「不患寡而患不均」：《周禮》均平秩序的主體思想與義理旨歸

“It Is Not Scarcity We Fear, but Inequality”: The Central Tenet and Ethical Purpose of Equitable Order in the Rites of Zhou

在中國古代傳統社會，「均」是相當重要的政治理念，在取法天道與維護倫常秩序的前提下，先秦儒學講求公私和諧、義利權衡的均平觀點，實現了人們對土地授與及勞動人口比例均衡、自然稟賦與社會財富合理分配的精神嚮往。本文具體釐析《周禮》制度環境中，涉及分封納貢、官僚行政、土地賦役、食貨經濟之「均」觀念的義理詮釋，發覺《周禮》擘劃均平秩序的思想基礎，得益於儒家學說的挹注，不僅強調君民所擔負的惠利、責任及義務，各得其分；且落實資源分配過程的正義原則，即已留心關注到──「如何均？」的課題。《周禮》通過制度設置標準，建構出一套「以禮分施，均徧而不偏」的王道政治藍圖，此正與先秦儒學倡導社會各級成員所得政治、經濟利益份額相對平均的論說，若合符契，自此摶成為一部講等級、尚賢能、重公義的文獻樣貌。

The concept of jun (equilibrium and fairness) was a cardinal political ideal in ancient Chinese thought. Drawing upon the Way of Heaven (tiandao) and designed to sustain ethical order (lunchang), Pre-Qin Confucianism advanced a doctrine of balance that harmonized the public and private spheres and negotiated the relationship between righteousness and profit. This doctrine embodied an aspiration toward the balanced distribution of land endowments, labor obligations, natural resources, and social wealth.
This article provides a rigorous philological analysis of the ethical and institutional interpretations of jun as manifested in the administrative framework detailed in the Rites of Zhou, particularly in relation to enfeoffment and tribute, bureaucratic organization, land and corvée taxation, and the economy of goods (shihuo). The study argues that the intellectual foundation of the system of equilibrium (junping zhixu) delineated in the Rites of Zhou is deeply indebted to Confucian thought. This foundation not only stipulates that both the ruler and the people should receive their prescribed shares of benefits, responsibilities, and duties (ge de qi fen), but also engages with the textual and political question of how such equilibrium may be achieved by embedding principles of distributive justice within the process of resource allocation. Through its detailed canonical prescriptions, the Rites of Zhou constructs a utopian political blueprint for benevolent royal governance (wangdao). This blueprint is epitomized by the maxim:“to dispense according to the rites, achieving fairness and comprehensiveness without partiality”(yi li fen shi, jun bian er bu pian). Such a vision is fully congruent with the Pre-Qin Confucian proposition that political and economic interests should be distributed in relatively even shares among social ranks. Consequently, the Rites of Zhou emerges as a distinctive Classic that simultaneously upholds hierarchy, honors meritocracy, and foregrounds public justice.