學禮而達──《論語》〈吾十有五而志於學〉章的一種詮釋

Learning Rites to Achieve Excellence: An Interpretation of the Analects 2.4

《論語》〈吾十有五而志於學〉章素為學者所注意，然囿於時代學術風潮及個人學問修養，歷來注家或疏於字詞訓解，或略於疏通文意。如對本章開首所謂「學」的理解，或依字直解，釋為普遍的學習；或陳義過高，以為直指大道，使得未能完全契合孔子生平及其一生所志。又如本章所謂「天命」，前人有主「祿命」、「德命」之說，徐復觀、劉述先等先生已為文析之，對「天命」之意涵有較明確把握，然其對《論語》中孔子所論「天」、「命」的含義卻時有轉移。本文考察本章的整體文意，主要用以《論》證《論》之法，旁及孔子生平及相關出土材料，指出孔子所志之學，實為「禮」也。「禮」為孔子學說的重要一環，前人亦有析之，然將此套諸對本章的理解，兼及字詞內證等，則少有矣。本文認為夫子自「十五」至「七十」的為學進程，實與「禮」連繫緊密：「十五」志於學禮、「三十」知禮之義而自立說、「四十」守禮義而不惑於變、「五十」學禮而達天、「六十」憑禮義返照現實而知事之根本、「七十」則達致心契乎道，行合乎禮的「知行合一」之境界。本文之末，亦會以《孟子》的夫子自述為對照，引證本文對〈吾十有五而志於學〉章文意脈絡的理解。

The chapter“At Fifteen I Set My Mind on Learning”吾十有五而志於學, namely 2.4, in the Analects has long been discussed by related scholarship. Due to shifts in academic trends over time as well as the different backgrounds of individual scholars, however, interpretations have proven limited in explaining specific terms and clarifying the meaning of the entire text. For example,“learning”學at the beginning of the chapter may be either based on its literal meaning or profound to the extent that it is unable to be fully understood within the contexts of Confucius’s life and main ambitions. A second example is the term“mandate of heaven”天命. Previous scholars have incorporated it within notions of“mandate of fortune”祿命and“mandate of virtue”德命. Others, such as Xu Fuguan徐復觀(1904-1982) and Liu Shuxian劉述先(1934-2016), have offered a more precise definition; however, they have an ambiguous understanding of“heaven”天and“mandate”命(or“fortune”), occassionally confounding the two terms in the Analects. The present article examines the contexts of this chapter, mainly using a textual analysis of the Analects to verify itself as well as references to Confucius’s life and related unearthed materials to indicate that here“learning”is actually“rites”禮. Although Confucian rites have received wide scholarly attention, this framework has yet to be adopted in intrepretations of chapter 2.4. This article thus argues that Confucius’s learning process from the ages of“fifteen”to“seventy”is closely related to rites: at fifteen, he set his heart to learn them; at thirty, he knew their meanings and established his own theory; at forty, he observed the“righteousness”禮義embedded therein without being confused by changes; at fifty, he apprehended the“mandate of heaven”through consistently experiencing them; at sixty, he was certain about the essence of things by reflecting on them; and at seventy, he achieved the harmony of knowledge and action as both his thoughts and doings were in line with rites. This article concludes by using the self-description found in the Mencius as a comparison to prove its understanding of the literary contexts of the Analects 2.4.