先秦儒學文本形式與「儒道」論述的變異發展

The Variation of the Forms of Pre-Qin Confucian Texts and the Development of the Discourses on the ''Way of Confucianism''

本文係以思想史的視角考察先秦儒學文本形式的變異情況，從而探討不同世代的先秦儒者如何因應時代境況而提出推陳出新的「儒道」論述。所謂「儒道」，係指儒者經由深造周代傳統的君子之學而領會某種修身、為政之道，藉此作為儒者介入現實政治的行動綱領。隨著先秦儒學的發展，先秦儒學的文本形式迭有變異，首先是後孔子時代初期的「子曰」文本，其後有出自「孟氏之儒」的「孟子曰」文本，以及出自「孫（荀）氏之儒」的主題論辯文本。這三種文本形式，顯示儒者的自我定位、「儒道」論述的主旨各有殊異，反映出先秦儒者對於政治倫理課題的多層面思考。正因先秦儒者的「儒道」論述伴隨政治演變而與時俱進，儒學乃得以在戰國時代持續發揮政治影響力。

From the perspective of the history of thought, the article examines the variation of the forms of pre-Qin Confucian texts and grasps how different generations of pre-Qin Confucians responded to the situations of their times and put forward innovative discourses on the ''way of Confucianism.'' The ''way of Confucianism'' refers to the ways of self-cultivation and politics that Confucians comprehended during their intensive study of the learning of gentlemen and foregrounds the principles behind their actual political engagments. With the chronological development of Confucianism, Confucian texts were presented in various forms in the pre-Qin period. The initial texts featuring ''Confucius says'' of the early post-Confucius period were first, the texts by Menzi featuring ''Mengzi says'' appeared later, and the texts by Xunzi featuring thematic arguments came last. These three text forms, having dissimilar Confucian self-positions and ''way of Confucianism'' discourses, reflect pre-Qin Confucians' multi-faceted thinking on the topic of political ethics. The pre-Qin Confucian ''way of Confucianism'' discourses evolved with contemporary political developments and allowed Confucianism to exert significant political influence in the Warring States period.