從能群到和一：《荀子》「群」義思想的結構與展開

From Ability to Unity: An Inquiry into Qun in the Xunzi

「群」在過往《荀子》研究中，被視為禮義價值充分實現的理想社會型態，其背後所涉及的君王禮制之體現、社會倫理秩序建構。如此的預設底下，此概念在《荀子》思想研究，早已蘊涵在禮義價值的實踐結果之中。惟觀乎「群」字在原始文獻中出現的情況，即可發現其倫理意義尚有許多能夠延伸之深度。基於《荀子》「群」概念具有歧義性，即有必要把釐清當中概念的差異，突顯其在《荀子》思想意義與定位。本文旨於聚焦在《荀子》於群的論述過程，闡發「能群」、「善群／使群」、「群和」之間的概念關係，試圖探討《荀子》如何在以「群」為視野，進行其「從能群到和一」的人文化工程。

In prevailing interpretations of the Xunzi, the concept of qun (群)—commonly rendered as“association”or“community”—has often been framed as the ideal social configuration in which the normative values of li (ritual propriety) and yi (righteousness) are fully actualized. Within this normative paradigm, qun is typically regarded as the teleological culmination of royal governance and the institutionalization of moral-ritual order. However, a philological and philosophical reexamination of the occurrences of qun in the Xunzi reveals a more complex semantic and conceptual structure. The polyvalence of the term suggests the need for a differentiated analysis that attends to its layered ethical functions and evolving philosophical significance. This study undertakes a conceptual reconstruction of qun in the Xunzi, elucidating the internal logic and dialectical progression among three distinct yet interrelated dimensions: the capacity to associate (neng qun), the ethical cultivation or guidance of association (shan qun / shi qun), and the ideal of harmonious community (qun he). By tracing this trajectory, the paper argues that Xunzi articulates a vision of human cultural transformation that moves from the natural propensity for sociality to the normative ideal of harmonious integration.