王學學者的「異人」經驗與智慧老人原型

The Archetype of Carl Jung’s Wise Old Man and the Encounters with the Extraordinary Men by Neo-Confucian Scholars from the Wang Yang-ming School

異人是異乎常態、畸於人而侔於天的人，理學家尤其是王學中人常有與異人打交道的經驗。本文以王陽明及羅近溪為例，分析這些經驗的類型。筆者認為王門這些案例顯示他們的生命追求與方外之學的人格「原型」有相當程度的同化，這種同化也顯示王學的核心價值踏進了宗教極奧祕的核心。在這些人格典範當中，最核心的人物是類似意識變形狀態下所見到的智者形象，筆者假榮格之言，稱之為「智慧老人原型」。智慧老人原型在中國的小傳統很常見，但即便在史書中亦不乏其跡。本文將以榮格的理論及其一生經歷作一對照，藉以突顯王學中極常見但又極受忽視的一個文化現象。

The Extraordinary Men referred to here were a group of people in traditional China who deviated from the normal behavioral patterns of the human world and followed heavenly rules. Neo-Confucian scholars, especially those from the Wang Yang-ming School in the Ming dynasty, often had encounters with these Extraordinary Men. In this paper Wang Yang-ming and Luo Chin-hsi are taken as examples in order to analyze various types of manifestations of such experiences. These cases, I believe, demonstrate that the behavioral patterns of these scholars resembled those of Buddhist monks and Taoist priests. However, the Extraordinary Men were frequently seen in traditional Chinese novels as well as in Buddhist and Taoist sources. From the Ming dynasty on, the Extraordinary Men became increasingly popular in the writings of Confucian scholars. Such a type of people, this paper argues, is comparable with the archetype of the Wise Old Man of Carl Jung. According to Jung, when one faces a vital crisis and seeks help, the archetype of the Wise Old Man would immediately appear from the collective unconsciousness. In summary, this paper discusses Carl Jung’s archetype of the Wise Old Man in the context of Wang Yang-ming and Luo Chin-hsi, emphasizing the influence of mythical thinking upon the Neo-Confucian scholars.