重探慎到勢論：「自然」或是「人之所設」？

Shen Dao’s Theory of Shi Revisited:“Shi as Naturally Received Positional Power”or“Shi as Positional Power Established by Human Artifice”?

慎到屬先秦法家「勢治」一系。「勢」即人主的君位、權力、威信之謂。慎到倡勢治，意即以獨處君位、掌握權力、展示威信為人主為政的首務。至其型態，論者多從《韓非子．難勢》「自然」和「人之所設」的對列，將「自然之勢」歸諸慎到，復視「人設之勢」為韓非對慎到的駁正。當然，並非沒有論者提出他說。如有謂慎到之「勢」是「形勢」、「情勢」和「政權」（位勢）的統合，或有謂其「勢」是指「主權」或「統治權」，甚或將之歸入「人設之勢」，有類於韓非之學。這篇文章試接續這些反論，對慎到勢論作一重探。

As one of the representatives of pre-Qin Legalism, Shen Dao, who exceedingly emphasizes the concept of shi, refers to consolidating positional power as one of the main businesses for every ruler. It has been traditionally claimed that, according to Nan Shi Pian (the chapter of“A Critique of Positional Power”) written by Han Fei, Shen Dao’s considered viewpoint of shi can be categorized as one naturally received from royal family or the sage (zi ran zhi shi). And the other type of shi, which refers to positional power set up by human artifice (ren she zhi shi), has always been seen as Han fei’s rectification of Shen Dao’s thought. This article, based on a task of literature reviews, attempts to make a disagreement, arguing instead that it may be a feasible way to define Shen Dao as claiming ren she zhi shi.