玄學中的公謙之辯

The Debate over Unselfishness and Modesty in Hsuan-hsueh

「公謙之辯」是魏晉玄學史上一個重要的主題，它牽涉大公無私的自然之道與人事倫理的謙虛美德之間的關係問題，也可以說是玄學中「自然與名教」的天人關係問題在後期玄學的另一個表達方式。然而，當前學界對於此一課題尚乏注意。本文嘗試對於王坦之、袁宏、韓伯三人的「公謙之辯」加以分析，透過時代放達風氣的批評與反省，從玄學發展史的整體脈絡著眼，審視「公謙之辯」的玄學意義。結論指出：王坦之、袁宏與韓伯的公謙論辯，其實均有各自立足的玄學思想為背景。不但王坦之與袁宏對於「謙」德的認定看法分歧，韓伯與王坦之對於理想至當的「公」道的解釋與體會，也有相當的差異。可以說，王、袁、韓三人對於公謙、謙伐觀念的爭論與分歧，也就是玄學中的老學派、傳統名教政論，與莊學派的差別。

The debate over unselfishness and modesty was one of the important topics in the history of hsuan-hsueh in the Wei-Chin period. It had to do with questions of the relations between a natural unselfish way and the virtue of modesty in human ethics. However, very little scholarly attention has been paid to this issue until now. This essay attempts to analyze the debate over unselfishness and modesty of Wang T'an-chih, Yuan Hung, and Han Po. With proper perspective from criticism and reflection on the liberating atmosphere of the period, and looking at it in terms of the overall historical development of hsuan-hsueh, we can better see the meaning of the debate. This paper concludes by pointing out that the debate over unselfishness and modesty among Wang T'an-chih, Yuan Hung, and Han Po actually took place against each participant's hsuan-hsueh background. Not only were there great differences between Wang T'an-chih's and Yuan Hung's fixed views about “modesty,” as well, Yuan Hung and Wang T'an-chih understood and explained the ideal type of “unselfish” behavior in highly disparate ways. We can say that these men's discussions and their differences over unselfishness, modesty and arrogance were divergencies in hsuan-hsueh itself. The differences between Wang, Yuan and Han were like differences in hsuan-hsueh such as the Lao-tzu school, the Chuang-tzu school, and the traditional concerns for norms.