「天命」的主題：《中庸》首章的解讀與詮釋

“Mandate of Heaven”: Analyzing and Interpreting the First Chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean

本文主要探討《中庸》首章的解讀與詮釋問題。一方面，探討宋儒朱熹（1130-1200）、日本德川儒者荻生徂徠（1666-1728）、當代新儒家徐復觀（1903-1982）、杜維明（1940-）等既有的《中庸》詮釋如何透過考掘《中庸》的文本結構而從不同的理論視角闡發《中庸》的哲學意義，從而賦予《中庸》首章特定的首要之義。另一方面，本文也嘗試貼近先秦文本的特性，運用語文分析的方法解讀《中庸》首章的文本意義，並推敲《中庸》的文本結構以及《中庸》首章可能的首出之義。本文的主要論點有二：其一，就《中庸》詮釋史而言，歷來儒者為了開創一番哲學詮釋的新局面，往往是以語文學層面的文本解讀作為基礎。其二，《中庸》首章是一則以「天命」為主題的簡潔教言，《中庸》以此開端，係因《中庸》正是作為「子思之儒」介入世務的「天命」論述文本；且就「儒墨之辯」的戰國思想史境況而言，《中庸》的「天命」論述正與墨家的「天志」論述分立並峙。

This paper focuses primarily on the approach to analyzing and interpreting the first chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean. On the one hand, it surveys former interpretations of the Mean, including works of Zhu Xi, Tokugawa Confucian Ogyu Sorai, and New Confucian scholars Hsu Fuguan, Tu Weiming. These works could show other perspectives on the significance of the Doctrine of the Mean and thus give special values to its first chapter. On the other hand, this paper tries to stick to the characteristics of pre-Qin texts by using linguistic analysis to interpret the meaning of the first chapter of the Doctrine of the Mean. By doing so, the text structure and the core meaning of its first chapter will be shown.
This paper has two main arguments. First, in the interpreting history of the Doctrine of the Mean, Confucians have usually taken philological approach to analyzing it and used the result as a foundation to start a new page in its interpretation. Second, opening with a brief ordinance as its first chapter, the Doctrine of the Mean, by which Zisi’s Confucians engaged themselves in the society, was intended to showcase their argument. In regard of the Warring States period during which the Confucian-Mohist debate took place, the Mandate of Heaven of the Doctrine of the Mean stood rival to the Heaven’s Intent of Mohism.