荀子對法家思想的接納: 由「禮」的結構來考察

Xunzi's Acceptance of Legalism: Focusing on the Structure of Li

本文經過分析荀子「禮」概念的發展過程來探討戰國時期法家思想如何影響荀子思想的問題。本篇所稱在《荀子》之前的法家文獻者，是指《管子》、《商君書》、《申子》、《慎子》等。本文的主要論點可分為三點如下。第一，從荀子「禮」的內涵中，可以看到荀子把「禮」也當作從君子個人規範擴大到可當治國之規範。第二，荀子的「禮」包含著建構秩序的功能。其功能之實質在於定「分」。因此，「禮」的統治乃具體實現於「分」的功能上。這種對「分」概念的重視在《慎子》等著作可以看到。第三，由於荀子主張：「不能屬於禮義，則歸之庶人」，在此「禮」乃發揮幾乎與「法」同樣強制的約束力，這個包含著強制力的「禮」之思想，若稍微推展它就轉變為「法」。總之，荀子「禮」的思想幾乎到了與韓非子的思想互為表裏的地步。

This article analyzes how Xunzi was influenced by Legalists (i.e., the thought found in the Guanzi, the Book of Lord Shang, the fragmented passages from the Shenzi 慎子 and the Shenzi 申子）via focusing on the structure of Xunzi's socio-political theory of Li. In the first part, I analyze some characteristics of Xunzi's concept of Li. Xunzi's concept of Li, while inheriting the traditional aspect from early Confucians, also reveals the characteristic of Legalist concept of fa. In the second part, I compare the origin of Xunzi's Li with that of Legalist concept of fa. This comparison suggests a close relationship between the two. In the third part, I venture to demonstrate that Legalist influence on Xunzi's argument can also be found in the practical aspect of his concept of Li. Furthermore, Xunzi also incorporated the Legalist theory of rewards and punishment into his own socio-political theory. In sum, Xunzi has transformed the traditional aspect of the early Confucian concept of Li into a more comprehensive, yet he has achieve this purpose without losing original meaning as a Confucian value concept. This can be seen in the fact that his emphasis on the 'superior man.'