论经典诠释与哲学建构之关系——以朱子对《四书》的解释为中心

在中国经典解释传统中,经典文本与解经者的哲学建构之间,存在着既不能分割,而又互为紧张的关系。两者之所以不可分割,是因为中国哲学家常常首先是哲学史家,他们经由古圣先贤及其经典的召唤,而浸润在古典的精神世界之中,他们“回顾性地”为经典作注解,正是他们“展望性的”哲学建构工作的起点。但是,经典文本与解经者之间,又有其紧张性,因为中国哲学家(如本文所研究的朱子)常常抱着他们自己的哲学问题进入经典,以自己的思想叩撞经典作者的心灵,因此,某种“解释的张力”终难以避免。我们可以从孟子学汲取化解两者间张力的方法论灵感:一是尚友古人,与古人对话,进入古人的心魂,这是“对话的”经典诠释法;二是进入古人的时空情境,在古人的脉络中温故而知新,这是“历史的”解释方法。两者交互应用,庶几在经典诠释与哲学建构之间获致动态的平衡。

On the Relation between Interpretation of Classics and Construction of Philosophy: Centered on Zhu Xi's Interpretation of the Four Books

Focusing on Zhu Xi's interpretation of the Four Books, in this article we discuss the relation between interpretation of classics and construction of philosophy. In Chinese tradition, the two ends of this relationship are always inseparable as well as having tension in between. On the one hand, Chinese philosophers were often historians of philosophy at the same time, so they immersed themselves in the world of classical spirit, and their "retrospective" interpretation of classics was exactly the start of their own "prospective" construction of philosophy. On the other, there has always been tension existing between the classical texts and interpreters, this is because those philosophers (Zhu Xi in this article) entered the classics with their own concerns all the time, therefore, certain forms of "collision" are almost inevitable during the process of interpretation. In the end of the article, it is suggested that two methods may be employed to appease the aforementioned tension. The first is to engage in the dialogues with the ancients; this can be called the "dialogical" interpretation of classics. The second is to enter the specific ancient contexts to refresh one's own knowledge; this is the "historical" method of interpretation. By interweaving the two methods, we hope that there can be a dynamic balance reached between the interpretation of classics and construction of philosophy.