中國變遷觀念的探索：模式的分析

THE IDEAS OF CHANGE IN TRADITIONAL CHINA: A Sociological-historical Analysis

本文是從社會學變遷理論的角度，來了解中國歷史上的變遷觀念。所有的資料，都是來自歷史文獻，特別是各個作者自己的著作。文獻中討論變的人不少，但有系統的分析變遷或變化觀念的人並不多。從縱的歷史線索來看，有兩種變遷理論最為突出，一是天人感應或天人互動理論，認為天與人之間是一種互動體系，彼此可以產生相互影響作用，陰陽變化的盛衰循環，無論是衝突還是整合，就是表現天人合一的基本變遷方式。另一是天人分立或自然變化理論，認為天與人是兩種無關的獨立體系，各有其變與不變的法則，變即為自然變化，因陰陽的對立而產生變的原動力，使變遷持續下去。這兩種變化觀念，可以解釋中國文化和社會發展的重要過程。擁護這種理論的人，除了少數來自道家外，主要為儒家的知識分子，可見在中國的歷史傳統中，儒家本身的變異還是相當大。

This paper is trying to take an understanding of what we have said the theory that man is integral part of nature and the theory that man is separate part from nature. The two theories, which occured in ancient China, had been often applied to interpret the phenomena of change among man and nature. According to the literature of Chinese history, these theories of change are obviously more valuable for interpretation of historical events. The one is that man is integral part of nature or interaction among man and nature. That means there is an interacting system coexisted with them. The system may be understand through the cyclical phenomena of rise and fall which carried out by operation of the Yin and Yang, and the Five Elements. Their actions have varied with different situations because of conflict or integration among them. Taking an example, if any special fortune or damage will come to the world, the nature would have to show it on some symbolic hints like earthquake, severe calamity, etc. The another one is that man is separate part from nature or change by nature. It is believed that man and nature are irrelevant each other in which they have had their different law of change. This change would be generated from the conflict of forces of the Yin and Yang which made it lasted to the future. These two patterns of theory of the ideas of change in traditional China had been also to be used as a tool to explore or explain the socio-cultural process of change.