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2024/25 School of Chinese Research Student Seminar

先秦儒學的誠——為己與成人

The Concept of "Cheng" (誠) in Pre-Qin Confucianism:

Self-cultivation (為己) and Universal Moral Transformation (成人)

Abstract:

春秋戰國時期天下失道，禮崩樂壞，西周以來王者敬德以得天命的統一秩序面對嚴重挑戰。作為回應，先秦儒者一方面把敬德的基礎設於內在自我道德的完善，將道德本身作為人生價值的最高標準；另一方面，儒者將普遍的道德化育——教化萬民——作為在政治上重建王道政治的根本目標和方法。在這兩個互相關聯的面向中，前者是為己，後者在於成人，而 “誠”貫穿其中。“誠”一方面強調了個體生命於內在身心層面的體證，另一方面也注重君子在政治上的道德感召作用。本研究將“誠”視為一個貫通性的核心概念來理解先秦儒學的發展脈絡，試圖通過考察先秦儒者對修身與為政問題的解答，思考“誠”何以連通為己與成人，並嘗試以“誠” 作為一種新視角來審視儒家倫理與政治的關係。

Starting from the Spring and Autumn period, chaos reigned and the traditional holistic system of the true King getting and maintaining the Heaven's mandate through reverence of virtue faced serious doubts and was in danger. Pre-Qin Confucianism aimed to renovate and rejuvenate the holistic ethical cum political order. Ethically, Confucianism suggests that reverence of virtue has its basis in moral self-cultivation, which represents the ultimate concern and pursuit of life. Politically, universal moral transformation is seen as the purpose and way of the Kingly government. "Cheng" is the connecting thread running through these two aspects of moral self-cultivation and universal moral transformation, with the former emphasizing the self-focused realization of the person while the latter highlighting the moral influence of the noble person. This study regards "cheng" as a central and unifying concept to understand the developmental trajectory of Pre-Qin Confucianism. By examining how Pre-Qin Confucian scholars addressed issues of self-cultivation and governance, it seeks to explore how "cheng" connects self-cultivation with the universal moral transformation. This study also attempts to use "cheng" as a new perspective to understand the relationship between ethics and politics in Confucianism.