《國史大綱》的「士人政治論」

Abstract

錢穆先生於民國二十九年出版的《國史大綱》，是民國初期成一家之言而影響深遠的中國通史著作。當他在大學講授中國通史及撰寫《國史大綱》之時，將中國傳統政治視為專制政體的論點早已流行，左派思潮的唯物史觀也日益普及。《國史大綱》的撰寫，某種程度上即是為了回應這些時代意見，這是錢先生在該書自序裡清楚表明之事。 在《國史大綱》對各個歷史階段發展的解釋裡，士人的角色始終居於核心，此一觀點可稱為「士人政治論」。本研究綜羅全書在政治、社會與學術三方面的歷史解釋，分析論點、勾勒關聯，探討其所以然，並且比較同時學人的歷史論述，以凸顯「士人政治論」的特色。 「士人政治論」的內涵要點約略如下： 一、《國史大綱》所謂的「士人」，指的是能夠自我察覺對天下事務的責任，並且將此使命付諸行動的人物。自先秦以來，士人憑藉自身的學術修養，在朝組織政府、推行教化、改善民生，在野則積極推動地方公共事務的興革。士人在歷史上的重要性，是中國歷史一大特殊之處。倘若士人並未體認其責任或不具備必要的學識，那麼國家各方面的發展都將受到挑戰。 二、在政治方面，先秦以降形成的平民社會，是漢代以後士人政府成立的主要背景，士人積極推動政治理想，締造了較合理的政治秩序，並對社會有所教化。然而，士人對黑暗政權的反抗、士人彼此的爭執、士人忘卻了自身對社會的責任、士人自身的墮落、王室掌控政權的私心，以及外族政權宰制天下而阻撓士人參政等諸多因素，則在不同時期對政治發展造成負面影響。 三、在社會方面，在野士人對地方公共事務的長期投入，往往影響一地經濟文化的興衰。中唐以後南北經濟文化的長期失衡，與士人對地方水利、農業問題的關注有密切關係，即是顯證。 四、在學術方面，中國歷代重要的學術思想，往往關注重大的政治、社會議題，也實際影響了士人政治的動向。先秦思想對漢代士人政府的出現有啟發之功，魏晉南北朝高僧對生民的苦難盡其開導、紓解之力，宋明學者對奉獻於政教大業的承諾與具體行動，都反映了士人維持世運的貢獻。 總結來說，「士人政治論」表現出錢先生對中國傳統士人的理解與評價，內涵豐富而體系完整，錢先生並藉此對中國傳統專制論和唯物史觀提出了全盤的回應。

Prior to the Second Sino-Japanese War (1937-1945), most Chinese scholars tended to understand the traditional Chinese polity as absolutism; Marxist historians in that time even rewrote Chinese history from the perspective of historical materialism. Nevertheless, Qian Mu(錢穆, 1895-1990), who provided courses in Chinese history in the National Peking University in the 1930s, disagreed with those statements in his masterpiece, The Outline History of the Nation(國史大綱, Guo Shi Da Gang), published in 1940. Qian Mu contended that the trajectory of Chinese history was deeply shaped by literati, who shouldered the responsibility for ordering the world and devoted themselves to public affairs. He pointed out that “the society of the common (平民社會)” forming between the Eastern Zhou dynasty and the early Han dynasty provided the foundation of “scholar-official government (士人政府)” that effected the course of Chinese history until the end of the imperial era. Literati from the society of the common became the officials and participated in public affairs of the state. Literati contributed immensely to political improvement and people's livelihood. They also limited the power of emperors at different levels in various ways. Qian Mu argued that it is impossible for governments consisting of literati to be absolutistic ones. From Qian Mu’s point of view, “scholar-official government” was the special product of Chinese civilization, evidently different from the political pattern of Western history. By the same token, he contended that it would be extremely inappropriate to analyze Chinese history based on the theory of historical materialism. In conclusion, this thesis proposes that The Outline History of the Nation as one of Qian Mu’s most significant works systematically analyzed Chinese history and highly emphasized the role of literati and their devotion to public affairs in it. The Outline History of the Nation also effectively challenged other historians in Qian Mu’s generation who understood Chinese history from the perspective of absolutism and materialism.