清初尊朱儒者治學的轉化——以江永及其《近思錄集註》為考察

Transformations in Scholarly Methodology among Early Qing Proponents of Zhu Xi: A Case Study of Jiang Yong and His“Collected Annotations on the Reflections on Things at Hand”

清初理學雖曾一度盛行，然其後治學風尚卻由性理天道的體察逐步走向經籍的考證之學，其間，尊朱儒者的治學轉化，居於關鍵之一。本文以出身朱熹婺源故里的江永為考察，藉由他與同鄉儒者汪紱往返書信分析，說明江永雖標榜「格物窮理」為治學工夫，卻又隨著個人志趣而走向以徵實為導向的方式研治典籍，是以，江永所論的「格物」意涵已有所轉化甚至刊落，其所欲窮究的不再是朱熹的天道性理，而是挪移至「物」自身。江永的治學態度見諸於匯輯朱熹著作而成《近思錄集註》的詮解模式，可看出乾嘉漢學「以經治經」的雛型；而《近思錄集註》後所附《考訂朱子世家》首重考覈史料、辨偽，更彰顯了考據學家的實事求是性格，均是程朱理學在流衍中治學轉化之跡。

In the early Qing dynasty, Neo-Confucianism initially flourished, yet scholarly practice gradually shifted from the investigation of moral principle and Metaphysical Inquiry toward evidential studies of the classics. Within this transition, the transformation of scholarship among Zhu Xi-oriented scholars played a pivotal role. This paper focuses on Jiang Yong, a native of Wuyuan（婺源）—the hometown of Zhu Xi—and examines his intellectual trajectory through his correspondence with fellow Wuyuan scholar Wang Fu. Although Jiang Yong upheld“investigating things and exhausting principle”(格物窮理) as the foundation of scholarly endeavor, his personal inclinations led him toward a textually grounded, evidential approach to classical learning. Consequently, the meaning of“Investigating Things”in Jiang Yong’s discourse was reconfigured, even diminished: what he sought to probe was no longer Zhu Xi’s metaphysical principles of Heaven and human nature, but rather the objects themselves. Jiang Yong’s scholarly orientation is reflected in the interpretive framework of his“Collected Annotations on the Reflections on Things at Hand”（《近思錄集註》）, which anticipates the Qianjia-era Han Learning tendency to“study the classics through the classics.”Moreover, the appended“Critical Examination of Zhu Xi’s Family Records”（《考訂朱子世家》）, with its emphasis on verifying historical sources and distinguishing the genuine from the spurious, further underscores the evidential scholar’s commitment to factual accuracy. Together, these works exemplify the transformation of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism as it evolved into new modes of scholarship in the Qing intellectual landscape.