| Abstract: | Zhu Xi emphasized his version of the Succession to the Way (daotong) in the "Preface to the Collections of the Mean" when he was sixty years old.The four sages,Confucius,Zengzi,Zisi,and Mencius,are connected with the four books,namely the Great Learning,the Analects,the Mean,and the Mencius.Zhu`s work not only confirmed the texts of the Confucian thoughts but also sanctified the content of the Four Books (sishu).In fact,Zhu followed the Cheng brothers to advocate that Mencius had inherited the predecessors` studies and constructed the pedigree of the Sages.According to this concept,Zhu searched the biographies as well as discourses of Yao,Shun,Yu,Tang,Wen,Wu,and the Duke of Zhou,and then defined the position of Confucius in the history of Chinese philosophy.Moreover,Zhu argued the connections among Confucius,Zengzi,Zisi,and Mencius.The clues of the sages` inheritance in the Mencius inspired Zhu to ponder over the Succession to the Way,clarify the goodness of human nature,and confirm the content of Confucianism.Combining Mencius and Zhu Xi`s academic works as well as tracing the development of Confucianism,we will understand the trend of the thoughts and the sanctified history since the Northern Song Dynasty.The scholars` arguments in all dynasties are actually relevant.We have to notice that effort (gongfu) and level (jingjie) are fused.When interpreting canons,therefore,we must consider the historical circumstances and search the annotators` explanations in the contexts.To be sure,many historical clues were recorded in their works and Zhu Xi used them to construct the historical context of the inheritance of the sages as well as expressed his views.All in all,Zhu took the Succession to the Way as his responsibility,and hence he impressed many readers.
朱熹於六十歲之齡撰成《中庸章句序》、標舉"道統"之說,將孔、曾、思、孟"四子"與《大學》《論語》《中庸》《孟子》"四書"配合,確立孔門之傳的文本內容,賦予"四書"經典神聖屬性,饒有宣言意義.朱熹一生追尋"二程",標舉孟子繼承絕學,建構聖聖相承系譜,於是上溯而及於堯、舜、禹、湯、文、武、周公歷敘群聖之傳,繼而及於孔子地位的確認,又進而梳理孔子、曾子、子思、孟子心法相傳、《孟子》文本當中聖聖相傳之線索,促發人們對朱熹道統的再思考,釐清性善說法,確立儒學內涵,綰合兩者,溯源衍流,遂能響應北宋以來儒學自覺的思潮與反省,激化聖化歷史的想像,古今之間,環環相扣,工夫與境界,融鑄於一.經典詮釋必須回歸歷史情境,甚至必須在語脈當中方能得見註者的思考與用心.義理詮釋存在諸多歷史線索,誠乃毋庸置疑之事.朱熹以此建構儒學聖賢相的歷史意象,一抒個人的終極情懷,皆慨然以承擔"道統"為己任,遂能喚起無比之感動. |
