《荀子》和《呂氏春秋》的「天下」概念：「後周魯」時代對世界秩序的構想

A Study of the Concept of “All-under-Heaven” in The Xunzi and Mr. Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals: The Two Blueprints for ruling the World during the “Post-Zhou-L Regime

本文的目的在於經過《荀子》和《呂氏春秋》「天下」一詞以及與此相關的概念（如「四海」等）的分析，試圖闡明《荀》、《呂》的思想特色及其歷史意義。在戰國諸子文獻中，《荀》、《呂》兩部文獻所呈現的政治思想之特色是異於其他戰國諸子文獻的論述。他者之主要意圖在於某個一國家，即所謂「諸侯國」的富強，《荀》、《呂》兩書政治理論的出發點並非單一國家的擴張，而是整個華夏世界的政治秩序，也就是「天下型國家」之建立。具體而言，筆者將試圖論證如下兩點：（一）荀子認為，任何國君只要達成荀子所要求的人格特質，就能成為「天下之君」。在以荀子所提倡的「義術」的實行為前提，荀子認為秦君也有充分資格在近未來能提升為「天下之君」的可能性。（二）《呂氏春秋》的論述則是在公元前256年開始的「無天子」世局為背景，《呂氏春秋》所界定的「天子」暗示秦主。因此，其論述主要鼓勵「天子」以「養身」、「求賢」、「至公」等較為「消極的」方式來獲得天下人民的擁戴。總之，在秦漢之後的「天下觀」應該經過《荀》、《呂》兩書中理論化的過程，在其理論層次也好，實行層次也好，才提升為包含能夠長期安定地治理廣闊的領土之意識形態的政治理論。

This article aims at elucidating the characteristics and historical significance of the political philosophies of The Xunzi and Mr. Lü’s Spring and Autumn Annals （hereafter “LSCQ”）by means of a close comparative analysis of their use of the concept of “All-under-Heaven”（and other related concepts such as the “Four seas” etc.）. A main difference between the political philosophies proposed by these two texts and those of other Warring States’ masters can be seen in the fact that the former intended to establish a world-wide political community rather than the mere stability of the state of a single feudal lord. In this sense, the ultimate purpose of The Xunzi and LSCQ was not the expansion in power or territory of a single state, but rather the establishment of the socio-political order of the whole Chinese world, in another word, the installation of an order on a “world-scale,” which would theoretically be expected to rule the world from the beginning.
In more specific terms, this article argues the following the two points: First, Xunzi believed that any feudal lord of his time, if only he would make his best to improve the moral excellence in his personality, could become qualified to become the ruler of Tianxia. Bearing this in mind, regarding the question of the possibility of the ascendance of the Qin ruler to the position of ruler of Tianxia, Xunzi admitted a future possibility that the Qin ruler could have sufficient qualifications to do so, if only he practiced those skills which completely conformed to Confucian moral principle.
Second, the image of world ruler presented in the LSCQ reflected the historical context within which the text was created, a situation of “interregnum”（in which following the abolishment of the Zhou dynasty there was no Son of Heaven）. As such, the text foresaw the ruler of Qin as being in the closest position to become the ruler of the Chinese world. On this precondition, the authors of LSCQ encouraged the ruler of the Qin to adopt more ''passive'' methods for winning the voluntary support of other feudal lords and people within the whole of the Chinese world, methods including “the nourishment of body and mind”, “recruitment of worthies,” and “the establishment of the virtue of fairness and impartiality.”
In sum, while generally speaking it has been postulated that it was during the Qin-Han period that the Tianxia worldview which worked as the ideology to maintain vast territories and populations across great scales emerged, the present article posits that such a political philosophy was developed on the basis of what the Xunzi and LSCQ proposed, regardless of whether one considers the matter on a theoretical level in terms of philosophical arguments or on a practical level in terms of policy proposals.