 ,在
后世则发展出两个看似截然对立 、实则互补的流派 :以荀子为代表的无神论 ,另
外则是以庄子为代表的泛神论 。 孔子本人对氏族成员个体人格的尊重发展成
为了孟子的伟大人格理想 ,同时也演化出庄子的遗世绝俗的独立人格理想 。 这
些都可以说是同出一源 ,都可追溯到孔子的思想中去 ,虽然孔子当时并没有详
细论述和深入探讨 。 在后世的发展中 ,儒 、道两派又在一个更高的层面和更深
的程度上交融了 、契合了 ,相互吸收和接纳了 ,成为中国人精神世界的重要组成
部分 。

四 、儒道思想简评

自汉武帝采纳“罢黜百家 、独尊儒术”的国策以来 ,两千多年的中国社会


基本上形成了儒家正统的格局 ,儒学居于官方意识形态地位 ,儒家的核心价

・ 178 ・
第四章   儒道互补与中国士人的心灵世界

值观对于古代士大夫的心灵建构和人生追求的影响无疑是无与伦比的 。 但
是人生失意 、仕途多舛 ,士大夫在追求建功立业 、大展宏图的宦海沉浮中多数
时候处于逆境 ,如何调节自己心理 、抚慰心灵 、承受打击 、锤炼意志 、以图东山
再起 ? 对于逆境中的士大夫 ,道家学说的超然物外 、老庄的人生智慧方能让
他们醍醐灌顶 、豁然开朗 、笑傲人生 ,因此 ,两者都是他们不可须臾离开的重
要思想法宝 。
儒家学说主张士人必须以天下为己任 ,君子必须能担当 ,这种责任意识甚
至扩展到了每一个普通人 ,所谓“天下兴亡 ,匹夫有责” 。 因此 ,儒家为士人设计
的是一条安邦定国 、济世安民的人生道路 ,“士不可不弘毅 ,任重而道远” ,士就
应该以这种自强不息 、百折不挠的进取精神 ,实现远大的理想 ,实现自己人生价
值 ,这儒家人生态度无疑是积极的 、正确的 ,以此精神哺育士人 ,为国家培养和
造就了一代代仁人志士 ,他们在治世和乱世都曾发挥了中流砥柱的作用 ,缔造
了中华文明 。 然而 ,社会和政治的现实是残酷的 、复杂的 ,士人在积极进取的道
路上需要面对挫折和失败 ,不断调节自己的心理 ,抚慰自己的精神 ,以超然和洒
脱的态度 ,忍受一时之“穷” ,积聚力量 ,修炼自己 ,道家哲学中诸如自然 、柔弱 、
无为 、知足 、知止 、淡泊 、居下 、处顺 、静观 、谦让 、取后 、不争等观念都体现了高度
的人生智慧 ,道家这些思想是最好的精神调节器和心理稳定器 。 儒家式的人生
设计缺乏足够的回旋余地 ,“刚”有余而“韧”不足 ,太刚则容易折 ,必须辅之以道
家的人生态度以平衡之 ,但太柔则容易废 ,仅有道家的人生态度是远远不够的 。
这两种哲学思想通过他们的主要代表人物 ,实现学说互补 ,将道家许多重要概
念引入儒家学说 ,形成新儒学 ,使之刚柔相济 ,更加合理 ,同时士大夫在他们的
人生追求过程中 ,既以儒学作为自己的指导思想 ,设计远大的人生目标 ,并孜孜
以求 ,百折不回 ,又兼修道学 ,让他们的视野更加开阔 ,学会等待时机 ,在逆境中
更要善待自己和这境况 ,使这不利的境况成为修炼自己的绝好机会 ,一旦从
“穷”转“达”之后 ,积聚的能量和修炼的真功方可有用武之地 。 儒道互补 ,即儒
家思想作为封建时代的主导思想 ,其不足之处是显而易见 ,道家的思想和人生
态度恰恰可以弥补这一不足 ,使之相辅相成 ,相得益彰 。 两种哲学思想是完全
不同的 ,他们的价值体系和人生理想设定决定了他们的历史地位和所发挥的不
同作用 :儒学居于正统的 、官方的 、国家意识形态地位 ,而道学则处于辅助 、调节
和缓冲地位 。
从中国古代优秀的士大夫人生轨迹中 ,都能发现这两种学说的交替运用 :
他们既能在“穷”之时“独善其身” ,更能在“达”之时“兼济天下” ;“处江湖之远”

・ 179 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

仍能“忧其君” ,“居庙堂之高” ,亦能“忧其民” 。 他们受到不公正的对待 ,甚至身


陷囹圄 ,泰然处之 ,平反昭雪之后 ,无怨无悔 ,以国事为重 ,立刻投身到工作中
去 ,继续建功立业 ,这些儒学之士因为“任重道远”而无暇“怨恨”和“慨叹” ,将人
生理想的实现作为自己最重要的人生追求 ,因此他们无暇旁顾 、无须旁顾 。 儒
道互补是中国文化的重要特征之一 ,儒道两种哲学思想也是中国士大夫心灵深
处交替运用的思想武器和人生智慧 。

・ 180 ・
第五章

民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观

    中国是一个民族众多的国家 。 在中华民族大家庭中 ,汉族是人数最多的主


体民族 ,但是汉族也是在不断与其他民族通婚过程中发展与壮大起来的 ,因此
汉族并不是纯血统的民族 。 汉族比较能够接纳别的民族 ,不像其他有些民族对
于民族间的通婚限制那么多 。 在世界各民族中 ,中国的民族问题是处理得比较
好的 ,因为作为主体民族的汉族本来就是由若干民族逐渐融合而成的 ,对于其
他民族总是采取接纳和容忍的态度 ,很少排斥其他民族 ,另外在漫长的中国历
史上 ,民族融合是一个不断重复的主题 ,有时是国家有意识行为 ,更多时候是自
发和自然的行为 ,其结果是形成了世界上最大的民族 ——— 汉族 ,一个融合了许
多民族血统和文化基因的民族 。

一 、中国民族大融合的历史进程

纵观中国历史 ,中华民族形成经历了一个漫长的历史演变 ,主要有四个重


要时期 :
(一) 先秦时期 :中国主体民族 ——— 华夏族形成
根据传说和考古发现 ,从传说的炎黄时代一直到尧舜禹时代 ,起源于黄河
中 、下游的炎帝和黄帝两大部落经过多次斗争 ,最后决定结成联盟 ,向东战胜了
以泰山为基地的太昊 、少昊部落 ,以此建立跨整个黄河流域的大联盟 ,形成特大
部落联盟 ,向南大败占据江汉流域的苗蛮部落 ,基本形成华夏族 。 华夏族就是

・ 181 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

汉民族的前身 ,华夏族本身就是经过多次与多个部落冲突 、融合的结果 ,它融合


了夏 、商 、周三族 ,既包含了尊奉黄帝为始祖的“华夏族” ,也包括了华夏化了的
戎人 、夷人等 。 到了春秋战国 ,民族融合更加迅速 。 在中原地区 ,内迁的非华夏
族逐渐被华夏化了 。 在东边 ,齐 、鲁两国分别将山东半岛的诸夷吞并 。 在西边 ,
秦国崛起 ,西戎加入秦人 。 在南方 ,楚国独大 ,征服并统一了诸蛮部落 ,边疆地
区的民族融合也在如火如荼进行着 。 这一时期可谓中华民族的孕育期 ,华夏诸
侯经过血与火的战争 ,逐步兼并 、统一了一些小的诸侯国 。 到战国时期 ,仅剩下
为数不多的几个大国和大国之间的小的缓冲国 ,先前不被认可的“蛮夷”之邦秦
国和楚国也被接受为“诸夏”的一部分 ,这些区域性小统一为秦最终实现“华夏
一统”奠定了坚实基础 。 这一时期民族融合的最大成果就是华夏族的诞生 ,一
个通过迁徙 、冲突 、战争和通婚在多个部落 、多个族群基础上产生的新的民族集
团 。 因为融合了多个部落 ,华夏族成了人数最多的民族 ,在以后的历史进程中 ,
华夏族以更加开放的心态和胸襟接纳来自不同部族的人们 ,对于血统和通婚始
终保持一种通达和宽容的态度 ,基本上不设“禁忌”和“限制” 。
(二) 魏晋南北朝时期 :“五胡”汉化与汉人“夷化”
东汉末年 ,群雄并起 ,逐鹿中原 ,三国归晋 ,匈奴南侵 ,遂亡西晋 ,东晋偏
安 ,后出现南北割据局面 ,这“天下大乱”也正是民族融合的大好时机 ,不同民
族在乱世或逃亡迁徙 ,或与有共同命运的其他民族结为伴侣 ,以前相对固定
的民族居住地也被打乱了 ,不同民族杂居了 ,这就使得民族间的融合变得更
加便利 。 在这个“天下大乱”的背景下 ,民族大迁徙 、民族大分化 、民族大杂居
是其主要特点 。 许多居住在中原四周的少数民族也趁机到中原的政治舞台
上一试身手 。 在北方 ,有匈奴 、鲜卑 、羯 、氐 、羌 ,史称“五胡” ,他们如走马灯一
般在中原建立政权 ,与汉族世族阶级联合 。 当时 ,在中原大地 ,胡汉杂居和通
婚成为平常事 ,更有孝文帝那样开明的君主 ,号召他们的族人模仿汉人的政
治制度 ,穿汉服 ,改汉姓 ,这些胡人不仅是生活方式汉化了 ,而且生产方式也
逐渐改变了 ,由游牧转向了农耕 。 到隋文帝统一中国时 ,当年到中原的塞外
“胡人”基本上已融入汉民族之中 。 而在南方 ,由于秦统一时 ,有大量的军人
进入岭南 ,汉之时更有大量的汉人南下入“蛮夷”之地 。 魏晋南北朝 ,许多汉
人为了避战乱和逃税役 ,逃亡南方 ,也有到河西陇右 。 这一时期 ,民族融合的
显著特点是双向的 、对流式的 ,全国各民族都在迁徙 ,北方少数民族 南迁中
原 ,建立政权 ,中原汉人为避战乱逃离家园 ,远走岭南“蛮夷”之地 ,“胡人”汉
化和汉人“胡化”或“夷化” 相当普 遍 。 所以 ,有些蛮夷实际上正是南 迁的汉

・ 182 ・
第五章   民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观

人 ,接受当地人习俗和语言 ,逐渐形成的 ,这在其他区域也有发生 ,人数相对


较少 。
(三) 辽宋夏金元时期 :契丹 、党项 、女真融入汉族
唐朝末年也如汉朝末年 ,天下分裂 ,天下大乱 ,政权更迭 ,倏忽之间 。 至北
宋建立 ,也仅仅是统一了半个中国 ,与它并立的政权有辽 、西夏 。 金国崛起 ,灭
亡北宋 ,宋皇族唯一漏网的皇子赵构南逃 ,在杭州建立南宋 ,偏安江南一隅 ,与
它对峙的政权有金和西夏 。 在两宋期间 ,多个政权并存 ,互相冲突 ,战乱频仍 ,
民族迁徙经常发生 。 在其他少数民族政权内部 ,首先进行大规模的民族融合过
程 ,辽国是契丹人建立 ,契丹人前身是鲜卑 ,他们曾东征西讨 ,不断扩充自己的
势力和扩大自己的地盘 ,向东一直打到渤海和新罗(今朝鲜半岛) ,西至西北 ,还
向南发展 ,遂使自己管辖的范围内汉人剧增 ,甚至超过契丹人 ,两个民族交融 ,
形成了具有契丹特点的汉文化主体 。 西夏国为党项族所建 ,党项人则主要是党
项羌 ,他们吸纳氐 、羌 、吐蕃和其他游牧民族的文化 ,全盛时其统治区域包括今
天宁夏 、陕北 、甘肃西部和内蒙古一部分 ,在其内部进行了民族融合 ,使西北一
代民族间距离进一步缩小 ,为西北的区域统一作出贡献 。 女真人崛起于东北的
白山黑水间 ,发展迅速 ,灭辽国 ,亡北宋 ,建立大金国 ,将北宋皇族和宫女大臣几
乎全部掳去北国 ,其中有徽 、钦二帝 ,还有部分汉民 ,同时也将许多女真人迁往
占领的契丹和汉人的地盘上 ,这客观上促进了女真人与汉人的民族融合和文化
交流 。 在南宋南部 ,西南各民族间的交往也不断增多 ,吐蕃区域内 ,大理国等都
与南宋交往频繁 。 在元朝统一前 ,各个政权之间在激烈冲突与斗争的同时 ,还
有频繁的外交 、朝贡 、互市 、联姻等交流 ,其结果也是双向的 ,有些少数民族融入
汉族 ,也有汉人融入少数民族 。 元朝建立 ,蒙古族统治全国 ,但官员多是汉族 ,
不仅各族血统在混合 ,而且文化也在融合 ,蒙古统治者仍然继承宋朝甚至更早
朝代的制度 ,思想上尊奉孔子 ,建孔庙 ,保存孔府的文档 。 当然 ,元统治者实行
民族歧视政策 ,从消极的方面促进了民族融合 ,客观上消除了女真人与汉人的
民族界限 ,使他们彻底融入汉民族 。
(四) 清朝时期 :汉 、满 、蒙大融合
满人入关 ,举族南迁 ,入主中原 ,经过近 300 年的统治 ,满汉之间虽仍有矛
盾 ,但融合则是主流 ,满族人基本上汉化了 ,全族改用汉语 ,基本放弃了满语 ,完
全融入中华民族大家庭 。 满人定鼎北京 ,举族入关 ,客观上消除了满汉之间的
地域界限 ,与汉人杂居 ,起初以征服者的姿态自居 ,傲慢无礼 ,民族情绪极端对

・ 183 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

立 ,加上推行“圈地” 、“投充” 、“剃发”等不得人心的政策 ,激发满汉之间的民族


矛盾 ,后逐渐调整 ,并采取了一系列和缓政策 ,如大清统治者主动与汉族地主阶
级联合等 ,康熙甚至亲自祭拜孔庙 ,行三叩九拜之大礼 ,解开民族间的死结 。 清
朝空前地加强了边疆管理 ,这不仅巩固了国防 ,而且促进了边疆民族之间的交
往与融合 ,册封西藏宗教领袖 ,派遣住藏大臣 ,密切了边疆省份与中央和内地的
关系 ,将黑龙江 、乌苏里江流域的少数民族内迁东北腹地 ,促进民族交流 。 对于
内地许多因战乱迁居边疆的汉人 ,也鼓励与边疆少数民族杂居 ,增加交往 。 在
清朝近 300 年的统治时期内 ,在北方广阔的地区 ,汉 、满 、蒙三个主要民族不断
融合 ,基本消除了边患 。 这些地方是历朝历代边患频仍之地 ,国家投入巨大人
力物力 ,甚至建造长城都不曾彻底解决这些地方的历史问题 。 1840 年“鸦片战
争”以后 ,清王朝江河日下 ,西方列强将侵略的魔爪伸进了中国 ,在百年的抗争
与抵御外辱中 ,中国各民族接受了一次战争的洗礼 ,面对共同的敌人 ,他们之间
的兄弟情义经受了考验 ,达到了空前的民族团结 ,这可以说是一次真正意义上
的民族大融合 。
经过这四次大的民族融合 ,统一的多民族国家完全形成和巩固了 ,这个民
族大家庭是以汉族为主体 ,兼有众多的少数民族 ,文化丰富多彩 ,语言色彩斑
斓 。 在民族大融合的历史进程中 ,既有血与火的激烈冲突 ,更有温情脉脉的友
好交流 、交往 ,乃至通婚 ,融为一体 。 从秦汉以来 ,中国逐渐形成了“多民族的统
一国家” ,到清朝“多民族的统一国家”完全巩固 。 中国的民族融合经过了一个
相当漫长的历史进程 ,是一个不断磨合和调整的探索历程 ,最后形成“一体多
元”的稳定的民族格局 ,堪称世界历史奇迹 。

二 、中国人“大一统”思想观念的形成与强化

正如中国的民族融合一样 ,中华民族的“大一统”思想的形成也经历了一个
漫长的发展过程 ,期间古代的先贤们 ,包括哲学家 、贤明的君王以及被历史所忽
视的那些普通人 ,都曾作出了他们卓越的贡献 ,只是历史不能把他们一一记录
下来而已 。 中国的民族融合与“大一统”思想观念形成几乎是并行不悖的 ,没有
“大一统”的思想观念 ,很难实现民族大融合 ,而民族大融合的现实又为“大一
统”的思想观念提供了有力的支撑 ,它们两者是相辅相成的 。
(一) “大一统”思想意识的萌发与肇始
早在秦始皇统一六国前 ,在今天中国版图上 ,所谓大江南北 ,就居住着华

・ 184 ・
第五章   民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观

夏 、夷 、蛮等民族 ,有学者认为他们就是秦汉时期中国人的三个主要来源 。 随着
国家的统一不断融合 ,最后融入到中华民族这个大家庭中来了 。 夏 、商 、周时期
“大一统”观念还比较模糊 ,正在形成之中 ,已经具有三个特点 :首先是以血缘关
系为纽带的王朝世袭 ,靠父子相继的嫡长子继承制 ,周朝用分封制把宗族组织
扩大为政治组织 ,周天子以天下大宗同时兼天下共主 ,诸侯以一国的大宗兼该
国的共主 ,以此类推 ,“血缘上称‘宗’ ,地缘上称‘君’ ,一身二任 ,既是族长又是
君主 ,恰好体现了族权与政权的合一 。” ① 其次 ,有德者得天下的王统理论 ,王在
德方面有失 ,人们有权利推翻他 ,另立新君 ,可见 ,“关于国家统治合法性的观
念 ,在中国早期国家发展过程中 ,已经融进了关于统治者德行的评价内容 。” ② 当
然 ,这也给了僭越者以借口 ,成为他们篡权的挡箭牌 。 其三 ,正统观念与某一特
定地域联系 ,这主要是从夏朝开始 ,以后任何一个王朝要想取得全国承认 ,它必
须取得这一特定地域 ,即中原地区 ,以此为中心 ,便可向四周发号施令 ,夏 、商 、
周三代的更迭 ,都是在取得中原之后才获得正统地位的 。 当然 ,三代时期“大一
统”观念仍是相当朦胧的 ,远远没有形成系统 。
在公元前 221 年 ,秦统一前 ,这些先民们就已经通过我国最早的一本地理
著作枟山海经枠 ,表达了他们对于一个统一国家的自然地理的展望 ,这是一个相
当开阔的视角 ,可以想见 ,当时的人们由于受到交通条件的限制 ,对于自然地理
的认识也有不够准确的地方 ,其中枟山经枠部分 ,以今天山西西南隅和河南西部
为中心 ,称中山经 ,其西 、北 、东和南分别称作西山经 、北山经 、东山经和南山经 ,
描述了这些地域的自然环境等 。 在先秦另一篇地理文献枟尚书 ・ 禹贡枠里 ,记载
了中国各个区域物产 、农作物 、贡赋 ,山川 、河流 、土壤 、田野 ,以及各区域大致轮
廓和地理情况 ,这是先民们从经济的角度渴望天下一统的愿望的表述 。 文中还
把中国划分为冀州 、兖州 、青州 、徐州 、扬州 、荆州 、豫州 、凉州 、雍州等九个地区 。
当时虽然很难实施有效管理 ,但这个国家统一的政治蓝图已经绘就 。 枟国语 ・
周语枠记载 ,“夫先王之制 ,邦内甸服 ,邦外侯服 ,候卫宾服 ,夷蛮要服 ,戎狄荒
服 。”这与枟尚书 ・ 禹贡枠表达的五服概念基本上是一样的 ,这种“任土作贡”的构
想为以后管理庞大国家提供了富有想象力的方案 ,这两者可以说是先民们在畅
想政治统一后的区域划分与管理 。 秦始皇统一六国正是在这样一种全民族对
国家统一的心理倾向基础上 ,代表各个民族和各个诸侯国人民的意愿 ,将他们

① 王均林 ,“先秦山东地区宗法研究” ,载枟历史研究枠 ,1992 ,第 6 期 。


② 谢维扬 ,枟中国早期国家枠 ,杭州 ,浙江人民出版社 ,1995 年 ,第 400 页 。

・ 185 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

对于国家统一的渴望变为现实 。
(二) “大一统”政治现实的缔造与反复
公元前 221 年 ,秦始皇以无与伦比的雷霆手段实现了国家的统一 ,并进行
了一系列影响深远的制度再造工程 。 相比以前的制度 ,秦制度可谓是崭新的 ,
甚至具有革命性意义 ,但是秦朝却是短命的 。 代之而起的是强盛 、长久的大汉
朝 ,一个令国人振奋的朝代 。 尤其是汉武帝居功至伟 ,堪与始皇帝比肩 。 他开
疆拓土 ,南抵岭南 ,北达贝加尔湖 ,东临大海 ,西至巴尔喀什湖和葱岭 ,以此奠定
统一国家的地理基础 。 他又采纳董仲舒“罢黜百家 ,独尊儒术”的建议 ,在思想
和精神层面上把儒家学说确立为国家意识形态 ,统一了人们的思想 。 秦汉历经
400 年 ,确立了国家统一的政治和地理的重要基础 。 到东汉末年 ,开始天下大
乱 ,直至隋朝统一 ,这统一又遇到了反复和倒退 。 公元 581 年 ,隋文帝杨坚荡平
分裂势力 ,再一次实现国家统一 ,可惜又是一个如秦朝般的短命王朝 ,接踵而来
的是大唐王朝 ,在各个方面都达到了封建社会的全盛 ,创造了最为灿烂的古代
文化 ,巩固了大一统的成果 ,包括政治 、经济 、文化和地理等方面 。 从唐朝末年
到宋建立 ,可以说是一个混乱 、多个政权并立的时期 ,1279 年 ,以忽必烈为代表
的蒙元帝国崛起于草原 ,入主中原 ,继承大统 ,接着是明和清两个王朝的兴废更
迭 。 可以说 ,国家大一统是历史的潮流 ,民族的融合是中国历史进程中的重要
组成部分 ,期间的各种分裂活动是愈来愈少 ,愈来愈小 。 即使在国家分裂期间 ,
在各个并立的政权中 ,他们都是以统一国家为奋斗目标 ,这就说明中国的大一
统不仅在观念和思想层面深入人心 ,而且每个中国人在行动上也都愿意为实现
国家统一而努力 。
(三) “大一统”国家理念的内化与认同
自秦汉以来 ,“大一统”的国家政治格局完全固定下来 ,虽有多次的分裂 、冲
突和多个政权并立 ,但是对于国家一统人们是没有异议 ,所争的是由谁来统一
的问题 。 所以 ,经过两千年的“一统江山”实践 ,“大一统”国家理念内化到每一
个中国人的内心 ,流淌在他们的血脉里 ,得到普遍认同 。
对于“大一统”国家理念的认同 ,首先是对中华民族共同始祖炎帝和黄帝的
认同 。 炎黄都是中国远古传说中的英雄 ,当时 ,他们所率领的部落就生活在黄
河流域 ,经过彼此间战争 、结盟 ,战胜其他部落 ,形成华夏族主体 ,中国人一般都
称自己是炎黄子孙 。 其实 ,在华夏族之外仍有大量其他少数民族 ,有称夷和蛮
的 。 秦统一前 ,这些华夏 、夷 、蛮之间频繁战争 ,也经常结亲 ,最后完全融合在一

・ 186 ・
第五章   民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观

起 。 即使仍称作某个少数民族的 ,一般也都认同炎黄为始祖 ,如鲜卑族 、契丹


族 ,甚至连匈奴人都采用刘姓 ,认同华夏文明 。 由此可以说 ,这些华夏 、夷 、蛮等
之争从根本上讲就是兄弟之争 ,甚至是“兄弟阋于墙” ,完全是中国文明范围内
的“家事” 。
在中华民族这个大家庭里 ,华夏民族首先形成 ,它是由夏商周三个族人 ,以
及在周朝末年民族大迁徙中融合而成的 ,后来不断演变和融合 ,秦汉后称汉人 ,
汉文化以此成为主导文化 ,它本身就是汇聚了许多族群和部落的文化熔铸而成
的 。 面对未来 ,它仍要敞开胸怀 ,接纳更多不同的族群文化 。
(四) “大一统”民族观念的传播与光大
中华民族的发祥地是中原地区和黄河中下游 ,中华民族绝不是从这一地区
由单一民族向外扩张 ,或来自中国其他地区的民族占领并定居中原而成的 。 实
际上是在长期的历史演变过程中 ,中国各个民族的先民们互相融合慢慢形成中
华民族统一体 。 中华民族的龙图腾是集合了许许多多曾生活在这块土地上的
民族的图腾 ,选择许多动物的部分特征 ,才创造了它的“集体形象” ,中华民族想
象中的动物 ——— 龙 ,它集“驼头” 、“鹿角” 、“牛耳” 、“龟眼” 、“鳄棘” 、“鹰爪” 、“鱼
鳞” 、“蛇身” 、“蜃腹”于一体 ,象征着我们的先祖们的来源是多元的 ,共同结合组
成中华民族的大家庭 。 中华民族的子孙们都是龙的传人 ,无论他们走得有多
远 ,离家有多久 ,这一图腾令他们梦回萦绕 ,中华大地是他们叶落归根的故国 。
在清乾隆时期 ,土尔扈特蒙古部落在离开祖国一个多世纪后 ,早已游牧到了俄
罗斯的伏尔加河畔 ,但他们后来冒着九死一生的危险 ,举族回归祖国 ,毅然决然
回到祖国的怀抱 ,这一历史壮举表明“大一统”民族观念的远播与深入人心 。
中原地区自秦汉以来成为中国的龙脉所在 ,也是华夏正统观念所附着的京
畿圣地 ,所以自古有“逐鹿中原” 、“问鼎中原”之说 。 历史上 ,无论是汉族政权 ,
如汉 、唐等 ,还是少数民族政权 ,如元 、清等 ,一旦取得天下 ,必然入主中原 ,定鼎
中原 ,自奉也必然被其他人奉为正朔 ,自然具有了华夏正统的地位 。 “从历史记
载来看 ,秦以前 ,华夏族称它的祖国为中国 ,中国是华夏各国的总称 ;秦以后 ,中
国扩大为当时境内各族所共称的祖国 。 所以 ,中国这一名词的涵义就是祖国 ,
朝代则是统治阶级在各个不同时期所建立的国家称号 。 中国为各族统治阶级
和被统治阶级所共有 ,朝代有兴有亡 ,一个代替一个 ,中国本身总是存在着并且
发展着” ① 。 这一共同的生活地域和共同创造的相互交融的历史和文化把中华

① 范文澜 ,枟中国通史简编枠(修订本) ,北京 :人民出版社 ,1958 年 ,第 65 页 。

・ 187 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

民族的各个成员紧紧联系在一起 ,无论他们走到哪里 ,“炎黄子孙” ,“龙的传人”


都能将他们凝聚在一起 ,流浪在世界各地的犹太人靠着自己的宗教紧紧联系在
一起 ,而远涉重洋的中国人则是靠对共同的祖先炎黄二帝的认同和对熔铸了多
少代人记忆的龙图腾的追认联系到一起 。
众所周知 ,语言文字是传播思想观念的最有力和最有效工具 。 从世界历史
来看 ,其他各大文明都曾发生过语言文字的断裂现象 ,唯有中国是个例外 。 中
国在世界文明的古典时期 ,就已经完全统一了自己的文字 。 从甲骨文到现代简
化汉字 ,这是一个循序渐进的有机过程 ,不管汉字字形发生什么变化 ,新字的构
成和旧字字义的拓展 ,其根本原则保持相对不变 ,这原则就是所谓“六书” ,即象
形 、指事 、会意 、形声 、转注 、假借 。 中国自古至今 ,绵延不断的语言文字为其“大
一统”民族观念传播发挥了不可替代的重要作用 。 中国表意文字 (ideography )
所包含的重要文化信息被一代一代的中国人所接受 ,并形象地传至后代 ,这也
是中国语言文字为国家统一所发挥的神奇作用 。

三 、中国“大一统”思想评价

中国“大一统”思想观念源远流长 ,更因为中国政治史的连续性保障了文化
史的连续性 ,因而也就不断强化了中国人的“大一统”思想观念和意识 ,中国有
世界上最为详尽和系统的历史记载 ,所谓“二十四史” ,从司马迁写作第一部纪
传体通史枟史记枠开始 ,中国史书从未间断 ,直至今日 。
首先 ,“大一统”思想是国家兴盛 、民族团结的重要思想资源库 :对于“大一
统”理念的认同是一种重要的向心力 ,旅居和侨居海外的华人 、华侨们心向祖
国 ,无论身在何方 ,无论他们操着那一种语言 ,全球“龙的传人”是一家 ,世界“炎
黄子孙”心系祖国 ,这是中华民族历经两千多年锻造出的民族魂 ,国籍和语言都
没有办法改变的中国心 。
其次 ,“大一统”思想是造就具有政治责任感和历史使命感的有力武器 :中
国古代的政治思想家基本上都是政治家 ,他们有济世安邦之志 ,有胸怀天下之
情 ,他们把投身政治作为实现他们人生价值的重要手段 ,从孔子周游列国 ,寻求
实现自己政治抱负的国度 ,历代学者大多怀有这样的情怀 ,这“大一统”观念造
就的知识分子都有这样的历史使命感和政治责任感 ,应该说 ,这是中国知识分
子的骄傲和自豪 。
但是 ,在“大一统”的思想观念下 ,士人的人生理想和道路选择呈现狭窄化

・ 188 ・
第五章   民族融合与中国人的“大一统”观

和极端化倾向 。 他们这种对政治的热情和情有独钟发展到后代几乎走到了极
端 ,眼里只有政治一途 ,心无旁骛 ,不知还有更加广阔的可供选择的人生道路 ,
逐渐失去了对于科学 、艺术 、文学等其他学科的兴趣 ,隋唐之后的科举考试更是
将他们的人生选择限定在非常狭小的天地 ,终生不能走出 ,“读书科考入仕”成
了整个群体的共同的人生追求 ,这不能不说是一种悲哀 。 更有甚者 ,把从事政
治作为一种好的营生 ,认为可以从中发财致富 ,遂使“仕途”变成了通往富裕人
生的坦途 ,这就更加从本质上远离了先贤们的教育理想 。 可以说这几乎是单一
的人生选择和对于投身官场的超常热情也令孔子始料未及 。 在孔子的时代 ,教
育尚不普及 ,能受教育的人是极少数的 。 他创办私学 ,以培养济世安邦的君子
为己任 ,他的目标不是培养具有专门技能的技术人才 ,而是管理国家的通才 ,因
此才有“君子不器”和“有教无类”的教育原则 。 他希望不要漏掉治世的贤人 ,尽
可能地教育他们 ,而且是培养君子 ,不传授“具体技能” ,即所谓“器”之类 。

・ 189 ・
第六章

古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

    中国古代教育源远流长 ,自有文字记载的历史就有了学校教育 。 历朝历代


对教育都很重视 ,不仅有官办学校 ,私人办学也曾兴盛一时 ,到宋以后还兴起了
书院教育 ,集 收藏 、教 学和研究于一体 。 隋 唐之后 ,中国的教育还与选官 制
度 ——— 科举考试紧密结合 ,形成其迥异于他国的特色 ,教育渐渐成了科举的附
庸 ,为准备科举的举子们复习功课 、备考科举服务 ;同时在绵延数千年的历史
上 ,中国产生了灿若星河的教育家 ,他们以自己卓越的教育和教学实践 ,为中华
文明的创造培养了无数优秀人才 ,他们的教育观念 、教育思想以及教育方法等
都是我们民族优秀的文化遗产 ,体现在社会生活的各个方面 ,尤其是在政治教
化方面 ,可以说中国很早就产生了一整套教育理念 ,并经历朝历代不断丰富发
展 ,形成了具有中国特色的大教育观 。

一 、中国古代教育的历史发展

最早的教育起于何时 ,很难推测 ,但从“燧人教民 ,以火以渔 。” (枟韩非子枠)


和“后稷教民稼穑 。” (枟荀子枠)“黄帝教熊 、貔 、貅 、豹 、虎 ,以与炎帝战于阪泉之
野 。”(枟史记枠)“禹令人民 ,聚土积薪 ,择丘陵而处之 。”等历史典籍记载可知 ,早
期的教育主要是传授劳动技术 、躲避自然灾害 、讲述战争 、传授宗教和音乐的知
识与技能等 。 随着中国文字的产生与发展 ,形成夏代的“序” 、“校” 、“学”等形式
的学校 ,都是传授生产和战争的技能 ,这些仍是传说 。

・ 190 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

(一) 官办教育
逮至商朝 ,中国文字高度成熟 ,学校形式有“教” 、“序” 、“庠” 、“学” 及“瞽
宗” ,有专门从事教学工作的人 ,有德有位称“国老” ,有德无位称“庶老” ,这些执
掌教学者都尊称为“师” ,其中也有出身奴隶的佼佼者如伊尹担任“师” ,主要受
教育的对象是奴隶主子弟 ,学习典册(文史 、自然和社会等方面知识) 、学习“戒”
(习武与习乐)和敬天 、拜祖 、服从与效忠奴隶主的礼仪等 。
西周官办教育形成了完整的体系 ,既有在国都设立的包括小学和大学的国
学 ,也有诸侯在自己封疆内设立的乡学 ,即乡 (一万二千五百家)有“庠” ,州 (二
千五百家)有“序” ,党 (五百家 )有“校” ,闾 (二十五家 )有“塾” ,由“庠” 、“序” 、
“校” 、“塾”形成乡学系统 。 教育的主要内容包括德 、行 、艺 、仪四个主要方面和
“礼 、乐 、射 、御 、书 、数”的“六艺” ,小学学“书数” ,大学重“礼乐” ,还有书籍作为
教育的专门教科书 。
在整个中国封建史上 ,官学有中央官学 (又称国学 )与地方官学 (又称乡
学) ,中央官学主要有最高学府 、专科学校和贵族学校三类 :1 .太学和国子监是
国家最高学府 ,为封建社会培养人才的重要场所 :历代太学和国子监都很重视
考试 ,汉初有“岁试” ,后有“二岁一试” ,考试有“口试” 、“策试”和“设科射策” ;以
后唐朝有“旬试” 、“毕业试”等 ,宋还有“三舍试法” ,明清有“积分试法” ,朝廷重
视这些课试 ,并以试取士 ,对打破世卿世禄制度有积极意义 。 太学 、国子监鼓励
学生自修和自由研究 ,由于学生人数激增 ,教学采取大班制 ,或高足子弟再传授
等法 ,后代多承继汉代这一传统 ,培养出不少鸿儒 。 2 .专科学校各朝都有 ,东汉
有鸿都门学 ,唐宋有书学 、算学 、医学 、画学等 ,都是培养专门人才的学校 ,科举
兴起 ,这些专科学校随之凋零 。 3 .贵族学校专为贵族子弟开办的学校 ,东汉四
姓小侯学 ,唐朝弘文馆 、崇文馆 ,宋 、明的宗学 ,清朝的宗学 、旗学 ,汉朝贵族学校
影响大 ,匈奴人亦送他们的贵族子弟来求学 。 据史记载 ,唐 、明 、清各朝都有外
国留学生 ,其中唐朝最盛 ,日本遣唐留学生多人 ,最有名者如用汉字偏旁创片假
名的吉备真备和在中国学习生活 、朝廷任职达 54 年的阿倍仲麻吕 。
地方官学 ,产生于汉代 。 蜀郡郡守文翁先在成都建学馆 ,武帝深为赞许 ,乃
下诏令天下郡国皆设学馆 。 魏 、晋 、南北朝政治混乱 ,地方官学更是衰败 ,不过
北朝鲜卑人建立北魏 ,采取重儒政策 ,开办了各级官学 ,地方官学略有起色 ,直
到隋唐 ,国家一统 ,尤其是唐初至开元盛世 ,地方官学兴盛一时 ,各学官依学生
人数配备博士 、助教若干 ,每 60 人可设博士 1 人 ,助教 2 人 。 唐朝灭亡后 ,直到
宋仁宗庆历四年(1044 年) ,地方官学始可设立 ,宋朝专门任命主管地方教育的

・ 191 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

行政官员定期巡视各州县官学 ,实施王安石的“三舍法”后 ,规定县 、州学生可入


太学 ,每年允许上舍 1 人 、内舍 2 人 ,并划拨一定学田 ,保障办学经费 。 元代制
度完备 ,但官学并未真正设立 ,明朝初期是地方官学最兴盛时期 ,太祖命各府 、
州 、县设立官学 ,最多时全国达 1700 余所学校 ,但明朝地方官学 ,甚至清朝 ,都
是为科举做准备 ,没有两汉时的学术气氛和研究盛况 ,官学正被科举窒息得奄
奄一息 。
所以 ,从公元前 221 年 ,秦始皇统一六国 ,到两汉官学达到鼎盛 ,长安太学
生达三万人之众 ,这在世界教育史上也是奇迹 ,学生主要学习研修儒家经典 ,这
一时期主要实行“察举制”选官 ,考试还未正式纳入议事日程 。 隋唐之初 ,科举
之制创设伊始 ,官学发达 ,但渐渐成为科举考试做准备的备考学校 ,后遂衰落 ,
不过 ,唐朝科技艺术专门学校盛极一时 ,开展各种专门职业教育 ,其中包括律
学 、书学 、算学 、医学 、画学 、武学 、军监学等 。 宋朝以后 ,随着科举选士进一步发
展 ,科举考试与官学教学内容冲突 ,致使官办教育一度萧瑟 ,各类专门学校也渐
次衰微 。 辽 、金 、元三朝 ,官办学校与科举的关系更加密切 ,各级官学的学生可
以报考进士或举人 ,他们遂产生了很强的动力 。 最后发展到明清两朝 ,官办学
校完全与科举在目标 、教学内容等一致 ,可以说“学校科举化 ,科举学校化” ,举 、
贡 、生 、监既是科举的身份 ,又是各级官学的学生身份 ,彼此很难再分清楚 ,官办
学校彻底沦落为科举考试的附庸和奴婢 。 在官办学校不断衰落的情势下 ,各代
都有鸿儒聚徒讲学 ,开办私学 ,私人办学肇始于孔子 ,后历代都有效法者 ,绵延
不绝 。
(二) 私立教育
公元前 770 年 ,西周灭亡 ,周平王东迁 ,标志着东周开始 ,即春秋战国时代
的开始 ,这是一个大动荡 、大混乱的时代 ,军事斗争是其主要形式 。 统治阶级无
暇顾及教育 ,遂使官办教育走向衰落 ,随之而起的私人办学 ,如火如荼开展起
来 。 孔子在仕途失意之际 ,开始招收学生 ,传道授业 ,成为第一个伟大的私学教
师 ,不仅学生规模大 ,弟子三千 ,而且学生学有所成 ,精通“六艺”的贤人达七十
余人 。 孔子的办学是他从政或者干预政治的组成部分 ,或者说 ,孔子办学就是
从事政治活动 ,因此他不仅开启了历史上私人办学的先河 ,而且也是首先把教
育与政治紧密结合 ,使教育为政治服务的先驱 。 继孔子之后 ,私人办学的墨子 、
少正卯 、王骀以及儒家后期的孟轲 、荀况等都有渊博的知识 ,政治眼光远大 ,教
学中评论时政 ,也不遗余力向统治阶级推荐自己的学生 ,这些私人教师通过聚
徒讲学 ,使不同职业的人都得到了教育 ,一定程度上普及了教育 。

・ 192 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

汉朝是中国古代私学发展的第二个高峰 ,既有“蒙学” ,又有“专经预备”阶


段和“专经”的高级阶段 。 私学教师多由无机会“仕途” 、从“仕途”下野和为“仕
途”做准备的“准官员”担任 ,他们一般儒学基础深厚 ,从事私学教育也是他们政
治生涯的一个部分 。 担任“专经”的私人教师一般都是名声显赫的硕儒 ,他们有
直接授业的学生 ,称作“及门弟子” ,也有不时来请教的“注册”学生 ,称为“著录
弟子” ,如郑玄门徒常有千余人 ,著录弟子达一万六千人 ,马融的学生也有千人 ,
郑玄晚年学生达数千人 ,无法亲自教授 ,便采用自己亲授高材生 ,再由这些高材
生向其他学生传授 ,鸿儒董仲舒早就采用这种“师兄带师弟”的方法 ,教授学业 。
名师主要传授经学 ,诸子百家 ,也讲授道 、法 、阴阳家和天文 、算学 、医学等 ,汉朝
是大一统的王朝 ,私人办学兴盛 ,私人教师虽把授业作为自己参与政治的一部
分 ,但他们一般要与统治者保持一致 ,决不能像春秋战国时代私人教师那般自
由自在 ,品评政治 ,随意发表见解 。
唐宋以后 ,私学仍然流行 ,但与早期作为政治活动迥然不同 ,宋元读书人
“仕途”之外 ,开办私学则更多是“为稻粱谋” ,依靠学生的学费 、“束脩”或贽敬金
维持生活 ,即使进入“仕宦”行列 ,也是为谋生而已 ,大多数人没有什么政治理
想 。 私学主要有“蒙学”和“经馆” ,“蒙学”采用“三字经” 、“百家姓” 、“千字文”等
启蒙教材 ,学习认字 ,其中也含有道德灌输 ,之后 ,便开始读“四书” ,学唐诗 ,练
习作对子 ,为将来参加科举打基础 ,“经馆”则学习古文 、八股文等 ,准备参加科
举考试 。 私学在这一阶段除了配合科举考试 ,为读书人应试做准备以外 ,也为
更多的平民子弟提供了读书识字学文化的机会 ,客观上促进了文化的普及和推
广 ,在这方面 ,私学无疑有其重要的历史功绩 。
(三) 书院教育
“书院”产生于唐朝 ,当时还只是收藏和校订书籍的场所 。 五代战乱致使官
学停滞 ,一些学人便仿照佛教禅林讲经的方式 ,选择景色宜人的山林 ,聚徒讲
学 ,“书院”开始具有讲学的功能 。 宋代虽武学不兴 、边患频仍 ,但经济文化发
达 ,到了南宋 ,“书院”如雨后春笋般兴起 ,庐山的白鹿洞书院 ,长沙岳麓书院 ,河
南应天府书院 、嵩阳书院等 ,集藏书 、校订书 、讲学 、研究于一体 ,由民间和官府
捐资 ,提供经费 ,支持其教学与研究 ,其管理主要由洞主或山长主持 ,设立各级
管理人员 。 对于“书院” ,各个封建王朝都不会放任自流 ,或直接任命“洞主”或
“山长” ,或令其纳入科举轨道 ,规定科举名额 ,达到思想控制 。 宋朝思想比较自
由 ,书院多有比较独立的研究与学者可以发表自己的独立见解 ,建立了“讲会”
制度 ,如公元 1167 年 ,朱熹应邀赴长沙岳麓书院讲学 。 在长沙期间 ,朱熹与张

・ 193 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

栻两位大师以“会讲”方式 ,当着学员面 ,辩论枟中庸枠 ,听众如云 ,听讲的学子赞


成哪位大师观点就站到那边 。 两位大师 ,知识渊博 ,旁征博引 ,辩论机智幽默 ,
反讥对方又不失儒雅之风度 ,令学子们眼界大开 。 这一场“会讲”三昼夜不辍 。
各地学子闻讯前来 ,一时间 ,长沙路上 ,人流络绎不绝 ,岳麓院内 ,“会讲”盛况空
前 。 在公元 1175 年 ,朱熹又与陆九渊在江西铅山的鹅湖寺举行了另外一次规
模盛大的学术大辩论 。 连续 3 天 ,学术观点交锋 、冲突激烈 。 其焦点是关于认
识论 、世界观问题 。 席间唇枪舌剑 ,你来我往 ,风雷激荡 ,台上虽只有朱熹和陆
九渊兄弟 ,但听众多是闽 、浙 、赣学人从远道汇聚鹅湖 ,结果谁也没有把谁说服 ,
更没有把对方驳倒 。 他们观点不同 ,辩论激烈 ,但并未影响他们之间的关系 ,相
反更加密切了他们的友谊 ,朱熹后来回忆这次辩论 ,津津乐道 ,有诗这样赞颂他
们之间的感情 ,“德义风流夙所钦 ,别离三载更关心 。 偶扶藜杖出寒谷 ,又枉蓝
舆度远岑 。 旧学商量加邃密 ,新知培养转深沉 。 只愁说到无言处 ,不信人间有
古今 。”这种书院“会讲”制度在大师们手里形成优良传统 。 明朝学有所成的思
想家王守仁 ,他执掌军政大权 ,创办书院 ,聚徒讲学 ,传播自己的哲学思想 ,这显
示了一定程度的自由讲学风气 ,但朝廷不允许这种讲学干扰科举考试 ,影响国
家抡才制度的实行 。 由于王守仁个人学识 、人品和官阶都比较高 ,所以明朝书
院制度在他的倡导下有了一定的发展 。 到清朝 ,朝廷干脆禁止民间办书院 ,由
政府直接办书院 ,把准备科举考试作为书院教习的内容 ,至此朝廷彻底扼杀了
书院那一点点“学术研讨的自由” ,使它完全沦为科举的附庸 。 书院从产生 、兴
盛到衰落 ,包括期间功能演变 ,恰好反映了中国封建社会愈来愈专制 、愈来愈没
落 ,最后必然逐步走向衰亡的命运 ,它确实是中国官学和私学之外的一个特殊
的集收藏 、讲学与研究于一体的独特的教育形式 ,很像是中国古代的一种准大
学制度 ,却又与欧洲近代大学制度不完全相同 ,这是一种值得认真研究和系统
整理的传统教育形式 。

二 、中国历代教育思想的演变

(一) 先秦诸子的教育观(公元前 221 年以前)


孔子是中国历史上第一位伟大的 、有影响力的私人教师 ,他曾系统搜集 、整
理了枟易枠 、枟书枠 、枟诗枠 、枟礼枠 、枟乐枠 、枟春秋枠等六种经典 ,作为自己哲学 、政治学 、
历史学和文学的教材 ,讲授给自己的学生 。 孔子对中国教育的贡献首先是他明
确的培养目标 ,即将学生培养成贤而有才的君子 ,他一贯倡导“君子不器” ,他所

・ 194 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

要培养的不是精通某一方面的专门人才 ,而是治国平天下的通才 。 虽说如此 ,


孔子主张“有教无类” ,教育对于一切人开放 ,这样他就开启了一个教育平民化
的时代 ,冲破了少数贵族垄断教育的局面 。 教育普及化更能发现和培养出许多
具有治国才能的君子 ,以实现他的理想 ;其次是他“学而不厌 、诲人不倦” 、“发愤
忘食 ,乐以忘忧 ,不知老之将至”的学习精神为学生们树立了光辉的榜样 ,以及
他在教学方法方面的成功探索 。
墨子也是一位具有明确政治观点 、学识渊博 、品德高洁的私人教师 ,他特别
重视教育以及教育的环境在人格形成中的作用 ,墨子说 ,“染于苍则苍 ,染于黄
则黄 ,所入着变 ,其色亦变 ,五入必 ,而已则为五色矣 ! 故染不可不慎也 !” (枟墨
子 ・ 所染篇枠)墨子要求他的学生“相爱相利” ,苟利天下 ,敢于“赴汤蹈火 ,死不
旋踵” ,相信普通百姓完全可以接受教育 ,都可以培养成他理想的“兼士” ,具有
兼爱交利的 、有生产技能的“为义”之人 ;墨子教学内容包括了自然科学的知识
和文史的知识 ,尤其重视实证的知识 ,重视实践 ,“士虽有学 ,而行为本焉 。” (枟墨
子 ・ 修身篇枠) ;墨家教学两个重要原则 ,一是“以天为法” 、“量力所能至”的自然
原则 ,即墨子所说 ,“莫若法天 :天之行广而无私 ,其施厚而不德 ,其明久而不衰 ,
故圣王法之 。”(枟墨子 ・ 法仪篇枠)要他的学生学习自然那样的博大而不自私 、施
厚而不居功的品德 ,另一个“量力施教”原则 ,才能使学生都在自己才能基础之
上得到发展 ;二是“以身戴行” 、“合其志功而观”的实践原则 ,既重知识 、又重实
践 ,结合动机与结果来综合考察 。
孟子以孔子嫡传自居 ,在教育方面对于孔子的思想既有深化 ,又有改进 ,他
像孔子一样提出了明确的教育目的 ,即他要培养“所过者化 ,所存者神 ,上下与
天地同流”(枟孟子 ・ 尽心章句上枠)的君子 ,在教育的过程中 ,他更加强调内省 ,
提倡“养气” ,要求他的学生忍受一切艰难困苦考验 ,养成“富贵不能淫 ,贫贱不
能移 ,威武不能屈”的“大丈夫”品格 ,面对生死 ,孟子的选择是“舍生取义者也” ,
为了义 ,“虽千万人吾往矣” (枟孟子 ・ 公孙丑上枠) ,这完全是培养国士 、义士 ,孟
子的培养目标立意高远 ,不仅适合上层统治阶级 ,更应是一种普遍的国民教育 ;
对于孔子“因材施教”的思想 ,他提出 ,“君子所以教者五 :有如时雨化之者 ,有成
德者 ,有达材者 ,有答问者 ,有私淑艾者 。 此五者 ,君子所以教也 。” (枟孟子 ・ 尽
心上枠)根据学生自身条件和原有基础 ,培养提高 ,使之成为社会所需的各级各
类人才 。
荀子是孟子之后最大的儒学大师 ,也是战国后期儒家和诸子百家的集大成
者 ,他的思想上承孔孟“礼治”思想 ,下启韩非“法治”主义 ;荀子教育的目的是首

・ 195 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

先把学生培养成为“士” ,再成为“君子” ,最后达成“圣人” 。 他相信教育的环境


作用 ,即“蓬生麻中 ,不扶而直” 、“白沙在涅 ,与之俱黑”(枟荀子 ・ 劝学枠) ,教育之
功在于“渐”和“积” ,即环境影响与个人努力相结合 ,荀子要将他的学生培养成
具有高尚的人格(所谓“贱而贵”) ,即“无爵而贵” (枟荀子 ・ 儒效篇枠) ,具有丰富
的精神(所谓“贫而富”) ,即“无禄而富” ,逐渐进入“博学 、积善而化性”的个人修
养境界 ,达到“存法 、富民而兴国”之政治目的 。 他也主张以儒学经典为教材 ,先
教诗书 ,后教礼乐 。 他在教学方法上 ,提出了富有洞见的四个阶段 ,“君子之学
也 :入乎耳 ,著乎心 ,布乎四体 ,行乎动静 。”(枟荀子 ・ 劝学篇枠) ,也就是说 ,第一 ,
“入乎耳”阶段 ,学习要以耳目感知和摄取外部事物的印象 ,教与学都须集中注
意“壹教”与“壹学” ,决不旁骛 ;第二 ,“著乎心”阶段 ,学生对于感知摄取的新印
象 ,结合脑里曾有的印象 ,比较判断 ,做好“解蔽”与“壹好”的问题 ,老师决不可
固执偏见 ,只顾传授知识 ,学生更要诚心 、专心接受 、领会所学知识 ;第三 ,“布乎
四体”阶段 ,把第二个阶段形成的知识系统化 ,用推理的方法 ,做到“以近知远 、
以一知万 、以微知明” ,用所获之“道” ,指导四体行动 ;第四 ,“行乎动静”阶段 ,即
把自己所获的知识付诸行动 ,荀子倡导“不闻不若闻之 ,闻之不若见之 ,见之不
若知之 ,知之不若行之 ,学至于行而至矣 。”(枟荀子 ・ 儒效篇枠) ,即从理论到实践
的过程 。 至荀子 ,先秦诸子对于教育的认识可谓登峰造极 ,认识深刻而广远 。
先秦诸子之外 ,还有枟礼记枠中一篇“学记” ,作者虽很难断定 ,但写作时间可
能是战国后期 ,有人推测是孟子的弟子乐正克 ,此文从各方面都是一篇不可多
得的重要教育文献 。 “学记”涉及了学制 、学校教育的作用 、目的和任务 ,以及教
育教学方法和教师问题 。 首先 ,它开阔的视野 ,与先秦诸子在这方面不谋而合 ,
从大教育观观照教育个各个层面 ,把学校教育 ,尤其大学教育 ,看成是国家政府
的一项重要职能 ,提到“化民成俗” 、“建国君民”的高度 ,要求国家派人检查教
育 ,学生始业之时 ,须由最高统治者祭拜先圣先师 ;其次 ,将教育与教养结合起
来 ,培养学生崇高的道德品质和扎实的学业基础 ,并对受教育九年的各阶段学
业都做了规定 ,把“乐教”与“礼教”结合起来 ,强调教师言传身教的作用 ,这包括
学业和为人两个方面 ,教师要着重“诱导” ,避免学生陷于被动 ,保持学习过程的
和谐 ,教师要着重“鼓励” ,勿使学生感到压抑 ,保证学习顺利前行 ,教师要着重
“启发” ,杜绝一味灌输 ,促进学生积极思维 ;其三 ,首次在中国历史上提出“尊师
重道”和“教学相长”的重要思想 ,它给予教师这个职业以高度评价 ,并赋予教师
以崇高的社会地位 ;“学然后知不足 ,教然后知困 。 知不足 ,然后能自反也 ;知
困 ,然后能自强也 。 故曰 :教学相长也 。” (枟礼记 ・ 学记枠)这是很了不起的教育

・ 196 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

思想 ,从教和学两个方面深刻认识教育问题 ;其四 ,对于教学中存在的“教师问


题” 、“学生问题”以及学习中的其他问题都进行分析 ,并提出了“及时而教” ,教
师要做到“不躐等”或“不陵节而施” ,即不用太深或太浅的内容教授学生 ,同时
还要求教师适时布置作业 ,“时教 ,必有正业 ;退息 ,必有居学 。”特别强调了教师
在教学中要善于“提问”和“答问” ,先易后难 ,逐步深入 ,问浅则答浅 ,问深则答
深 ,略问则略答 ,详问则详答 ,“善问者 ,如攻坚木 ,先其易者 ,反其节木 ,及其久
也 ,相说以解 ;不善问者 ,反此 。 善待问者 ,如撞锺 ,叩之以小者则小鸣 ,叩之以
大者则大鸣 ,待其从容 ,然后尽其声 ;不善答问者 ,反此 。” (枟礼记 ・ 学记枠)也要
求教师回答的语言必须精简明确 、细致妥帖 、比喻少而能说明问题 ,“约而达 ,微
而臧 ,罕譬而喻 。”总之 ,“学记”是一篇不可多得的教育论文 ,其许多见解在今天
依然称得上深刻 、富有洞见 。

先秦诸子首先是一批具有强烈历史使命感的“士人”教育家 ,他们的教育目
标是培养治国安邦 、德才兼备的君子 ,具有凛然豪气 、气宇轩昂的国士 ,可以赴
汤蹈火 、舍生取义的兼士 ,他们的门徒须先成为“士” ,而后进入“君子”行列 ,终
生以“圣人”之境界作为追求目标 ;其次 ,他们坚信教育的力量几乎是无所不能
的 ,因此他们在“仕途失意”之时都选择了以开办私人教育这种形式参与政治活
动 、影响国家政治决策 ,通过培养学生“入仕” ,以实践他们的政治主张 ;其三 ,他
们在教育与教学方面都进行了富有成效的探索 ,形成他们各自不同的教学模式
和特色 ,对于普及教育 、“启民智” 、“化民成俗”发挥了不可替代的作用 。

(二) 秦汉魏晋时期的教育思想(公元前 221 年 — 公元 581 年)


从公元前 221 年 ,秦始皇扫平六合 ,建立统一的秦帝国 ,到公元 581 年 ,隋
文帝杨坚结束南北朝混乱局面 ,再使江山一统 ,创立科举考试之前的八百年 ,此
间政治上是从“大治”渐渐发展到“大乱”的过程 ,产生了不少伟大的教育家 ,其
中董仲舒 、王充和郑玄最具代表性 ,下面分述他们的教育思想及贡献 。
董仲舒(公元前 179 年 — 公元前 104 年 ) ,为一代鸿儒 ,学识超群 ,才华横
溢 ,景帝时 ,任博士 ;武帝继位 ,立志在国家的指导思想和对外战略思想上进行
大的调整 ,以改变开国以来的被动局面 ;董仲舒生逢其时 ,以“天人三策”得到武
帝赏识 ,并采纳他的“罢黜百家 、独尊儒术”思想 ,确立儒学为国家主导意识形
态 ;董仲舒从他的神学世界观和天人关系论角度 ,提出了自己的社会政治和人
性观点 ,他的思想得到武帝赏识 ,但并未任命他在朝廷供职 ,他将主要精力用于
学术研究 ,对于教育的贡献更多在于教育政策的制定方面 。 董仲舒提出 :1 .尊

・ 197 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

儒学 ,罢百家 。 董仲舒分析了当时的问题 ,认为 ,“今师异道 ,人异论 ,百家殊方 ,


指意不同 ,是以上无以持一统 ,法制数变 ,下不知所守 。”这种思想的不统一 ,必
然会妨碍政治上的统一 ,必须采取具体措施使之统一在一种指导思想下 ,他建
议 :“诸不在六艺之科 、孔子之术者 ,皆绝其道 ,勿使并进” ,这便是“独尊儒术 ,罢
黜百家”的建议 。 实施这一建议后 ,就会“邪辟之道灭息 ,然后统纪可一而法度
可明 ,民知所从” 。 董仲舒为汉帝国大一统社会提供了儒学指导思想 ,代替汉初
的道家思想 ,这一指导思想不仅成了汉武帝时期的国策 ,而且影响了此后各封
建王朝的主流意识形态 。 2 .行教化 ,重礼乐 。 在他看来 ,君主的重要职责是实
施教化 ,仁 、义 、礼 、乐都是治道的工具 ,古代圣王所以能够长治久安 ,都是礼乐
教化的功效 ,所以王者的职责就在于“承天意以从事 ,任德教而不任刑” ,“以教
化为大务” ,“故尧舜行德 ,则民仁爱 ;桀纣行暴 ,则民鄙夭 。 夫上之化下 、下之从
上 ,犹泥之在钧 ,唯甄者之所为 ,犹金之在镕 ,唯冶者之所铸 。” (枟汉书本传枠)这
是他从作为统治手段的角度认识教育的重要作用 。 3 .兴太学 ,重选举 。 从维护
统治的高度认识教育 ,他建议皇帝不仅要“求贤” ,而且更重要的是要“养士” ,也
就是要培养和造就人才 ,“夫不素养士而欲求贤 ,譬犹不琢玉而求文采也 。”“故
养士之大者 ,莫大乎太学 。 太学者贤士之所关也 ,教化之本原也 。”养士以太学
为最重要 ,他建议武帝“兴太学 ,置明师 ,以养天下之士 。”把太学作为培养帝国
核心人才的基地 ,主张大兴太学 ,同时重视官员的选举 ,他认为当时纳资授官和
积日累久的升官办法弊端丛生 ,建议“使诸列侯 、郡守 、二千石 ,各择其吏民之贤
者 ,岁贡各二人 ,以给宿卫” ,通过试用 ,然后“量材而授官 ,录德而定位” 。 只有
这样尽心求贤 ,量材用贤 ,天下贤士便可得而为朝廷所用 ,天下必然大治 。
王充(公元 27 — 97 年)出身“细族孤门” ,“好博览而不守章句” ,博通百家之
言 ,熔铸自己独立的思想 ,形成唯物世界观 ,在此思想指导下 ,提出他对教育作
用 、目的和方法的见解 :1 .教育的重要作用 。 与董仲舒完全不同 ,他是在“人
性”可变的基础上 ,重视教育的作用 ;人因天赋 、环境和教养不同 ,表现出善性或
恶性 ,教育目的就是矫正恶劣品质 ,即“化善” ,没有教育 ,人们有可能“渐恶” ,所
有人都能够通过教育“反情治性 、尽材成德” ,他认为 ,“骨曰切 ,象曰瑳 ,玉曰琢 ,
石曰磨 。 切磋琢磨 ,乃成宝器 。 人之学问知能成就 ,犹骨象玉石切磋琢磨也 。”
(枟论衡 ・ 量知篇枠)人们都可以通过切磋琢磨 ,获得学问上的长进 ;2 .教育的目
的 。 教育目的是“尽材成德” ,把人培养成不同的人才 ,因为人们先天“禀赋不
同” 、生长环境和后天接受教育不同 ,可以分别成为四种不同的人 ,即第一种 ,
“鸿儒” ,能够“精思著文 ,连接篇章” ,进行独立的精神创造的哲人 ,第二种 ,“文

・ 198 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

人” ,能够“采缀传书 ,以上书奏记” ,从事行政管理的政治家 ,第三种 ,“通人” ,能


够掌握书本知识 ,“以教授为人师” ,但不能进行知识创造 ,第四种 ,“儒生” ,知识
上局限于一隅 ,“不好广观” ,“不闻古今 ,不见事类 ,不知然否”的知识褊狭 ,基本
上属于无用之人 ;3 .教育教学问题 。 王充首先否定“生而知之”的思想 ,强调知
识来源与后天的学习 ,其次 ,人们的气质完全可以用礼乐培养 ,但是他认为“谷
足食多 ,礼义之心生 ;礼义之行 ,在谷足也 。”(枟论衡 ・ 治明篇枠)王充对于先秦诸
子批判地接受 ,廓清了孟子 、荀子和杨雄等关于人性善恶问题的迷雾 ,从社会生
活条件及文化教养对人性善恶的影响 ,“人间之水污浊 ,在野外者清洁 。 俱为一
水 ,源从天涯 ,或浊或清 ,所在之势使之然也 。”(枟论衡 ・ 率性篇枠)人的贤愚多是
环境造就的 ,这是王充在教育认识上的巨大进步 。
郑玄(公元 127 — 200 年 ) ,山东高密人 ,生于东汉末年的乱世 ,潜心向学 。
由于杜密赏识 ,升为“郡吏” ,由于杜密受到牵连 ,在党锢之祸中 ,遭“禁锢十有四
年” ;与政界孔融 、陶谦 、刘备多有交往 ,关系甚好 ;曾游学洛阳 、陕西 ,跟经学家
马融学习过一个时期 ,他学无常师 ,兴趣极其广泛 ,少年时 ,有“神童”之誉 ,是一
位“赅通六艺 ,兼取百家”的经学家 ,还是“博览群书 ,精历数图纬之言 ,兼精算
术”的科学家 ;四十岁以后 ,辞别马融 ,东归山东即墨崂山 ,收徒讲经 ,及门弟子
数千 ,著录弟子万余人 ;在他辞世之时 ,“自郡守以下受业者 ,缞绖赴会千余人 。”
他是一位伟大的科学家型的教育家 ;郑玄在教育的作用 、目的方面除了推崇孔
孟 ,基本继承儒家观点外 ,其主要贡献有以下两点 :1 .教学内容 。 他通过“括囊
大典 ,网罗众家 ,删裁繁诬 ,刊改漏失”的工作 ,对儒家经典进行了注解和校订 ,
以自己精湛的研究成果整理保存了经典文化遗产 ,提供了“简约”而又“甚慎”
的 、又能“见及义理之学”的教课用书 ;在他的教学活动中 ,始终如一注重学生正
确知识的掌握 ,同时贯穿教学培养性的问题 ;2 .方法问题 。 郑玄以自己治学的
科学态度影响学生 、科学方法熏陶学生 ,首先 ,郑玄注经的客观态度不仅影响他
的学生 ,而且影响了其后中国学界两千年的学风 ;其次 ,郑玄学习上采取科学方
法 ,学无常师 ,讲究“积学”功夫 ,即“博稽” 、“粗览”和“时睹” ,“博稽”就是对于经
典要从广度和深度两个方面深钻 ,“粗览”就是对于学习各种文献的参考书 ,则
只需注意广度 ,广泛浏览 ,而“时睹”则是选择“精确”的“可靠”的文献 ,作为引证
资料 ,这种“由博而约”与“由约返博”的治学方法 ,深深地影响他的学生 ;3 .在教
育教学方式上 ,他很注重实践原则 ,即教师要“以身作则” ,用人格魅力感化人 ,
还重视教育的两个方面 ,“礼 ,所以为教也 ;律 ,所以为戒也 。”按照“礼”来做 ,就
是贤人 ,能掌握其精神实质 ,就是圣人了 ,“律”则可以“止邪” ,使人不至于“为非

・ 199 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

作歹” ,他在教育的整个过程中 ,一直贯彻这一原则 ,“教书育人” ,易俗化民 。

秦汉魏晋这一时期 ,社会政治是大一统的 ,完全不同于春秋战国“百家争


鸣”的时代 ,董仲舒恰逢武帝之时 ,提出了大一统的文教政策 ,确立“独尊儒术”
的国家意识形态 ,影响中国至深至远 ;王充虽曾任州郡小吏 ,但基本上不受官方
思想束缚 ,加上他特立独行的禀赋 ,从自己唯物世界观认识教育 ,提出教育要
“尽材成德” ,培养“鸿儒 、文人” ,主要贡献更多是用自己系统的哲学理论认识教
育问题 ;郑玄则是学者型教育家 、科学家型的教育家 ;在学术研究上 ,成就卓著 ,
其科学方法和科学态度影响中国学界两千年之学风 ;他一生收徒授业 ,乐此不
疲 ,及门弟子数千人 ,著录弟子万余人 ,为朝廷培养了无数人才 ,可以说他是继
孔子之后又一位伟大的私人教师 ,他的教学方法独到 ,因此他的门徒也仿枟论
语枠 ,编写了枟郑志枠 。

(三) 隋 、唐以后教育思想(公元 605 年 — 公元 1905 年)


隋炀帝大业元年(公元 605 年)是一个划时代的标志年 ,这一年中国的科举
考试正式诞生 。 科举虽是一项选官制度 ,但是它对于中国的教育制度产生了无
与伦比的影响 ,从此以后 ,教育家们思考教育问题 ,必然要思考科举 ,或此后的
教育都或多或少受到科举影响 ,一直到 1905 年清廷废除科举考试 。 下面选择
这 1300 年间有代表性的几位教育家作一介绍 。
韩愈(公元 768 — 824 年) ,唐朝著名文学家 、教育家 。 曾担任过地方官 ,也
任过中央政府刑部 、兵部 、吏部侍郎等 ;一生热衷教育 ,担任过国子监博士 ,贬任
潮州刺史时 ,对地方教育大力提倡 ;经他指导 、点播的学人 ,都称“韩门弟子” ,多
学有成就者 ,如李翱 、李汉 、皇甫湜等 ;韩愈在教育方面 ,主要有以下几点贡献 :
1 .对科举制度和学校教育的批判 。 韩愈时代 ,科举制度还处于完善中 ,各种弊
端尚未充分暴露 ,他指出 ,“有司者 ,好恶出于其心 。”通过礼部考试者的诗赋文
章 ,他敏锐地感觉到“可无学而能” 、“类于俳优者之辞” ,阅卷的随意性以及诗赋
文章不一定与治理国家有多少关系 ;2 .论教师 。 这是韩愈对教师这个职业的深
刻认识 ,他指出 ,教师三大任务 ,即传儒家之道 、授六艺之业 、解学习“道”与“业”
过程中之惑 ,由此生发出“闻道有先后 ,术业有专攻 。” 、“道之所存 ,师之所存”的
“圣人无常师”之思想 ;3 .论教学内容 。 韩愈认为 ,教育必须从“正心” 、“诚意”开
始 ,做好个人“修身”的功夫 ,为将来“济世安民 、建功立业”服务 ,在这个意义上 ,
他反对佛老虚幻出世思想 ,主张积极入世 ,他反对科举“明经”科单纯记诵章句 、
魏晋六朝浮夸的骈体文 ,主张“文以载道” ,他发起的“古文运动” ,名为复古 ,实

・ 200 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

为通今 ,提倡“以文为诗” ,使用便于说明道理的散文 ,纠正形式华丽 、内容空洞


的文风 ;4 .论教育教学方法 。 “业精于勤荒于嬉 ,行成于思毁于随”是其“勤勉”
和“多思”的总指导原则 ,要求学生以“焚膏油以继晷”的勤勉精神 ,坚持“口不绝
吟于六艺之文 ,手不停披于百家之编” ,但要注意避免学不得法 ,学不系统 、不中
肯等问题 ,即“学随勤而不繇其统 ,言虽多而不要其中 ,文虽奇而不济于用 ,行虽
修而不显于众”等问题 。
王安石(1019 — 1086 年) ,北宋杰出的政治家 、文学家和教育家 。 曾任地方
官 ,翰林学士 、侍读 ,后两度出任宰相 ,雄心勃勃发起旨在“理财 、整军 、富国 、强
兵”的新政 ,但无奈宋朝文弱怯懦的皇帝不敢全力支持他 ,腐败短视的同僚嫉恨
他 ,遭罢相 ,含恨归隐 ,壮志难酬 。 对于教育 ,他更多是高屋建瓴 ,指斥弊端 ,提
出主张 ,振聋发聩 。 他首先指出传统学校教育弊端 ,学校教师不称职 ,学生只学
一些没用的东西 ,“学者之所教 ,讲说章句而已 ,固非古者教人之道也 。 近岁乃
始教之以课试之文章 。 夫课试之文章 ,非博诵强学穷日之力则不能 。 及其能工
也 ,大则不足以用天下国家 ,小则不足以为天下国家之用 。” ① 也就说 ,学生既没
有学到管理国家的能力 ,也没有获得接受上级领导去办差的能力 ;其次 ,王安石
提出自己的主张 ,第一 ,学校教育很重要 ,肩负着规范人的行为和陶铸人的个性
之责 ,必须注意教育和社会环境因素两个方面问题 ;第二 ,学校教育目的是为国
家培养“理财 、整军 、富国 、强兵”的有用人才 ,所以“苟不可以为天下国家之用 ,
则不教也 ;苟可以为天下国家之用者 ,则无不在于学 。” ② 在这个“用”的原则指
导下 ,他根据“专”的要求 ,改革太学和州县学 ,不仅要学生学习经义文辞 ,更要
学习礼法 、天文 、军事等 ,还专置武学 、律学 、医学等 ,在教学方法上 ,根据孔子
“不愤不启 ,不悱不发” 、“举一隅不以三隅反则不复也”(枟论语 ・ 述而枠)的原则 ,
他倡导培养积极思维 ,同时要求教师“崇本轻文” ,按照“自然而然”的方法 ,即以
身作则 ,而不是规章制度强迫命令学生 ,这样才是成功的教育 ,也才能培养出有
用的人才 。
朱熹(1130 — 1200 年) ,南宋著名哲学家 、教育家 。 他可以说是继孔子 、孟子
和荀子之后 ,中国儒家的又一位大师级哲人 ,程朱理学的开山始祖之一 。 而在
聚徒讲学方面 ,可以说他是孔子和郑玄之后又一位伟大的私人教师 ,他对教学
的热爱和“诲人不倦”都达到了忘我的境界 ,如他学生所言 ,“讲论经典 ,商贯古
今 ,率至夜半 。 虽疾病支离 ,至诸生问辨 ,则脱然沉疴之去体 。 一日不讲学 ,则

① ②   “上仁宗皇帝言事书” ,王安石著 ,载枟临川文集枠 。

・ 201 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

惕然常以为忧 。” ① 朱熹曾担任过许多省的地方官 ,甚至任帝师 ,但是他在长达三


十多年的时间里主要进行私人讲学 ,创办过同安县学 ,投身州学 、县学的设置
中 ,为白鹿洞书院拟定教条 ,到多处书院“会讲” ,及门弟子遍天下 ,他编写的大
学和小学教材 ,如“四书集注”还是他之后近千年中国唯一权威的教科书 。 他在
教育方面的主要观点 :1 .“学以变化气质” 。 教育目的就是要达到“存天理 、灭
人欲” ,“人欲”常常掩匿着“天理” ,只有在圣人那里天理才是充沛的 ,一般人受
教育就是要发扬气质中清正的部分 ,去除气质中浊偏的部分 ,回复到“天地之
性” ,成就“能尽其伦”的理想人格 ;2 .关于家庭教育 。 他提出了“胎教”法 ,其法
未必科学 ,但在宋朝就提出这个问题 ,可见他的预见性 ,孕妇注意卫生 ,以及选
择适当的乳母 ,以她贤良品德影响婴儿成长 ,这是完全正确的 ;3 .学校教育 。 朱
熹从认识发展过程提出教育的内容 ,小学从八岁到十五岁 ,主要培养“圣贤柸
模” ,从“洒扫应对进退之节” 、“爱亲敬长睦师亲友之道”以及“礼乐射御书数之
文” ,然后在学“大学” 、“论语” 、“中庸”和“孟子”等四书 ,这一阶段使学生知晓
“做人的样子” ,学会“事君 、事父兄等事” ,由于学生年龄小 ,须“知之浅而行之
小” ,为以后打基础 ;从十五岁始 ,进入大学阶段 ,学习重点转入“理” ,要求他们
“知之深而行之大” ,这两个阶段虽有重“事”和重“理”之别 ,但方向是一致的 ;
4 .教学方法论 。 他高度关注方法论 ,其一 ,“穷理”和“笃行”并重 ,“中庸”说 ,
“博学 、审问 、慎思 、明辨 、笃行” ,前四个步骤讲“穷理” ,最后说“笃行” ,他认为 ,
“知而不行 ,则前所穷之理 ,无所安顿 ,徒费讲学之功 。” (白鹿洞书院教条)他又
说 ,“为学之实 ,固在践履 。 苟徒知而不行 ,诚与不学无异 。 然欲行而未明于理 ,
则其践履者 ,又未知其果何事也 。”学习目的在于实践 ,朱熹主张“知”“行”统一 ,
“穷理”与“笃行”统一 ;其二 ,他主张积极教导的方法 ,应多做积极性的指导 ,少
做预防性和取缔性的告诫 ,因为只有学生“知其理之当然” ,才能“责其身以必
然” ,收到良好效果 ;其三 ,读书之法 ,“循序而渐进 ,熟读而精思” ,他认为 ,对
于各种教材和书 ,必须按照顺序读 ,努力做到“学”和“思”结合 ,并达到这样程
度 :“先须熟读 ,使其言皆若出于吾之口 ;继以精思 ,使其意皆若出于吾之心 。
然后可以有得耳 。”(读书之要) ,这些都是朱熹这位大教育家的真知灼见和教
育教学实践的切身体会 。
王守仁(1472 — 1529 年) ,明朝著名的哲学家 、政治家 、教育家 。 曾历任刑
部 、兵部主事 ,赣南巡抚 、副都御史 、左都御史 、总督两广兼巡抚 。 在政治上 ,他

① 转引自枟中国古代教育和教育思想枠 ,沈灌群著 ,湖北人民出版社 ,1956 年 ,武汉 。

・ 202 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

是维护和巩固明朝的“功臣” ;他一生潜心研究学术 ,成为一代大师 ,提出他的思


想三大纲领 ,即“心即理”说 、“致良知”说和“知行合一”说等 ,他的思想传入日
本 ,尤其是他的“知行合一”思想极大地影响日本的明治维新 。 他对于教育一直
都很热衷 ,在北京就开始讲学 ,遭贬贵州龙场驿 ,开设龙岗书院 ,主讲贵阳书院 ,
教化当地民众 ,后每到一处任官 ,都要开办学校或书院 ,设坛讲学 。 他重视“社
学” ,鼓励各县“兴立社学 ,延师教子” 。 退休返回家乡余姚 ,他以讲学为乐 ,各地
慕名而来从学者如云 。 王守仁主要教育观点 :1 .学校教育的目的 。 学校教育
主要是“致良知” 、“成德” ,在此基础上 ,发展学生不同的才能 ,也就说 ,教育的政
治方向一定要正确 ,正确的方向就是培养“良善之民” ,化成“仁厚之俗” ;2 .论教
育的原则与方法 。 “知行合一”正是他的教育原则 ,“懵懵懂懂的任意去做 ,全不
解思维省察 ,也只是个冥行妄作”与“茫茫荡荡 ,悬空去思索 ,全不肯着实躬行 ,
也只是个揣摸影响” ,这两种态度都是他所反对的 ,教师必须“庄敬自持 ,外内若
一” ,给学生树立榜样 ;他反对当时儿童教育中的“机械注入”式教学和粗暴体罚
学生 ,主张顺应儿童天性教育他们 ,正如园丁培育花木一般 ,“今教童子 ,必使其
趋向鼓舞 ,中心喜悦 ,则其进 ,自不能已 。 譬之时雨春风 ,沾被卉木 ,莫不萌动发
越 ,自然日长月化” 。 通过“歌诗” 、“习礼” 、“讽书”等方法足以“顺导其志意 ,调
理其性情” ,至少可以“潜消其鄙吝 ,点化其粗顽” ,在这种“润物细无声”的过程
中 ,儿童们定能达到“渐于礼义而不苦其难 ,入于中和而不知其故”的境界 。
颜元(1635 — 1704 年) ,清朝初年的著名学者 、教育家 。 一生从事教育 ,从未
脱离生产劳动 ,也从未“入仕” 。 他敢于直面惨淡的人生 ,正视现实的危机 ,无论
现实多么残酷 ,决不“蹈入空疏” ,更不求庇于“佛老” 。 对于宋明学者“清谈”误
国 ,“惑世诬民” ,他谴责 ;对于佛老之学 ,他指斥 ,“宁使天下无学 ,不可有参杂佛
老章句之学 ;宁使百世无圣 ,不可有将就冒认标榜之圣 。 庶几学则真学 ,圣则真
圣云尔 。” ① 他主张回归周孔真学 ,学习经世致用的实学 ,对于所谓“正其谊不谋
其利 ,明其道不计其功” ,他反问道 ,“世有耕种而不谋收获者乎 ? 有荷网持钩而
不计得鱼者乎 ?” ② 对“谋道不谋食”之说 ,他指出 ,“宋儒正从此误 ,后人遂不谋
生 。 不知后儒之道 ,全非孔门之道 。 孔门六艺 ,进可获禄 ,退可以食力 ,如委吏
之会计 ,简分之伶官可见 。 故耕者犹有馁 ,学也必无饥 。 夫子申结不忧贫 ,以道
信之也 。 若宋儒之学 ,不谋食 ,能无饥乎 ?” ③ 颜元的教育观 :1 .深刻批判宋明

① 枟存学篇枠 ,颜元著 。
② ③   枟言行录 ・ 教及门枠颜元著 。

・ 203 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

以来的学校教育 。 他认为 ,宋明以来 ,学校专教学生读书 、著书 、静坐 、空谈 ,内


容多是“汉宋佛老交杂之学” ,其特点是“无用” ,两宋号称以此培养出许多大儒 ,
颜元则反讥道 ,“前有数十圣贤 ,上不见一扶危济难之功 ,下不见一可相可将之
材 ,两手以二帝畀金 、以汴京与豫矣 ;后有数十圣贤 ,上不见一扶危济难之功 ,下
不见一可相可将之材 ,两手以少帝付海 ,以玉玺与元矣 。” ① 对于科举取士 ,他把
这“以章句误苍生”的八股文谴责为“四秽”之首 ,“四秽”即“时文也 ,僧也 ,道也 ,
娼也 。”而这种教育培养的只能是“脆弱书生” ,“读书”害己 ,“著书”则害人 ,这些
书生从来不曾为国家民族做出贡献 。 2 .提出理想的学校教育和人才模式 。 学
校须教学礼乐兼习 、文武并重 ,以培养“富天下” 、“强天下”和“安天下”的人才 ,
他们必须体格健壮 、武艺高强 ,具有经世致用的本领和谋略 。 3 .教育内容 。 他
提出“六府” 、“三事” 、“三物” ;“六府”即金木水火土谷 ,“三事”即正德 、利用 、厚
生 ,“三物”即六德 (知仁圣义忠和 ) 、六行 (孝友睦姻任恤 ) 、六艺 (礼乐射御书
数) ;他认为 ,兵 、农 、礼乐是三大最有用之学 ,兵学包括兵法和技击 ,这是“强天
下”的素养 ;农学包括垦荒 、水利 、均田 、农艺 ,这是富天下的教养 ;礼乐则是安天
下的学问 。 4 .教学方法 。 颜元提出“得之于习行 ,见之于身世 ,验之于事功”的
原则 ,强调“习”与“动”的重要性 ,他说 ,“五帝三王周孔 ,皆教天下以动之圣人
也 ,皆以动造成世道之圣人也 。 汉唐袭其动之一二以造其世也 。 晋宋之苟安 ,
佛之空 ,老之无 ,周程朱邵之静坐 ,徒事口笔 ,总之皆不动也 ,即人才尽矣 ,世道
沦矣 。 吾尝言 :一身动则一身强 ,一家动则一家强 ,一国动则一国强 ,天下动则
天下强 。” ② 他重视把知识与实际结合起来 ,去实践所学知识 。 为了更加有效地
学习 ,他主张 “三减” (即“减冗琐以省精力 ,减读作以专习行 ,减学业以却杂
乱 。”) ,以使自己所学更专 ,学业更精 。
王夫之(1619 — 1692 年) ,清朝著名的哲学家 、教育家 。 王夫之是一位有民
族气节的学者 ,当满人占领北京 ,八旗兵进攻湖南后 ,他高举义旗 ,起兵反满 。
失败后 ,感到国事不可为 ,便埋头研究学术 ,潜心从事教育 。 晚年隐居湘西石船
山 ,自号船山老人 。 专心致志著述 40 年 ,遗书 70 多种 ,遗失未刻甚多 。 他多名
学生亦成就斐然 。 对于政治 ,他有自己的理想 ,他所追求的是一个真正统一的
国家 ,政府能代表人民利益 ,“循天下之公”的“非一姓之私”的“天下” ,他认为 ,
“君天下者 ,仁天下也” 。 他的教育观 :1 .环境和教育对于个性形成的重要作
用 。 教育一定要在“丰饱”的基础上 ,即先安子 、裕弟 、缓妇 ,才能养成他们孝 、

① ②   枟存学篇枠 ,颜元著 。

・ 204 ・
第六章   古代教育与中国历代教育理念演变

友 、顺的道德品质 ,“朴者 ,木之以伐而未裁者也 。 已伐则生理已绝 ,未裁则不成


于用 。 终乎朴 ,则终乎无用矣” ,如果任其以“朴”之状存在不与加工 ,它必然还
是无用之木 ,人也一样 ,不用教育给他以“琢磨” ,他必将还是无用之人 。 2 .重视
“动”和“习”的作用 。 他认为 ,人的思想是“昼夜用而不息” ,其结果是“才以用而
自生 ,思以引而不竭” ,因此 ,这“动”是有积极意义的 ,“动”才能发展人的才能 、
培养人的品德 。 在人的个性培养上 ,王夫之很重视“习”的功用 ,他说 ,“人之皆
可为善者 ,性也 。 其有必不可为善者 ,习也 。 习之于人大矣 。 耳限于所闻 ,则夺
其天聪 ;目限于所见 ,则夺其天明 。 父兄熏之于能动能言之始 ,乡党姻亚导之于
知好知恶之年 ,一移其耳目心思 ,而泰山不见 ,雷霆不闻 。 故曰 ,习行性成 ,成性
而严师益友不能劝勉 ,醲赏重罚不能匡正矣 。” ① 所以 ,他认为 ,“习气移人 ,为不
可复施斤削”(俟解) ;3 .关于教学问题 。 关于人的教养 ,他从知识的掌握和知行
关系出发 ,认为 ,“知实而不知名”与“知名而不知实” ,皆为不知 ,唯有名实皆知 ,
才算真知 ;关于知行关系 ,他说 ,“行可兼知 ,而知不可兼行 。 君子之学 ,未尝离
行以为知也 。” ② 知行在王船山这里是一个统一体 ,行动则更重要 。

自隋唐以降 ,许多教育家如韩愈 、王安石等剖析科举考试的弊端 ,更有颜元


这样终生不离实践的教育家对于传统学校教育沉疴透彻分析 ,尽管他对于两宋
教育饱含悲愤的声讨不一定那么公正 ,但是他对古代学校教育的“无用性”入木
三分的批判还是振聋发聩的 ,同时这一时期教育家们对于教育建设性的贡献也
不容忽视 ,关于教师问题 、教育教学本身的问题 ,以及关于教育如何传授学生有
用的知识 、为国家民族培养有用的人才 ,尤其是王守仁 、颜元 、王船山等“知行合
一”的思想把中国教育思想落到了实处 ,教育再也不能尚“清谈” 、“空谈” ,培养
无用之人 ,而要肩负起培养经世致用 、安邦定国之栋梁 。

三 、古代中国教育评价

中国古代教育无疑对于九州万方人民文化水平提高 、文化的普及都作出了
重要贡献 ,对于中华文明的创造作出了不可替代的贡献 ,更为世界文明史的发
展作出了独特的贡献 ,主要有以下两个特点 。
1 .古代教育特别重视道德养成和道德教化 :从这意义上 ,中国古代的教育

① 枟读通鉴论枠 ,王夫之著 ,中华书局 ,1975 年 。


② 枟尚书引义枠 ,王夫之著 ,中华书局 ,1962 年 。

・ 205 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

表现的是一种特别关注和精心构建全体社会成员道德的大教育观 ,这一道德关
怀贯穿在教育的全过程 ,在官办教育 、私人教育和书院制度中 ,甚至也渗透在国
家管理的过程中 ,各级官员总被教导着应该教化人民 ,先施行教化 ,然后才能动
用刑法惩治违法者 ,故荀子说 ,“故不教而诛 ,则刑繁而邪不胜 ;教而不诛 ,则奸
民不惩 。”(枟荀子 ・ 富国枠) ,在历朝历代 ,“不教而诛”是要受到谴责的 ,是一种不
负责任的态度 ,所以可以说 ,古代中国是一个泛道德的社会 。
2 .古代教育特别重视通才培养和全人教育 :从孔子提出“君子不器”以来 ,
古代教育一直重视通才教育和全人培养 ,虽然有些朝代如唐朝也曾试图设立一
些专门的学校如律学 、医学 、天文等 ,甚至还有此类专门的科举课目 ,但社会上
响应者寥寥无几 ,最后只有进士一科独秀 ,其他全部凋零 ;学校教育中 ,也试图
使学生通“六艺” ,全面教育 ,而对于一些具体技能则比较轻视 ,孔子就很反感学
生请教种田方面的问题 ,尽管他自己从小也学习掌握了这些方面的技能 ;封建
社会鄙视劳动和劳动人民 ,教育则是以儒家经典的全部知识全面培养学生 ,包
括道德修养 ,其目的是培养后备官员队伍 。

・ 206 ・
第七章

科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

    在科举制度创立之前 ,中国古代的选官制度已经历了一个漫长的发展历
程 ,早在西周(公元前 1100 年 — 公元前 771 年)时 ,中国实行世卿世禄制度 ,基
本上不存在选官 ,都是世袭制 。 随着封建大一统王朝秦朝 (公元前 221 年 — 公
元前 206 年)和汉朝 (公元前 206 年 — 公元 220 年)的建立 ,在各个方面进行了
制度创新 ,以便有效地管理这个庞大的国家 。 肇始于战国 ,全面实行于秦朝的
举贤制 ,到了汉朝则完全成熟 ,形成了察举制 ,为新兴王朝提供官僚队伍合格的
候选人员 。 到东汉末年 ,察举制已经不能保障所选人才的素质 ,基本上丧失了
为朝廷选举高素质人才的功能 。 东汉形成的世族是一个重要力量 ,尽管曹操主
张“唯才是举” ,但也还主要是从世族大姓里选拔 ,因为这些世族正是曹魏政权
统治的基础 ,所以就出现了“九品中正制” ,带有明显妥协的选举制度 。 到了南
北朝 ,它几乎进入衰亡期 ,很难发挥选举称职官员的作用 ,同时在南北朝社会内
部正孕育一个崭新的选举制度 ——— 科举制度 ,它就是此后绵延古今 1300 年(公
元 605 — 公元 1905 年) ,曾通过考试选举出十万进士 、百万举人 ,为隋唐以来的
中国封建统治集团提供了具有高度儒学文化素养 、娴熟语言应用能力的各级行
政官员 ,有人称之为中国的第五大发明 ,深刻地影响了中国文化和社会的各个
层面 ,也曾产生重大国际影响 ,影响到中国的邻国日本 、朝鲜 、越南等 。 当然 ,科
举制度也带给我们许多负面影响 。

・ 207 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

一 、科举制度的创立

随着秦汉的统一 ,中国古代大一统格局的形成 ,君主专制的中央集权政治


开始主宰中国封建社会 ,由此产生了以官僚政治为基础的君主独裁制 ,而中央
集权则需要不断强化官僚政治和控制意识形态 ,其中科举制度是达到人和思想
双重控制的最有效手段 ,同时又能源源不断通过比较公平和激烈的竞争为官僚
队伍提供新鲜血液 。
经过汉朝察举制 ,以及汉魏六朝九品中正制的选官探索 ,在公元 605 年 ,隋
朝初年诞生了划时代的科举制 。 人们普遍认为 ,只有科举才是实行考试选官 ,
其实 ,在此之前实行的察举制和九品中正制都需要考试 ,只不过没有以考试为
主 ,而科举考试则理论上是向全社会开放 ,一决于文字 ,一切以程文为去留 ,分
数面前人人平等 。 隋唐是科举制度的草创阶段 ,虽然已经实行了严格意义上的
考试 ,但仍保留了察举制的一些遗风 ,同时还有唐人自己的一些独特创造 ,因为
这是一个开放的时代 ,唐人的气度和自信都让新近诞生的科举制度深深地烙上
唐人的印记 ,主要表现在以下三个方面 。
第一 ,课目设置 。 唐朝科举课目异常繁复 ,有 16 种之多 ,可分为综合类(如
秀才科 、明经科和进士科) 、衍生类(五经科 、四经科 、三礼科 、一史科 、三史科等)
和实用类(如明法科 、明书科 、明算科等 ) ,这些课目还没有固定 ,可随时增减 。
即使在唐朝初年 ,进士科由于其开放性和综合性的特点 ,显得与其他各科不同 ,
唐太宗在 643 年(即贞观八年)下诏“加进士试读经史一部” ,主考官员刘思立在
进士科加帖经和杂文 ,这是一项非常重要的改革 。 进士科从此包含经学 、文学 、
时务策三大内容 ,以后各代不断沿袭 ,可以说 ,唐朝开科举重文学的先河 。 隋唐
以前 ,选拔官员的考试多以策问为主 ,唐初仍有策问 ,但进士科必须有帖经 ,测
试应试者对经典熟悉程度 ,也就是考他们记诵的功夫 ,帖经的使用是科举考试
规范化和标准化的重要方法 ,唐还采用重在测试能力的经义考试 ,分口义和墨
义 ,口义由于成绩难以评定 ,且没有留下文字依据 ,逐渐被墨义取代 。
第二 ,考场规范 。 唐朝还没有详细设定考场防止作弊措施 ,虽有些规定 ,处
罚“校试不实”的失职官员或遏制考生作弊 ,“礼部贡试之日 ,皆严设兵卫 ,荐棘
围之 ,搜索衣服 ,讥诃出入 ,以防假滥 。” ① 盛唐兴起行卷之风 ,即应试者在考试

① 枟册府元龟枠卷六百四十枟贡举部 ・ 条制二枠 。

・ 208 ・
第七章   科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

前 ,将自己平素的作品送给达官显贵或文坛宿儒 ,请他们品评推荐 ,这在当时被


认为是让考官更全面地了解自己 ,对评判试卷起到补充或辅助作用 ,在历史上
也确实起到过发现人才的作用 ,如杜牧等人就是通过行卷得到推荐 ,最终进士
及第 ,但是这一制度极易被人滥用 ,产生流弊 ,成为抄袭 、请人捉刀 、巴结权贵的
作弊手段 ,但唐人处于制度创立之初 ,各种措施手段都在形成之中 ,加上唐朝本
身就是一个自信开放的朝代 ,并没有对于出现的问题惊恐万状 。
第三 ,科举与教育 。 唐朝初年 ,朝廷重视 ,官学发达 ,科举也较重视官学生
徒 ,考核国子监教师的一个重要指标就是科举及第率 ,因此学校也比较注重科
举及第率 。 武则天临朝后 ,重乡贡而轻生徒 ,导致官学开始衰落 。 盛唐时期 ,玄
宗着力恢复和繁荣官学 ,扩大官学规模 ,遴选优秀教师到国子监任教 ,又使官学
达到了空前规模 。 安史之乱后 ,唐王朝由盛转衰 ,官学开始颓败 ,生徒遣散 ,中
唐以后 ,随着官学衰落 ,科举地位反而得到加强 。 总而言之 ,唐初社会比较看重
通过官学及第的进士 ,而那些通过自学或私学入仕者为人们所轻视 ,这充分表
明官学在人们心目中的崇高地位 ,由官学而入仕则是一种高贵的身份的象征 ,
才有“进士不由两监者 ,深以为耻” ① 的看法 。 唐朝官学教育与科举比较一致 ,即
科举课目基本根据官学教育内容 ,两者关系密切 ,科举考试内容与官学教学内
容一致 ,科举考试方法与官学教育十分相似 ,所以有唐一代 ,官学总体比较受重
视 。 后随着官学衰微 ,乡贡出身者增多 ,人们才改变了对乡贡及第者的看法 。
私学虽不属于国家学制体系 ,但对这样一个影响国家意识形态和政治稳定的教
育机构 ,朝廷则不能漠然置之 ,科举考试就是一种将私学纳入国家教育体系的
办法 ,称“乡贡”者基本上就是出于私学的人士 ,它是科举的另一个重要考生来
源 ,与官学生徒不一样 ,这些乡贡入士者必须经过逐级考试 ,获选后参加科举考
试 ,“隋 、唐之世 ,科举浸盛 ,而学校日微 ,此即教育之权由公家移于私家之证 。” ②
私学逐渐由官学的补充 ,逐渐发展成为培育科举人才的主要摇篮 。

二 、科举制度的成熟

宋朝的建立结束了唐末以来半个世纪的混乱局面 ,但宋太祖赵匡胤并未真
正统一全中国 ,从一开始就只有半个国家 ,后代君王不仅没有能够收复全部失

① 王定保 :枟唐摭言枠卷一 。
② 吕思勉 :枟隋唐五代史枠 ,上海古籍出版社 ,1984 年版 ,第 1270 — 1271 页 。

・ 209 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

地 ,而且还把都城汴梁丢失 ,致使宋朝徽 、钦二帝被金人掳去 ,宋朝败亡 。 漏网


皇子赵构不断南逃 ,最后偏居临安 ,建立了南宋 ,苟延残喘百余年 。 宋人虽缺乏
战斗力 ,屡次败给辽 、金 ,但两宋经济还是非常繁荣 ,文化十分发达 ,正是有宋一
代 ,科举考试在各个方面达到了完全成熟 ,采取了锁院 、别头试 、弥封 、誊录 、三
级评定等一系列措施 ,以健全制度 ,防范作弊 ,保障公正 ,整个宋朝所选进士超
过其他朝代总和 ,甚至对于多次应试不中者 ,从太祖开始赐进士出身 ,后增加了
对超过 50 岁举子的录取 ,文人地位之高空前绝后 。 宋朝是个以文立国的王朝 ,
皇帝为多才多艺柔弱之辈 ,到徽宗达到极致 ,一个地道的艺术天才 ,画家 ,书法
家 。 有宋一代 ,善待文人 ,成就了灿若星河的文学 、文化大师 ,因此这样一个王
朝对于科举制度所做的贡献就是从它的各个层面进行完善 ,使之达到成熟和完
备 ,主要反映在以下诸方面 。
第一 ,课目设置 。 从公元 605 年 — 1071 年 ,即北宋神宗熙宁四年 ,主要承继
唐初之传统 ,1071 年 ,王安石对科举进行大刀阔斧改革 ,科举课目骤然明晰 ,趋
向简化 ,仅保留进士科 ,而且没有过渡期 ,文学在进士科的主导地位受到挑战 ,
士人多有怨言 ,遂分为经义进士科和辞赋进士科 ,而金代则在这两科之外增设
策论进士科 ,至此 ,进士科的经学 、文学和时务全部独立成科 ,科举课目设置完
全成熟了 ,其他课目也趋向进士科 。 从唐到宋 ,两种考试方式 ,帖经和经义并存
200 年 ,经义不仅可测出应试者对于经典熟悉程度 ,而且还能了解他们对经典理
解的深度 ,遂淘汰了帖经成为唯一的经典考试方法 ,不断成熟和规范 。
第二 ,考场规范 。 唐朝以来 ,流行了 200 年之久的行卷之风 ,在北宋被完全
彻底禁止 ,“礼部贡举人 ,自今朝臣不得更发公荐 ,违者重治其罪 。” ① 从此时起 ,
考试成绩是决定应试者取与不取的唯一依据 。 唐朝曾尝试弥封试卷 ,但北宋则
全面严格执行弥封和誊录制度 ,阅卷者根据誊录试卷评阅 ,以免他们辨出应试
者笔迹 ,失之公正 。 同时开始尝试内外帘制度 ,进一步严格防范舞弊行为 ,面对
考场出现的“传义” 、“换卷” 、“易号” 、“卷子出外” 、“誊录灭裂”等行为 ,南宋理宗
全部接受了左谏议大夫朱端常的建议 ,“入试日 ,一切不许传递 。 门禁既严 ,则
数弊自清 。 宜令封弥官亲封锔卷匮 ,士人亲书幕历投匮中 。 俟举人尽出院 ,然
后启封 ,分类抄上 ,即付誊录所 。” ② 这一切措施可谓严格至极 。
第三 ,科举与教育 。 宋朝开国 ,官学不振 ,究其原因 ,表层可能是长期的战

① 枟续资治通鉴长编枠卷四枟太祖枠 。
② 枟宋史枠卷一百五十六枟选举二枠 。

・ 210 ・
第七章   科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

乱和社会动荡 ,但深层则是官学与科举之间的矛盾日益突出所致 。 因为科举地


位日隆 ,重科举 、轻学 校 之 风 愈 盛 ,考 试 内 容 与 官 员教 育 内 容 愈 来 愈 脱 节 ,
从政者应该具有高尚的道德和高超的行政办事能力 ,而考试则是以诗赋为
重点 。 范仲淹认为要改诗赋为论策 ,从章句之学转向经世致用之学 。 宋朝
有三次大的兴学运动 ,旨 在 结 合 科 举 考 试 推 进 学 校 教 育 。 首 先 ,宋 仁 宗 认
识到研究学问是个 循 序 渐 进 的 过 程 ,学 校 在 此 过 程中 发 挥 重 要 作 用 ,他 任
用一代名相范仲淹 为 参 知 政 事 ,兴 办 官 学 ,改 革 科 举 。 范 公 说 ,“ 当 太 平 之
朝 ,不能教育 ,俟何 时 而 教 育 哉 ? 乃 于 选 用 之 际 ,患才 之 难 ,亦 由 不 务 耕 而
求获矣 。” ① 在他看来 ,学校有灌输儒家政治 、伦理理念和考察士人品行之双
重功效 。 于是在范公主持下 ,一 场 把 科 举 与 官 学 结 合 的 改 革 开 展 起 来 了 ,
他规定参加科举考试者必须接受一定时日的学校教育 (一般考生在校学习
三百天以上 ,按 任 子 法 的 文 武 官 员 子 弟 须 入 官 学 学 习 一 百 天 方 可 应 试 ) 。
这场改革因范仲淹的革职而告结束 。 其次 ,王安石向仁宗提出“教 、养 、取 、
任”之道 ,即人才都需要在官学里受教育 ,保障他们的待遇 ,进行严格选拔 ,
然后任用到恰当的 职 位 上 ,但 到 了 宋 神 宗 才 采 纳 了 他 的 建 议 ,任 命 王 安 石
为参知政事 ,推行改革 ,他创立了“三舍法” ,还推出一系列改革太学与科举
的措施 ,但神宗驾崩 ,王安石被逐出朝廷 ,改革方案搁浅 。 其三 ,哲宗亲政 ,
决定恢复王安石的“三 舍法” 及 一 切 改 革 措 施 。 当 徽 宗 即 位 ,任 用 蔡 京 ,试
图恢复神宗时的学校与科举做法 ,宋徽宗甚至“诏取士悉由学校升贡 ,其州
郡发解及试礼部并罢 。” ② 他要用“三舍法”取代科举考试 。 北宋轰轰烈烈的
三次兴办学校和改革科举的运动起伏 跌宕 ,时断时 续持续近百年 。 虽未成
功 ,但完备的官学制 度 却 在 此 过 程 中 建 立 起 来 ,其 重 要 意 义 在 于 使 人 们 深
刻认识到 :兴学是育才之本 ,科举是选材之途 ,只有兴学育才能确保国家人
才资源库充盈 。

三 、科举制度的衰落

元朝统治者入主中原 ,承继大统 ,在科举制度上也有重大改进 。 先前在宋 、


辽 、金基本采取省试和殿试 ,即“一个级别 、两个步骤”的一级考试制度 。 显然 ,

① 枟范文正公文集枠卷八 。
② 枟宋史枠卷一百五十七枟选举志三枠 。

・ 211 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

此时已经不能适应新的情况 ,即举子数量过于庞大 ,难以组织考试 ,另外官员资


格只授一个级别 ,不能恰当地将他们区分 ,补充到各级官员队伍中去 ,于是元朝
创立了乡试与会试和殿试构成的二级考试制度 ,这一制度为明清所沿袭 ,成为
定制 。 明清可谓中国古代科举制度的普及阶段 ,随着中国人口猛增 ,应试者也
急剧增加 ,对于主考各级考试的机构和官员无疑增加了巨大压力 。 朝廷考虑增
加考试次数和多设立考试层级 ,同时严格限制考试内容 、硬化考试形式 、严格录
取标准 ,但明清两朝录取总额也基本等于宋朝正奏名额 ,由此可见 ,明清举子们
考试录取率之低 ,而且没有宋所谓的“特奏名及第” 、“恩科及第” 。 从元至明清 ,
科举考试瓜熟蒂落 ,盛极而衰 ,这完全与中国封建制度的盛衰是同步的 。 虽然
科举制度本身愈来愈规范 ,愈来愈客观和公正 ,从考试内容到形式 ,它已经客
观 、规范到了僵硬 、僵化 ,甚至僵死的地步 。 面对接踵而来的各种内外冲击 ,朝
廷不知有解决的“它途” ,一味沿着“防范作奸犯科”方向前行 ,再加上晚清中国
内忧外患 ,各种问题堆积如山 ,积重难返 ,使科举制度彻底失去了从内部更新 、
升级和再创造的机会 。 可想而知 ,科举制度在这最 后三个王朝发展演变 的
轨迹 。
第一 ,课目设置 。 科举考试更加规范化和程式化 ,元代把经义进士科 、辞赋
进士科和策论进士科合而为一 ,设立德行明经科 ,囊括三科内容 ,专门考试不断
朝着综合考试的方向演进 ,可谓科举制度的重大改革 ,明清仅沿袭这一课目设
置 ,没有任何创新 。 同时 ,考试范围基本固定化 ,考试方式程式化 、标准化 ,应试
者可发挥余地愈来愈小 ,考试阅卷结果也就更加客观公正 。 从最初的帖经 ,演
变到经义 ,元明清三朝在经义基础上不断改进 ,形成了高度程式化 、具有很强操
作性和可评价性的标准化考试八股文 ,至此可以说 ,古代中国的科举选官达到
了无以复加的地步 ,其考试方式的改进已无余地 ,从帖经 、经义到高度程式化的
八股文是历史的必然 ,也使高度理性的选官制度必然地走过了辉煌 ,无可挽回
地进入衰落期 。
第二 ,考场规范 。 到元 、明 、清 ,弥封和誊录执行得更加严格 ,而且在此基础
上 ,为了进一步保证考试的公平公正 ,完善和强化了内外帘分工制 ,即将考试的
事务性工作和评阅工作分开 ,有效地减少了考试之外因素的干扰 。 最初是宋代
在殿试时施行内外帘制 ,内帘包括初考官 、覆考官 、详定官等帮助皇帝评卷 ,确
定名次 ,而外帘则由弥封官 、誊录官 、对读官 ,还有编排官 、初考点检试卷官和覆
考点检试卷官组成 ,并将它推广到省试和解送试中 ,形成贯穿科举各级的规范
制度 。 到元 、明 、清 ,关于内外帘官员的具体职责 、管理条例 ,以及工作流程都有

・ 212 ・
第七章   科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

详尽规定描述 。 到清朝 ,科举考试的规范到了无以复加的程度 ,真可谓详之又


详 、细之又细 。
第三 ,科举与教育 。 辽 、金 、元都是少数民族政权 ,他们对于学校和科举的
认识也与汉人有些不同 。 在辽朝一般不允许契丹人应举 ,故官学与科举教育处
于分离状态 ,科举制仅仅作为笼络汉人的手段 ,金代效法汉人 ,逐渐使二者关系
密切 ,还创设女真进士科 ,目的是促进官学发展 。 从元代建立到仁宗廷祐元年
(1279 — 1314 年)的 35 年间 ,一直没有进行科举 ,几乎占了元朝一半时间 。 因
此 ,官学教育与科举没有关系 ,后来学校教育与科举逐渐结合紧密 ,直至最后沦
为科举附庸 。 明代“科举必由学校 ,而学校起家可不由科举 。” ① 从太祖朱元璋开
始 ,非常重视学校教育 ,视之为巩固统治的重要手段 ,同时也重视官员的实际能
力 。 明初实行“监生历事”制度 ,即选拔国子监生到京都各衙门历练政事 ,晚上
回监读书 ,这一制度既可使学生获得实际从政经验 ,又不荒废学业 ,历事监生经
考核受到任用 ,高可以做到三品 ,低也在知州 、知县 ,遂使士子入官学读书积极
性提高 。 清代基本沿用明代制度 ,各级官学皆以应举入仕为追求目标 ,国子监
生徒主要有贡生和监生两种 ,贡生为地方官学选送 ,而监生则有恩监 、荫监 、优
监 、例监等 ,主要选择一些资历 、身份特殊的士子 ,照顾恩准入监肄业 。 明清官
学与科举基本合二为一 ,学校储才 、育才 ,科举选才 、任才 ,学校科举化 、科举学
校化 ,甚至由学校指定考试所用的范文 ,供考生背诵 。 “上之所以教 ,下之所以
学 ,惟科举之文而已 。” ② 官学已完全沦落为科举之学 ,没有任何学术可言 。 士子
们所关心惟有功名耳 ,“考其学业 ,科举之外无它业也 ;窥其志虑 ,求取功名之外
无他志也 。” ③ 至晚清 ,官学教育与科举不仅没有冲突 ,而且携起手来 ,共同“阉
割”士人之精神 ,戕害士子之心灵 。 士为四民之首 ,却不知潜心向学 ;士为社会
中坚 ,却只知汲汲于功名 ;士为国家未来之栋梁 ,却精神猥琐至此 ,只营眼前之
小利 。 曾子云 ,“士不可以不弘毅 ,任重而道远 。”国无弘毅之士 ,何以立国 ? 无
“弘毅之士”之国将何以屹立于世界民族之林 ?

四 、科举制度评价

科举发展到明清 ,制度层面的问题都已基本解决 ,不规范不足以彰显公正 ,

① 枟明史枠卷六十九枟选举志一枠 。
② 孙鼎臣 :枟论治枠 ,枟经世文续编枠卷六十六枟礼政六 ・ 贡举枠 。
③ 汤成烈 :枟学校篇枠 ,枟经世文续编枠卷六十五枟礼政五 ・ 学校下枠 。

・ 213 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

亦不易操作 ,不具有操作性 ,何谈公正 ? 明清的科举可谓公正 、规范至极 ,但是 ,


规范到了程式化 、标准化的程度 ,也就离埋葬这个制度不远了 。 科举以公平选
拔人才为出发点 ,但却愈来愈以防奸为要务 ,制度愈严 ,舞弊愈烈 ,仿佛是“道高
一尺 ,魔高一丈” ,而不是相反 。 在晚清 ,科举制度在国家民族内忧外患 、风雨飘
摇中走到它的尽头 ,有识之士呼吁废除它 ,它仿佛成了近代中国一切不幸和祸
患的“替罪羊” 。 这积千年之功创制 、完善的素有中华文明“第五大发明”的科举
制就这样被朝廷一道诏书给废除了 ,活生生从其母体文化剥离掉了 ——— 连同它
的一切优缺点 。
科举考试有种种优越性 ,这正是它存在千年之久的根本原因 ,其主要优点
有以下三点 。
(一) 官员选拔制度
科举制度首先是一项公平 、公正的官员选拔制度 ,从其肇始到其废除 ,制度
不断发展 、完善 ,整个过程都体现一种不断追求客观 、公正的精神 ,至清朝八股
文达到极致 ,八股文评阅可以说是最少主观因素 、最具操作性的考试形式 。 科
举制度是“公开考试 、平等竞争 、择优录取” ,“一决于文字而已” ,一切以程文为
去留 ,没有年龄 、民族 、地域限制 ,甚至外国人也可以应试 ,这就为全社会的读书
人提供了最大的入仕机会 。 从科举考试的实践看 ,在该制度实施的 1300 年间 ,
共录取十万余名进士 、百万余名举人 ,为我国封建社会提供了高素质的各级管
理人才 ,这些入选者中的绝大多数人都有高尚的品德 、良好的儒学经典知识和
语言应用能力 ,其中不乏著名的政治家 、军事家和文学家 。
(二) 文化普及制度
在中国漫长的科举史上 ,考试课目虽不断调整 ,但儒学经典和诗词歌赋则
一直保留下来 。 这些成功入选者 ,一般都精通儒家经典 ,具有较高的文化素养 ,
同时还能文善赋 。 当他们被任命到一个职位上 ,大多能兢兢业业 ,以自己的才
学报效朝廷 。 他们大多为官一任 ,不仅造福一方 ,而且以自己深厚的儒学 ,教化
当地人民 ,提升当地文化水平 ,使儒学文化影响遍及岭南 、琼海等边远地区 ,像
韩愈 、柳宗元 、苏轼等文化巨匠在文化建设 、教化人民方面有许多佳话美谈 ,至
今仍在潮州 、惠州 、海南 、柳州等地流传 。
(三) 教育引领制度
科举制度是选官制度 ,或者说是政治制度 ,但从考试内容和性质看 ,它又
是一项教育制度 ,或者说教育引领制度 ,从隋唐开始 ,无论官学还是私学 ,甚

・ 214 ・
第七章   科举考试与中国古代的选官制度

至包括书院制度 ,都与科举结下不解之缘 。 科举对于中国古代教育的影响是


巨大的 ,科举基本上是学校教育的指挥棒 ,即科举考什么 ,学校教什么 。 当官
学衰落 ,举子不愿入官学读书 ,说明官学所教内容游离于科举之外 ,私学亦
然 。 科举考试对于学校教育具有导向作用 ,学校教育成功与否取决于它依附
科举的程度 ,或者说与科举内容契合的程度 。 在中国的正史里 ,人们奇怪地
发现 ,具有认真 、详细记史传统的中国人并没有专门列出学校志或者教育志 ,
这并不是史家的疏忽和遗漏 ,而恰恰证明中国人给教育或学校的定位 ,这一
切关于教育的 内容 都 记 载 在 选 举 志 下 面 ,即 教 育 隶 属 选 举 ,教 育 的 目 的 是
应试 。
科举考试的缺点也有以下三点 。
(一) 扭曲士人心灵
科举本是通过考试选拔合格官员 和各方面人才 ,唐朝设立科举 课目繁
多 ,有利于满足朝廷对于各种人才的需求 ,但是到了宋朝 ,由于士子们只对进
士科感兴趣 ,遂使其他课目废弛 。 直到明清 ,这一状况并未改观 ,功名利禄成
了士人唯一的追求 ,天下所有读书人都只苦读儒学经典 、苦练诗赋本领 ,只为
应试进士一科 ,朝廷也以功名利禄引诱读书人 ,于是士人为功名不惜“皓首穷
经” ,致使多数人在科举失败之后连基本谋生手段也没有 ,成为“孔乙己”式的
人物 ,少数成功者则在十年寒窗之后 ,变得极其贪婪 ,仿佛要弥补自己过去的
损失 ,变得极端无耻 ,以攫取各种利益 ,不惜贪赃枉法 、结党营私 、玩忽职守 ,
这些士人在长期的默默无闻的等候中 ,成为心灵被严重扭曲的禄蠹 ,王应麟
悲愤地说 ,当今大患之一 ,就是“士大夫无耻” ! 因此 ,通过读书科举入仕者可
谓“通” ,而多次科举终生未及第者谓之“穷” ,这两极人士 ,心理大多不健全 。
(二) 败坏社会风气
科举制度是选官制度 ,也自然而然是政治制度的一个有机组成部分 ,科场
与官场息息相关 ,官场风气不正 ,也必然影响到科场的风气 ,进而影响社会风
气 。 官风不正 ,士风必然不正 ,社会风气随之污浊 。 宋朝真宗皇帝以赤裸裸鄙
俗的语言劝学 ,“富家不用买良田 ,书中自有千钟粟 ;安居不用架高梁 ,书中自有
黄金屋 。 出门莫恨无人随 ,书中车马多如簇 ;娶妻莫恨无良媒 ,书中有女颜如
玉 。 男儿欲遂平生志 ,六经勤向窗前读 。”宋朝名臣贤相亦不免俗 ,儒雅敦厚的
司马光 、勇略过人的王安石等都有类似轻佻的劝学诗流传 。 上行下效 ,上有引
导 ,下必从之 ,科举考试中 ,背诵时文或研习前科举子所写的八股文以应试 ,这

・ 215 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

是捷径 ,亦是偷巧之路 ,败坏士林之风 ,莫过于斯 。 士人读书仅是求取功名的敲


门砖 ,很少关心自己人格的养成 ,入仕仅是为稻粱谋 ,岂有济世安民之策 ? 南宋
状元 、民族英雄文天祥指陈时弊 ,慷慨激昂 ,他说 ,士大夫教育子弟“随俗浮沉” 、
“取悦长官” 、社会交往都围绕一个“利”字 ,尤其是士人的精神鄙俗至此 ,国之祸
不远矣 。 从官场之风败坏到科场舞弊猖獗 ,从士林汲汲“功名利禄”到社会“追
逐名利” ,这个连接科场与官场 、士林与社会的可以视作中枢性制度 ——— 科举制
扮演了重要的负面角色 ,其恶劣影响不可低估 。
(三) 矮化民族精神
科举制度在创造公平竞争环境的同时 ,也随之将读书与入仕紧紧联系在一
起 ,士人读书只有仕宦一途 ,遂使士人知识技能 (仅限于与科举有关的知识和应
试技巧)变得狭窄 ,精神世界变得猥琐卑下 。 士人只知努力读书 ,进入官场 ,不
知有比读书做官更大的事情需要关注 ,精神遂被自然矮化 。 士乃四民之首 ,国
之栋梁 ,他们精神矮化 ,国民精神必然矮化 。 唐人已看到科举之弊端 ,“取士试
之小道 ,而不以远大 ,是犹以蜗蚓之耳垂海 ,而望吞舟之鱼 ,不亦难乎 ? 所以食
垂饵者皆小鱼 ,就课目者皆小艺 。” ① 唐人认为科举课目皆小艺 ,与修身 、治国无
关 ,所以不能选出真正的人才 。
科举制度延续了 1300 年之久 ,最后不可避免地衰落了 。 时至今日 ,关于科
举 ,学者们的观点仍迥然不同 ,这很正常 。 作为人类创造性的文化遗见 ,科举制
值得探讨下去 。

① 枟新唐书枠卷四十四枟选举志上枠 。

・ 216 ・
第八章

朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

    华夏的先民居于亚洲的东部 ,从黄河流域逐渐向外 ,不断与周边的民族融


合 ,遂使华夏民族日渐壮大 ,成为世界上人数最多的民族 。 在漫漫的历史长河
中 ,华夏的先民创造了自己灿烂的文化和繁复的礼仪 ,令周边的少数民族艳羡
不已 ,不断来朝拜与上贡 ,开始形成东亚独特的以中国为中心的“华夷国际秩
序” ,即朝贡关系 。 朝贡关系可以说是中国古代的国际关系 ,或者更准确地说是
一种介于国际与国内关系之间的关系 ,或两者兼而有之的关系 。 它既包括中央
王朝对周边少数民族的关系 ,亦包括传统的附属国以及明 、清开始界定的与“其
他国家”关系 。 中国的朝贡制度有一个肇始 、确立 、发展 ,最后走向死亡的过程 ,
值得研究 。

一 、朝贡制度的肇始与确立

传说尧舜时期 ,周边的部落酋长就开始向他们朝贡 。 夏朝开始出现五服


制 ,并将天下划分为九州 ,中央和地方出现了比较稳定的朝贡关系 。 (见枟尚
书 ・ 禹贡枠)各州“来献”之物皆为土产 、特产 ,主要象征臣服之意 ,认可“任土作
贡”原则即可 。 成汤以武力取天下 ,代夏 ,拓展了疆土 ,首次出现“四夷来朝”的
场面 ,并令伊尹作“四方贡献令” ,规定各夷纳贡之物 ,朝贡遂现雏形 。
周朝实行分封列国和五服制 。 “封内甸服 ,封外侯服 ,侯 、卫宾服 ,蛮 、夷要
服 ,戎 、狄荒服 。 甸服者祭 ,侯服者祀 ,宾服者享 ,要服者贡 ,荒服者王 。 日祭 ,月

・ 217 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

祀 ,时享 ,岁贡 ,终王”(枟荀子 ・ 正论篇枠)这是周公制定的 、旨在规定封君和诸侯


对周天子应尽的义务 。 “服”就是“服事天子”的意思 ,甸服和侯服都是周王的子
弟和近族 ,他们必须参加周王室例行的祭祀活动 ,居于邦内 ,每天参加 ,居于邦
外 ,每月参加一次 。 “侯 、卫宾服” ,乃周天子所封之国 ,包括侯 、甸 、男 、采 、卫五
个阶层 ,他们在自己的封国享有自主权 ,但必须承认周天子的宗主权 ,要“宾服”
(喜而服从) ,要“时享”(每季来朝贡一次) 。 “蛮 、夷要服 ,戎 、狄荒服” ,因为“蛮
夷在东南而戎狄在西北” ,“要服”就是“要结好信而服从也” ,蛮夷与诸夏同为农
耕之族 ,生活习俗接近 ,与诸夏友好交往 ,为天子恩威感召 ,前来归附 ,比较容
易 ,因此天子要求他们一年一贡 ,而戎狄是游牧之族 ,飘忽不定 ,难以管束 ,须
“荒服” ,即他们的新君在继位时亲往觐见周天子一次 ,也就可以了 。 在五服中 ,
甸 、候 、宾三服同属华夏 ,与周王室政治关系密切 ,对他们必须采取强制手段 ,或
刑或伐或征 ,使他们服从 ,而对于要 、荒二服 ,因教化不及 ,依靠声威和德化感召
使他们归附 。
朝贡制度从远古至晚清 ,不断发展和完善 ,可用同心圆表示其关系 :其核心
层是中央与地方的朝贡关系 ,通过地方向中央交纳土贡来体现“忠心” 。 中间层
是中央王朝与周边少数民族的朝贡关系 ,通过朝贡表现“臣服” 。 最外层则是中
外朝贡关系(明清还区分中国与属国朝贡关系以及中国与其他国家朝贡关系 ) 。
早在商朝就设了“宾”一职 ,既掌诸侯朝觐天子之事 ,又负责周边部落朝觐
事宜 。 周朝华夏族活动范围更大 ,与周边少数民族交往更加频繁 ,前来“朝贡”
的“远人”日益增多 ,因此 ,周朝便专设了管理机构 ,负责贡使的接待 、翻译 、居
住 、饮食等等 。 周朝素有重礼之誉 ,对于来朝“朝贡”者格外重视 ,这一传统为后
代各朝所继承 ,成为了古代中国对外关系的重要组成部分 。

二 、朝贡制度的发展与完善

朝贡制度还是中外关系强弱的晴雨表 。 汉初由于国力不强 ,以黄老哲学为


指导思想 ,对内采取“与民休息”的政策 ,对外则采取“和亲” ,暂不与匈奴计较的
退守国策 。 至武帝继位 ,开始反击 ,大败匈奴 ,使汉匈关系彻底改变 ,创造了中
国历史上空前的盛世 。 于是 ,在继承先秦的朝贡制度的基础上 ,使朝贡朝着制
度化发展 ,其特征表现在“朝贡”与“封赏”皆有定制 ,“册封”成为朝贡制度的重
要组成部分 ,包括授封号 、颁印玺 、赐冠带等 ,并以此掌控西域 ,借以巩固边防 。
对于汉朝 ,“朝贡”具有重大的安全意义 ,因而也意味着重要的物质利益 ,而匈奴

・ 218 ・
第八章   朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

与西域从中获得巨大的商机 ,借朝贡之名 ,行贸易之实 。


魏晋南北朝时期 ,虽然国家不统一 ,一定程度影响了中外关系 ,但是 ,朝贡
中的册封制度恰恰在这一时期被确立了 。 日本倭五王继承前朝与中国皇帝的
君臣关系 ,拿从中国皇帝手里讨得爵号 ,狐假虎威 ,称雄日本列岛 ,甚至干涉朝
鲜半岛 。 中国与朝鲜半岛自古关系密切 ,从东晋后期 ,建立了典型的朝贡关系 ,
一直保持良好 ,延续到晚清该制度“寿终正寝”之时为止 。 这一时期 ,与南亚 、东
南亚更多国家建立了朝贡关系 ,也部分恢复了与西域一些国家的朝贡关系 。
唐朝是中国历史上的一座高峰 ,国家强大 ,国力雄厚 ,宋人艳羡不已 ,遂赞
曰 ,“唐之德大矣 ! 际天所覆 ,悉臣而属之 ,薄海内外 ,无不州县 ,遂尊天子曰‘天
可汗’ 。 三王以来 ,未有以过之 。 至荒区君长 ,待唐玺纛乃能国 ,一为不宾 ,随辄
夷缚 ,故蛮琛夷宝 ,踵相逮于廷 。” ① 唐太宗享受着天下共主的荣耀 ,唐朝与众多
国家建立了朝贡关系 ,唐朝的朝贡更加规范化 ;朝贡管理体制渐趋严密化 ;边境
地区设立羁縻府州 ,引导朝贡使者 ,转呈海外贡品 ,职责明确 。 国力强盛的大唐
进一步使朝贡制度规范化 ,与之建立朝贡关系的国家达“七十余番” ,“厚赐”虽
使强大的唐朝感到不堪重负 ,但唐廷为了面子亦坚持“厚往薄来”的古制 。
宋 、元时期 ,朝贡制度呈现出别一番特色 。 处于历史上弱势的宋王朝无力
挽回江河日下的颓势 ,竟也在战败之后 ,不遗余力地派遣使者招徕藩国朝贺 ,用
“厚赐”鼓励前来捧场 ,被有些历史学家描绘为“柔远人以饰太平” ,希望达到“壮
朝廷之威灵 ,耸外夷之观听”的效果 ,可谓将“面子观”演绎到了极致 。 如果说唐
人在国富民强之时 ,厚赐诸藩 ,希望营造“四夷宾服 ,万国来朝”的太平盛世 ,满
足统治者的虚荣心和面子观 ,尚可理解 ,那么从开国就只有半个天下且不断积
贫积弱的宋王朝也要耗费钱财买面子 ,宋朝皇帝在臣服胡虏之时都念念不忘别
人来朝拜自己 ,这就显得滑稽可笑 ,甚至可卑和可怜 。 以“蛮夷”身份入主中原
的少数民族蒙古人 ,灭南宋 ,建立元朝之后 ,一反历代汉人王朝建立“面子工程”
的所谓“厚往薄来”的朝贡传统 ,彻底抛弃历代汉人政权所谓“施德惠于天下 ,不
宝远物 ,使四夷心悦诚服”的观念 ,以强大的武力为后盾 ,以华夏正统自居 ,积极
拓展海外贸易 ,也鼓励各藩国前来朝贡 ,但元统治者信奉强权政治 ,干涉各藩国
内部事务 ;向藩国发号施令 ,索要高额贡品 ,具有近代西方列强的特征 ,以聚敛
财富为目的实施朝贡 ,彻底抛弃了汉人王朝的“面子”观念 。

① 枟新唐书枠卷 219 ,枟北狄传赞枠 ,中华书局 1975 年标点版 ,第 6183 页 。

・ 219 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

三 、朝贡制度的鼎盛与衰落

明王朝的建立又使国家的主宰归于汉人政权 ,也在承继“厚往薄来”的朝贡
传统的同时将这一制度推到了极致 ,使朝贡国家数量 、规模达到了前所未有的
程度 ,组织管理也臻于完善 。 从洪武开国伊始 ,既诏告四夷 ,宣布了大明愿与诸
夷“共享太平之福”的和平外交政策 。 同时 ,对于当时危害国家的边患 ,太祖朱
元璋认为 ,“四方诸夷皆限山隔海 ,僻在一隅 ,得其地不足以供给 ,得其民不足使
令 。 若其不自揣量 ,来扰我边 ,则彼为不祥 ,但胡戎与西北边境互相密迩 ,累世
战争 ,必选兵练将 ,时谨备之 。” ① 对于退回漠北但仍具一定实力的蒙元残余 ,他
认为必须认真对付 ,而那些跨海而来的倭寇则不足为虑 ,只消实行海禁则可荡
平 。 在实行严格海禁的大背景下 ,中外交往只有朝贡一条道 ,遂使各藩国络绎
不绝 ,在纳贡称臣的幌子下进行着他们梦寐以求的各种贸易 。 明朝处于我国历
史上一个重要时期 ,伴随着开国就存在的两大问题 ,即北方的蒙元残余势力和
南方的倭患 ,始终没有解决好 。 在洪武 、永乐时期 ,这些祸患虽得到有效遏制 ,
但并未能根除 。
明朝的对外交流达到了空前的程度 ,不仅表现在朝贡国家的数量和规模
上 ,而且在组织管理上也臻于完善 。 1407 年 ,明成祖下令设立四夷馆 ,中国首次
成立了自己的专职翻译机构 ,“置馆于 (南京)长安右门之外处之 ,内分八馆 ,曰
鞑靼(蒙古) 、女真 、西番 、西天 、回回 、百夷 、高昌 、缅甸” ② 。 各馆“置译字生 、通
事 ,通译语言文字 。” ③ 成祖时期 ,对于译字生的选拔非常重视 ,一般从国子监监
生中选择 ,“遇开科 ,令就试 ,仍译所做文字 。 合格 ,准出身 。 登第后 ,仍官馆
中 。” ④ 后来 ,出现“私自学习 ,滥求进用”的现象 ,朝廷下令“今后敢有私自教习 、
走漏夷情者 ,皆重罪不宥” ⑤ 。 明朝两类通事分别属于不同机构 ,承担不同职责 :
1 .在四夷馆中负责教习 、翻译的通事 ;2 .译审 、伴送外国和少数民族使臣的通
事 ,隶属会同馆 ,由提督会同馆主事负责管理 。 后期 ,吏部进一步加强了对译字

① 朱元璋 :枟皇明祖训枠 ,枟首章枠 ,枟四库全书存目丛书枠 史部第 264 册 ,齐鲁书社 1996 年版 ,第


167 — 168 页 。
② 徐学聚 :枟国朝典汇枠卷 60 ,北京大学出版社 ,1993 年 。
③ 枟明史枠卷 74 ,枟职官三 ・ 提督四夷馆枠 ,第 1797 页 。
④ 龙文彬 :枟明汇要枠卷 38 ,枟职官十 ・ 提督四夷馆枠 。
⑤ 枟国朝典汇枠卷 60 。

・ 220 ・
第八章   朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

生 、通事的考核和管理 。 对他们“严立期限 ,勤督课业 ,月有试 ,季有考 。 译业精


晓者 ,方准留用 ,不通者黜 。”会同馆中的通事 ,必须“照译字生事例 ,每日进馆习
熟夷语 。”因此 ,对于从事翻译工作的人实施严格考核和要求 ,使他们的业务水
平不断进步 。
满清王朝的建立 ,又一次出现了少数民族入主中原的王朝 。 与此前的元朝
相比 ,满人从取天下到最后灭亡 ,在清一代近三百年的时间里 ,他们不断汉化 ,
逐渐向汉文化靠拢 ,其统治远比元朝成功得多 。 在对外关系方面 ,清统治者承
继了中国历朝“厚往薄来” 、“恩威并施”的传统 ,同时欲借中外朝贡关系的确立 ,
奠定自己“天朝上国”的宗主地位 。 海外各藩属国对满清王朝的认可姗姗来迟 ,
清朝统治者却能以“王者不治夷狄 。 录戎者 ,来者勿拒 ,去者勿追”的超然心态
对待 。 “千古一帝”康熙皇帝曾这样谈论“朝贡” ,“外藩朝贡 ,虽属盛事 ,恐传至
后世 ,未必不因此反生事端 。 总之 ,中国安宁则外衅不作 ,故当以培养元气为根
本要务耳 。” ① 封建王朝对于与其他国家交往 ,始终存在一种审慎 ,甚至是担心和
恐惧的心理 ,不能坦然处之 ,英明如康熙大帝竟也对发展对外关系持此观点 ,碌
碌后世帝王能有何作为呢 ? 清朝首先对于曾与明朝有朝贡关系的国家实行“怀
柔” ,但令其必须缴纳明朝颁发的封诰印敕 ,然后再确立朝贡关系 ;其次 ,虽沿袭
“厚往薄来”的历朝做法 ,但不似历朝那样频频派遣使者赴域外招徕属国朝贡 ;
其三 ,清初一如明初 ,都实施严格的海禁政策 ,虽都有各自不得已的背景 ,但是 ,
海禁使朝贡几乎成了中外交流的唯一渠道 ,承载了更多的使命 。 虽则如此 ,清
朝在处理朝贡事务方面仍有新的建树 ,在尚未得天下之时就曾设立“蒙古衙
门” ,后更名“理藩院” ,管理漠南蒙古诸部事务 ,并处理对俄外交 。 后随着全国
统一 ,理藩院的职责不断扩大 ,包括了西藏 、新疆 ,以及所有民族事务 。 从开始
兼有民族事务与外交事务逐步明确为仅掌管民族事务 。 19 世纪 60 年代后 ,总
理各国事务衙门的设立标志着向现代外交转变的开始 。 清朝还在乾隆登基后 ,
合并了会同 、四夷两馆 ,称会同四夷馆 ,主要负责朝贡事务中的接待和翻译工
作 ,其中具体包括 :1 .安排贡使一行人入住馆舍 ;2 .管理馆舍并向贡使提供日
常生活供应 ;3 .转呈朝贡表文 ,查验贡物 ,引领贡使行朝贡礼仪 ;4 .监督会同馆
内朝贡贸易活动 ,严禁与官民私自交易等 ;5 .承担朝贡活动中的翻译 ,培养翻译
人才 。
历史进入 18 世纪末 、19 世纪初 ,西方殖民者到处开拓世界市场 ,魔爪已经

① 枟清圣祖实录枠卷 160 ,康熙三十二年十月酉 。

・ 221 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

伸向了遥远的东方 ,而古老的中国仍处于与邻国的“朝贡关系”之中 ,皇帝满脑


子充斥着“理藩”的念头 。 在无情的现实面前 ,中国满清王朝逐渐把中国与西洋
各国的关系从最初自认为的“朝贡”关系转变成“互市”关系 ,最后才定义为“邦
交”之国 ,甚至再往后发展连平等的“邦交”关系都不能维持 ,很快沦落为屈辱的
弱势之国 ,满清王朝的君臣甚至包括一般民众都很难在心理上接受这一境况 ,
但古老的中国毕竟已是“无可奈何花落去” 。 以“朝贡制度”为核心的中国传统
对外关系走到了尽头 ,因为以中国为中心的“华夷国际秩序”大厦在晚清轰然坍
塌了 。

四 、朝贡制度的观念与制度基础

民族自我中心意识是全世界普遍存在的一种文化现象 ,各个民族都有 ,绝
不是中国独有的 。 古代各大文明古国都曾以人类文明中心自居 ,波斯君主的称
号是“宇宙的中心” ,中国的皇帝称“天子” ,希腊人将德尔菲神庙称作“地球的中
点” ,甚至认为希腊人与其他民族 (他们称之为“蛮族”)的关系是主人与奴隶的
关系 。 将自己看得高于其他民族的思想观念是具有普遍性的 ,认为别的民族是
野蛮人 ,需要教化 ,或需要将“上帝”的“福音”传播给他们 ,使他们脱离“蒙昧无
知”的苦海 ,享受“上帝”赐给的“荣光”与“幸福” 。
随着文明的发展 、各民族之间频繁冲突 、各民族之间天然屏障的打破 ,许多
文明古国逐渐看到了更加广阔的世界 ,自我中心意识也随之淡化了 ,而中华文
明由于地理上的相对封闭 、周边少数民族文化相对落后 ,加上中华文化从古至
今 ,一以贯之 ,在与周边文化较低的“夷狄蛮戎”的冲突与交流中这一文化优越
感反而不断得到强化 ,甚至在少数民族成功入主中原 ,夺取天下 (如元朝和清
朝)之后 ,汉人的文化优越感并没有受到任何影响 ,而是以先进的文化同化了这
些比较落后的民族 ,造成征服者被征服的现实 ,入主中原的少数民族最后经过
长期的与汉族交往和交流实现了民族融合 ,先前截然不同的民族界限模糊了 ,
语言也采用被征服者的语言 ,彼此之间在通婚的基础上 ,形成统一的民族 。 这
一民族融合的历史给汉人以完全不同于其他民族的观念 。
这一观念就是“华夏中心意识” ,有人称之为“天朝心态” ① ,它是长期积淀形
成的一种普遍的文化心理 。 这中心意识包含地理中心和文化中心两个层面的

① 刘再复 、林岗 ,枟传统与中国人枠 ,安徽文艺出版社 ,1999 年 。

・ 222 ・
第八章   朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

含义 :文化上 ,华夏领先周边各少数民族 ,自然令华夏族感到飘飘然 ,而地理上 ,


虽无明确界限 ,但自早期的“五服”制度等依据血缘亲疏 、尊卑高下 、地理远近 ,
确立以王畿(即中原地区)为中心向周边层层扩散 ,把夷狄置于边远地区 ,慢慢
把他们排除在中原的地理之外 ,至少在观念上是这样的 。 秦汉大一统帝国的建
立把汉人这一观念层面的心理趋向变成了现实 ,政治制度使之固定 ,促使汉人
感觉自己就是世界中心 ,别国就该朝拜他们 ,向他们称臣纳贡 。 与这“大一统”
理念紧密相连的则是古代的宗法制 ,它虽在周朝之后衰落了 ,但在此基础上形
成的“家国同构”精神则在中国长达数千年的封建社会顽强地存活了下来 。 据
此 ,家是缩小了的国 ,国则是扩大了的家 。 历史上 ,无论是封建制还是郡县制 ,
各色各类人群 ,皆按等级高下 、地位尊卑排定座次 。 不遵守这等级制 ,就是“僭
越”或“不臣” ,应该受到谴责和讨伐 。 这观念折射到对外关系上 ,或者把这种国
内的上下尊卑关系移植到对外关系上 ,自然形成带有强烈等级与尊卑的“朝贡
制度” ,各朝贡国在政治上必须臣服中国皇帝 (哪怕是名义上) ,虽然在经济上藩
属国尽享各种优惠和好处 。 美国历史学家费正清这样说 ,“中国人倾向于将对
外关系想象为中国国家与社会内部社会与政治秩序原则的外部表现 ,中国的对
外关系也就相应具有等级 ,如同中国社会自身一样 。 随着历史的发展 ,形成一
种对外关系制度 ,大体相当于欧洲形成的国际秩序 。” ① 这就是古人的“世界秩
序”观念 ,即朝贡制度 ,当然主要是在东亚 ,并以此建立与各邻国的朝贡关系 ,甚
至不惜巨大的物质代价鼓励各朝贡国前来拜见中国皇帝 ,满足皇帝的虚荣心 。
“大一统”理念虽然在秦汉帝国的建立中成为了现实 ,但是由于古代交通诸
因素 ,“大一统”在政治上和地理上都是有限的 。 朝贡臣服不仅与中央王朝的强
弱有关 ,而且更与地理上的远近相关 ,因此对于鞭长莫及的那些需要“要服”和
“荒服”的藩属国 ,只要他们能按规定“朝贡” 、“来王” ,承认中国皇帝是“天下共
主”的地位 ,认同和仰慕华夏文化就可以了 ,他们就不必频繁来朝纳贡了 。

五 、朝贡制度的评价

首先 ,朝贡制度反映中国儒家文化的内敛性 :孔夫子所谓的“远人不服 ,则
修文德以来之” ,远人不服 ,皇帝就应该修文德 ,德治成功就一定能吸引远人 ,这
是孔子儒学的逻辑 。 再说 ,我们怎么就不能到“远人”那里与他们交往呢 ,为什

① J .K .Fairbank ,ed ,T he Chinese World Order ,Harvard University Press ,1968 ,p2 .

・ 223 ・
 中 国 文 化 专 论

么总要等着他们来呢 。 这是不屑还是不敢与“远人”交往呢 ? 班固说 ,“夷狄之


人 ,贪而好利 ,被发左衽 ,人面兽心 ;其与中国殊章服 ,异习俗 ,饮食不同 ,言语不
通 ,辟居北垂寒露之野 ,逐草随畜 ,射猎为生 。 隔以山谷雍以沙幕 ,天地所以绝
外内也 。 是故圣王禽兽畜之 ,不与约誓 ,不就攻伐 :约之则费赂而见欺 ,攻之则
劳师而招寇 。 其地不可耕而食也 ,其民不可臣而畜也 。 是以外而不内 ,疏而不
戚 ,政教不及其人 ,正朔不加其国 ;来则惩而御之 ,去则备而守之 。 其慕义而贡
献 ,则接之以礼让 ;羁縻不绝 ,使曲在彼 ;盖圣王制御蛮夷之常道也 。” ① 班固这番
话道出中国人与外族 、异族打交道的内敛心理 ,同时还反映了由于缺乏交流与
交往而产生的偏见 :拒人于千里之外 ,“不屑于”与之订约 ,认为他们贪婪而没有
信誉 ;不敢与之战 ,认为劳而无功 ,可能招致更多麻烦 ,待他们“入侵”之时 ,再作
防御 。 对于他们的土地 ,我们一点都不觊觎 ,因为那是不毛之地 ;对于他们的人
民 ,我们认为没有办法进行教化 ,使之臣服 。 总之 ,与他们语言不通 ,习俗迥异 ,
还是不与交往为好 。 在华传教多年的意大利传教士利玛窦也这样说 ,“他们从
来不准见到皇上 ,他们的外交或其他事务都是与钦定的大臣办理的 。 全国上下
都不得与外国人打交道 ,除了在特定的时间 、特定的地点 。” ② 这样从上到下都不
能或尽量避免与异族人打交道 ,中外交往也就只有官方的朝贡一途 。 究其原因
是与中国人奉行儒家内敛文化有关 ,正常的交往都显得局促不安 ,何谈远赴异
域交往并与他们通商呢 ? 因此将这一切都纳入朝贡就是顺理成章的事 。
其次 ,朝贡制度表现中国皇帝的虚荣心 :在朝贡体系中 ,中国人既将自认为
的麻烦 ——— 与异族人打交道限制在一个可控制的范围内 ,又最大限度地满足了
中国皇帝的虚荣心 。 这些远道而来的朝贡者携带着他们的奇珍异宝 ,怀着崇敬
的心情向皇帝敬献 ,以示纳贡称臣 ,同时请求皇帝的封赏 。 皇帝面对着“四海宾
服” 、“万国来朝”的景象 ,享受着作为“天下共主”的无尚荣耀 ,虚荣心得到了极
大的满足 。 当然 ,对于打着“慕义”旗号 、行“慕利”之实的各藩属国 ,中国皇帝心
知肚明 ,了如指掌 ,为了鼓励他们不断前来朝贡 ,必须有足够的物质赏赐 ,以激
发他们朝贡的积极性 ,“厚往薄来”就成了朝贡制度中一项重要原则 。 这些藩属
国也非常明白 ,在朝贡制度下 ,他们尽可最大化自己的物质利益 ,除了皇帝价值
不菲的赏赐外 ,他们还可借朝贡之名 ,行贸易之实 ,获得利益 。 尽管中国朝廷规
定有些藩属国不必“岁岁来朝 、年年纳贡” ,甚至可以数年来一次即可 ,但是巨大

① 枟汉书 ・ 匈奴传赞枠 ,第 3833 — 3834 页 。


② 利玛窦 、金尼阁 ,枟利玛窦中国札记枠 ,何高济 、李申译 ,何兆武校 ,中华书局 ,1983 年 ,第 95 页 。

・ 224 ・
第八章   朝贡制度与中国古代的对外关系

的商业利益驱使着他们多次申请 ,请求增加朝贡次数 。
其三 ,朝贡制度透露出传统中国社会的抑商倾向 :在中国历史上 ,商人是
“四民之末” ,有些朝代还规定商人穿特定服装 ,以示歧视 。 在科举考试中 ,他们
也被排斥在外 ,认为他们如果与天下读书人一起参加考试 ,则有辱斯文 。 因此 ,
在建立朝贡制度之初 ,将对外贸易纳入其中 ,与其说是重视 ,不如说是抑制 ,是
限制对外贸易 ,将本来是利国利民对外贸易作为诱饵 ,吸引藩属国远道而来 ,进
行朝贡 ,营造“万国来朝” 、“歌舞升平”的盛世景象 。 这从另一个方面反映出那
些藩属国人具有“重商”主义倾向 ,也很懂得与中国打交道 。 只要充分满足了中
国皇帝的虚荣心 ,其他事情都比较容易办 ,进行贸易自然也就不是什么难事 。
因此就形成了这样一种历千年而不衰的朝贡制度 ,中国皇帝在朝贡制度下满足
了自己的虚荣心 ,也让自己在臣民面前光彩照人 ,而朝贡者也在朝贡的名义下 ,
打着“仰慕中华文化”的“义”之名 ,行“进行贸易”的“利”之实 ,双方各得其所 ,真
可谓是旷古未有的“双赢” 。
朝贡制度是东亚古代形成的以中国为核心的独特的国际关系和贸易关系
的混合体系 ,在欧洲殖民者到来之前发挥着联结亚洲各国及地区之间政治 、经
济 、文化等关系的作用 。 作为一个存在上千年历史的制度 ,它有着自身的局限
与不足 ,它在 19 世纪的“寿终正寝”是历史的必然 。

・ 225 ・
参 考 文 献

1 .范文澜 .中国通史简编(修订本) .北京 :人民出版社 ,1958


2 .夏曾佑著 .中国古代史(上 、下) .长沙 :岳麓书社 ,2010
3 .吕思勉著 .中国文化史 .海潮出版社 .北京 :2008
4 .许结主编 .插图本中国文化史 .广州 :花城出版社 ,2006
5 .冯友兰著 .中国哲学简史 .赵复三译 .天津 :天津社会科学出版社 ,2007
6 .陈文华著 .中国古代农业文明史 .南昌 :江西科学技术出版社 ,2005
7 .王炳照 ,徐勇主编 .中国科举制度研究 .石家庄 :河北人民出版社 ,2002
8 .沈灌群著 .中国古代教育和教育思想 .武汉 :湖北人民出版社 ,1956
9 .李云泉著 .朝贡制度史论 .北京 :新华出版社 ,2004
10 .国家图书馆编 .部级领导干部历史文化讲座 .北京 :北京图书馆出版
社 ,2007
11 .王春南 ,王柏森 ,张士 杰 著 .中 国 百 年 风 云 录 .南 京 :江 苏 教 育 出 版
社 ,1992
12 .利玛窦 ,金尼阁著 .利玛窦中国札记 .何高济 ,李申译 .北京 :中华书
局 ,1983
13 . T raditional Chinese Culture , by Beijing , Foreign Languages
Press ,2009
14 . Ethos o f Chinese Culture , by Wang Keping , Beijing , Foreign
Languages Press ,2007
15 . Book o f Chan ges translated into English by James Legge and

・ 226 ・
参 考 文 献 

translated into M odern Chinese by Qin Ying , Changsha , Hunan People’ s


Publishing House ,1993
16 . L aoz i translated into English by A rthur Waley and translated into
M odern Chinese by Chen Guying , Changsha , Hunan People’ s Publishing
House & Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999
17 . T he A nalects translated into English by Arthur Waley and translated
into M odern Chinese by Yang Bojun ,Changsha , Hunan People’s Publishing
House & Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999
18 .Mencius translated into English by Zhao Zhentao ,Zhang Wenting and
Zhou Dingzhi and translated into M odern Chinese by Yang Bojun ,Changsha ,
Hunan People’s Publishing House & Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999
19 . Moz i translated into English by Zhou Caizhu and Qi Ruidan and
translated into M odern Chinese by Wang Rongpei Wang Hong , Changsha ,
Hunan People’s Publishing House & Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999
20 .X unz i translated into English by John Knoblock and translated into
M odern Chinese by Zhang Jue ,Changsha ,Hunan People’s Publishing House
& Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999
21 . Zhuan g z i translated into English by Wang Rongpei and translated
into M odern Chinese by Qin Xuqing and Sun Yongchang ,Changsha , Hunan
People’s Publishing House & Beijing ,Foreign Languages Press ,1999

・ 227 ・
后   记

中华文明源远流长 ,大师层出不穷 ,它的文化研究成果更是浩如烟海 ,遗憾


的是这些成果多是由汉语写成 ,西方读者无法直接阅读并领略其美妙 。 有感于
此 ,笔者愿以一个中国文化爱好者的身份 ,尝试这项架桥铺路的工作 。 自己多
年从事英语语言文学教学 ,工作之余广泛研读了许多中国文化方面的学术成
果 ,我想何不自己动手写一本中国文化方面的书 ,以汉语文本为蓝本 ,尝试直接
用英语表达其基本思想和轮廓 ,形成一个英文文本 ;两个文本基本思路和内容
一致 ,但在一些具体地方需要作详略不等的处理和增删 。 我希望英语专业高年
级学生能从中学到关于中国文化的一些英语表达方法 ,并产生传播中国文化的
兴趣和动力 ;而热爱中国文化的西方人士则可从中了解到中国文化的一些核心
价值观念及中华文化的重要元素 ,产生进一步了解中国文化的愿望 。
在本书的写作过程中 ,由于英汉两种语言差异巨大 ,笔者常常有束手无策
之感 ,但当一路披荆斩棘 ,奋力前行 ,最终走出困境时 ,心中自然升腾起一种喜
悦之情 ,令人顿感心旷神怡 ,此前经受的一切折磨和煎熬遂烟消云散 。 本书的
写作是一种尝试 ,一个实验 ,甚至是一次历险 ,而笔者坚信这是一个需要更多外
语界有识之士参与开拓的广阔领域 ,因为中国文化走向世界是历史的必然 ,传
播中国文化则是外语工作者的特殊使命和义不容辞的天职 。
在本书即将完成之际 ,我想起恩师徐达教授 、宋秀丽教授 ,正是他们当年生
动精彩的中国文论课和古典文学课 ,令我领略到中国文化之美妙 ,从此产生了
浓厚的兴趣 。 今天 ,当我在研读中国文化并取得一点小小成绩的时候 ,我要特
别感谢他们的引领和指导 。 我还要感谢我的导师周汉林教授 ,是他在引导我进

・ 228 ・
后   记 

入英美文学殿堂之时对我严格的语言训练 ,让我在遇到任何翻译困难时总能想
方设法找到克服的路径 。
汉语文本承蒙师兄邱瑞祥教授审读 ,提出许多宝贵意见和建议 ;英文文本
亦经英语专家 M ona M oufahim 博士审阅 ,并提出中肯修改意见 ;学兄方克平教
授应邀将枟礼记枠的一些经典引文译成精美典雅的英文 ,为本书增色不少 ,在此
对他们的宝贵建议与帮助深表谢意 。 本书顺利出版 ,得到了浙江大学出版社责
任编辑杜玲玲女士的鼎力相助 ,在此对她表示衷心感谢 。
另外 ,书中难免有不尽人意之处 、错讹之处 ,恳请各位专家不吝赐教 ,提出
宝贵批评意见 。

作 者
2010 年 12 月
宁 波

・ 229 ・

You might also like