“學而優則仕”和“達則兼善天下”－儒家的仕途情結與和諧建構

"A Good Scholar Can Become an Official" and "When Successful, One Tries to Let Everyone Benefit"-The Confucian Complex about Being an Official and the Construction of Harmony

10.7065/MRPC.200905.0151

魏義霞(Yi-Xia Wei)

學 ； 習 ； 仕 ； 儒家 ； 哲學王情結 ； 和諧 ； Learning ； Reviewing ； Being an Official ； The Complex about the Philosopher King ； Harmony

哲學與文化

36卷5期（2009 / 05 / 01）

151 - 166

繁體中文

儒家歷來對學十分重視，所以，《論語》以〈學而〉開篇，《荀子》的第一章是〈勸學〉，都從學講起。儒家所講的學與習密切相關，本身就包含行的內容，這為日後的學以致用打下了基礎。同時，儒家渴望仕途，具有濃郁的哲學王情結，《論語》云：「學而優則仕」，《孟子》曰：「達則兼善天下」，表明仕的目的是通過禮樂教化將仁義道德推行於天下。可見，學－習－仕具有內在聯繫，構成了儒家和諧建構的主要內容和步驟：學的內容和方法決定了在為政中通過德治、仁政可以推廣仁義於天下，達到治國平天下的目的；仕作為禮樂教化的手段成為和諧理念的貫徹，不僅是人生價值的體現，更重要的是實現了哲學王的設想。

Confucianism has always put great value on ”learning”, which is why both The Analects and Xun Zi begin with a chapter on learning. In Confucianism, learning and reviewing are closely related, as they include the concept of practice, which is fundamental to the later idea of ”learning for use.” In the mean time, the Confucian aspiration for the career of an official is riddled with a strong complex about the philosopher king. In The Analects, it says, ”a good scholar can become an official,” and in Meng Zi, it says, ”When successful, one tries to let everyone benefit.” Both of these sayings suggest that the purpose of being an official is to make jen (benevolence), yi (righteousness) and deh (morality) prevail, through the cultivation of rites and music. Therefore, it is obvious that learning, reviewing and being an official are internally related and constitute the major content and steps for the Confucian construction of harmony. The content and methods of learning determine that jen and yi can prevail, through the rule by deh and the rule by jen in governing, so as to achieve the goals of governing the state and bringing peace to the world. As a means to cultivate people through rituals and music and therefore to accomplish the idea of harmony, being an official does not simply embody the value of life but also, more importantly, realize the ideas about the philosopher king.