西周人文精神的构建及其影响

在西周主流意识形态领域,人的主体性意识已经觉醒。西周人文精神觉醒的深层表现是周人极为可贵的忧患意识。这种忧患意识源于周人从立国到灭商后面临的艰难处境,其中含有重要的敬德与保民思想。礼乐作为一种宗教仪典形式,并延伸为人们之间相互交往的行为规范,在西周建立之前的夏商时代就已形成。伴随着社会生活领域人文精神的觉醒,西周的礼乐文化价值重心已由崇尚自然和天命鬼神向礼乐文明演进,并具有规范人们的社会行为和调整人际关系的政治道德功能。西周后期,礼逐渐实现了转化,并因此而成为西周文化的重要表征。这是人文精神发展的一个崭新阶段,也是中国古代文明的文化基础。西周时期形成的人文精神对后世产生了深远的影响。

The Construction of Humane Spirit in Western Zhou Dynasty and Its Influence

In the main ideological field of Western Zhou Dynasty,there was an awareness of human beings as the main part of the universe.The expression of the awareness of humane spirit in Western Zhou Dynasty was shown as Zhou people's consciousness of suffering and hardship.This consciousness of suffering and hardship came from the time when Zhou people set up their country to the time when Zhou people overturned Shang Dynasty.This consciousness contained the thought of the ruling class' respecting the morals and caring about its people.The Etiquette which came into practice during the period of Xia and Shang Dynasty at this period served as a kind of religious ceremony and extended to the area of human daily behavior as the behavior rules.With the awareness of humane spirit in the field of social life,the emphases on the cultural value of Etiquette in Western Zhou Dynasty moved from worshiping the nature and gods and the spirits of ancestors toward cherishing the etiquette civilization.The value of Etiquette began to have the function of political morals by standardizing people's social conduct and adjusting inter-relations among people.In the late Western Zhou Dynasty,Etiquette gradually achieved transformation to the nature of humanity and this nature became the very important expression of Western Zhou culture,which started a new period of the development in humane spirit.This change set up the cultural foundation for the ancient Chinese civilization.The humane spirit formed in the Western Zhou Dynasty produed a profound influence on the coming generations.