荀子的博學主義與戰國思想交鋒

Abstract

《荀子》為戰國思想研究中不可或缺的一角，相關成果十分豐碩，諸如學術史、哲學史取徑之研究，皆有不少重要著作。得益於這些成果，今人對於荀子思想體系已形成甚為明確的認識。然而，多數研究關注的是特定哲學範疇及相關術語，或挖掘荀子思想之於當代政治哲學或倫理學的現代意義，相對忽視從歷史學視角考察《荀子》及其各種脈絡。因此，本文採思想史（或稱智識史，intellectual history）取徑，以脈絡化的方式詮釋《荀子》諸篇章，將這些文本視為對時代背景與思潮的回應，進而探究荀子和戰國中晚期智識界的面貌。 本文以「博學主義」為線索，串起荀子對於時代諸多變動與論題的種種回應。本文所謂的「博學主義」，是指盡可能廣博地以詩、書等學習範疇為基礎，強調外在修飾行為和內向化育德行，且以成就「治道」為終極目標的思想。本文首先分析儒者「博學」思想的傳統，以及其後的發展與受到的批評，並探討荀子如何確立「博學主義」的學習次第與疆界，又如何塑造「師」的權威，以鞏固博學主義的重要性。其次，本文認為博學主義除了講求於外廣博累積學問，亦講求內向性的「修身論」；從作為博學主義一環的修身論切入，更可一探荀子如何轉化其敵手的術語，回應盛行一時的心氣論，同時深化博學主義的理論深度。本文最後探究戰國時代尚賢之風的發展與變化，以及在此脈絡中，荀子如何結合博學主義的育才方法，論述人才分級的重要性，進而描繪出君主與大儒共治的理想政治圖景。本文梳理出貫穿《荀子》的博學主義立場，以及其指向「治道」的終極關懷，期能為理解荀子與戰國思想史，提供別開生面的新視角。

The Xunzi is indispensable for the understanding of Warring States thoughts. While most studies have concentrated on the philosophical, political, or ethical implications of Xunzi’s ideas, this thesis situates the Xunzi within the intellectual landscape of the Warring States period and takes a contextual approach to interpret its thought. As a study of intellectual history, this thesis examines the ways in which the authors of Xunzi had responded to their contemporary thinkers and imminent issues. The thesis suggests that the advocacy of “erudition” (boxue 博學) is a key to more fully understand the Xunzi’s various responses to its time. In the thesis, the advocacy of “erudition” entails an emphasis on broad learning, which values accumulation of knowledge and self-cultivation in order to achieve the ultimate “Way of governance” (zhidao 治道). It looks into how the authors of Xunzi adapted intellectual adversaries’ arguments for their own uses, how they responded to the prevalent ideas of mind (心) and qi (氣) , and how they eventually provided a systematic argument for the meaning and significance of erudition. Chapter 1 explores how the Xunzi had established the importance of erudition by emphasizing the authority of “teacher” (shi 師). Following this, Chapter 2 indicates that, in addition to the accumulation of external knowledge, the Xunzi had also developed a theory of self-cultivation (xiushen 修身) that extended the concept of erudition to incorporate the knowledge of inner-self. Finally, Chapter 3 examines how, when facing the prevalent atmosphere of meritocracy (shangxian 尚賢) in the Warring States era, the Xunzi had legitimized the importance of the elevation of able people by emphasizing education and erudition. Arguably the Xunzi had envisaged a political ideal in which the regime was to be co-governed by a king and great Confucian literati (daru 大儒). By elaborating the idea of erudition and how it features in the political thought of Xunzi, especially its connection to the ultimate concern with the “Way of governance,” this thesis sheds new light on the understanding of the thought of Xunzi, as well as how to contextually read the Xunzi and other Warring States texts, so as to enhance our knowledge of the intellectual history of pre-imperial China.