《春秋》內、外傳「君子」與「君子曰」芻議

Preliminary Discussion on “Junzi” and “Junzi Yue” in Chun Qiu Nei Zhuan and Chun Qiu Wai Zhuan

拙文嘗試探討先秦時期的「君子」概念，及「君子曰」論斷人物之取向，藉以勾勒二書「君子曰」之「君子」輪廓。「君子」一詞從指稱貴族身分，逐步轉化為表彰才、德內涵。《春秋》內、外傳所記時人語意下之「君子」，皆尊稱具備才、德之貴族階級。其中，《左傳》「君子曰」側重以禮、義為首之「道德」，《國語》「君子曰」偏好善、知等「才能」；「君子曰」言說內容所描述之「君子」形象，亦擁有相同特徵。在確立先秦「君子」含義與《左傳》、《國語》「君子曰」取向後，推論《左傳》「君子曰」有部分內容為「時人君子」所言，故非一人、一時、一地之作。反觀《國語》「君子曰」因句法固定、短小精簡，評議對象與模式相近，或當為編纂者一人之論贊。

What “junzi” (gentleman) refers to in “junzi yue” (gentleman says) in Zuo zhuan and Guo yu is still a historical case. Some think it is the compiler of that book (Zuo zhuan/Guo yu), some think it is Confucius, and others think it is that gentleman speaking at that time. However, the answer is still unclear. The meaning of “junzi”, what ”junzi” refers to, and the content of “junzi yue” are the starting points of the current study. To outline the “junzi” in “junzi yue” in the two books, the “junzi” concept in the Pre-Qin Period and the orientation of critique of characters of “junzi yue” were discussed in this study. The term “junzi” in the Pre-Qin Period refers to the noblesses purely and has transferred to a commendation of ability and morality gradually. In Chun qiu nei zhuan and Chun qiu wai zhuan, “junzi” in the words of the contemporaries referred to the noblesses with ability and morality. In Zuo zhuan, “junzi yue” put stress on the morality concepts starting from “courtesy” and “righteousness”; in Guo yu, “junzi yue” emphasized the abilities such as goodness and knowing. The “junzi” images described in the narrative discourse content of “junzi yue” have those characteristics also. After the meaning of the term “junzi” of the Pre-Qin Period and the orientation of “junzi yue” in Chun qiu nei zhuan and Chun qiu wai zhuan were made sure, it was inferred in the current study that some of the “junzi yue” in Zuo zhuan were words of the contemporary gentlemen such as Shu Hsiang. The aforesaid inferred finding makes it reasonable that Zuo zhuan was not made by only one author at one place in one time. On the contrary, since the sentence grammars of the “junzi yue” in Guo yu are regular and concise and the criticized subjects and the critique modes are similar, the “junzi yue” in Guo yu are the criticisms of the only one compiler probably.