日本神道與中國思想──以天皇思想為探討主題

Japanese Shintou and Chinese Thought: On the Theme of the Thought of the Heavenly Emperor

日本中世史書《神皇正統記》中記載，日本是神國，天皇是天神之子孫。受到《神皇正統記》影響的伊勢神道，有著明顯的神國主義色彩，而以天皇為核心。發展至近代日本的國家神道，更強調天皇是現人神，日本是由天皇統治之神國。這種思想持續至二次世界大戰日本戰敗，一直根深蒂固地盤踞在日本人心靈深處而成為一種信仰。眾所周知，日本神道思想中天皇是神之後裔，日本是由萬世一系的天皇統治。這種獨特的思想，在世界宗教史上頗為罕見。日本天皇究竟為何是神的子孫，日本為何又是應由天皇統治之國？本論文以神道經典《古事記》及《日本書紀》為例，探討其中所見之天皇思想，深究日本神道思想之由來。另自比較思想之觀點，論述日本天皇思想與中國古代思想之關連，闡明神道與道教之關係。期藉拙論，對日本古代宗教思想及神道之研究能提供一些新的觀點與提示。並期藉此研究，對中日文化思想之比較研究亦能有所助益。

According to the Japanese chronicle of the Middle Ages Shinnou Seitoki, Japan is a divine country and the heavenly emperor is the offspring of the God. Affected by Shinnou Seitouki, isei shintou obviously has a strong color of divine country concept and it centers on the heavenly emperor. Recently developed kokka shintou in modern Japan further emphasizes that the heavenly emperor is a God in the form of a modern man and Japan is a divine country ruled by the heavenly emperor. This thought continued to exist until Japan was defeated in WWII and has occupied so deeply in the mind of Japanese that it has become a religious belief. As it is widely known, Japanese shintouism believes that the heavenly emperor is the descent of the God and Japan is ruled by the heavenly emperor of the same lineage for generations. This unique concept is rare in the history of world religions. Why is the heavenly emperor the offspring of the God? Why is Japan a country ruled by the heavenly emperor? This paper uses Kojiki and Nihon Shoki as examples to explore the concept of the heavenly emperor in the books and the origin of Japanese shintouism. In addition, from the comparative point of view, this paper intends to discuss the connection between the concept of Japanese heavenly emperor and ancient Chinese thought and to explicate the relation between shintouism and Daoism. It is hoped that this paper can offer some new perspective and enlightenment to ancient Japanese religious thought and the studies of shintouism, and some contribution to the comparative studies of Chinese and Japanese culture and thought.