轉舊為新：《群書治要》的編纂與意義

Turning the old into the new: the compilation and significance of Qun Shu Zhi Yao

成書於貞觀五年，由魏徵等人所編撰的《群書治要》，在學術界被歸為類書，多聚焦在文獻的保存上，是否適切呢？本文認為《群書治要》並非僅具一般類書的性質，而是兼具個人與時代的特殊意藴。為了證成此觀點，本文透過《群書治要》內容的梳理，掌握魏徵等人的編撰方式，配合〈《群書治要》序〉的觀點呈現，嘗試展示《群書治要》的思維焦點與內涵，建構其蘊含的思維體系。根據梳理的結果顯示，《群書治要》的編纂型態，包括「典籍的性質」、「取材的範圍」、「編纂的內容」與「撰寫的方式」，無不可見蘊含魏徵等人所賦予之「意」的跡象。至於內容方面，《群書治要》至少呈現出七大主題式的聚焦：（1）為君難（2）為臣不易（3）君臣共生（4）直言受諫（5）牧民（6）法制（7）戢兵，並且彼此之間具有緊密相扣的關係。因此，《群書治要》實是透過經典的選錄，類似「賦詩言志」的方式，展示深具時代性的獨特思維內涵。順此而言，《群書治要》側寫出貞觀時期的時代新視野，並展現出魏徵等人蘊含「轉舊為新」與著重實踐價值的思維走向。

This Qun Shu Zhi Yao (Important Matters of Governance From all Kinds of Books) was completed in the fifth year of Zhenguan, compiled by Wei Zheng and others. Academic scholarship has categorized this book using the rubric of the leishu (a general term for encyclopedias and handbooks), and scholarly focus has been on the question of the quality of the book’s historical preservation. Yet is such scholarly focus appropriate? This article proposes that the Qun Shu Zhi Yao is not simply a general work in the leishu category, but is in fact also imbued with a distinct personality that is marked by the currents of its time period. In order to prove this point of view, this article will analyze the contents of the Qun Shu Zhi Yao as a means of understanding the method of editing of Wei Zheng and his counterparts employed. Working in concert with the point of view expressed in the preface of the work, this article will attempt to articulate the meaning and analytical focus of the Qun Shu Zhi Yao, constructing the system of thought imbedded in the work. The editorial mode of the Qun Shu Zhi Yao includes such components as ''the nature of the classics'', ''the scope of the materials'', ''the content of the compilation'' and the ''method of writing'', all of which contain the traces of the “meaning” that Wei Zheng and his counterparts sought to convey. As far as the content of the work is concerned, Qun Shu Zhi Yao has at least seven thematic foci: (1) the hardship of the king (2) the difficulty of the minister (3) for the symbiosis of the monarch and minister (4) blunt speaking (5) herders (6) the rule of law (7) soldiers at rest, and each of these themes are intimately related to one another. Therefore, through its presentation of the classics, the Qun Shu Zhi Yao expresses a uniquely rich from of thought, one that is deeply marked by its era, and is quite similar to the approach embodied in the notion “expressing the heart’s intent through fu and shi” “賦詩言志.” In this regard, Qun Shu Zhi Yao writes into being, if however obliquely, a new vision for the Zhenguan era. It expresses the mode of thinking embodied by Wei Zheng and his counterparts, one that sought to “turn the old into the new,” as well as one that emphasized practical values.