政治、经学的衰变与西汉后期士人心态的走向

从汉昭帝刘弗陵即位 (前 86)到西汉末的约一个世纪 ,是西汉政治和经学发展的一个相对独立时期。就政局而言 ,外戚与中宦交替专权 ,君权旁落 ,政局多变。与汉武帝时期的皇权极盛、高度集权很不相同。就经学而言 ,重用儒士 ,广建学校 ,盛行以灾异论政 ,并出现了政治与儒学合一的现象。儒学和儒生的地位空前提高 ,这与汉武帝时期儒学仅用于“润饰吏事”、儒生往往被“俳优蓄之”也有极大差别。但是 ,经学地位的提高和空前发展并未给经学和儒生带来多少好运 ,诡谲多变的政局不仅使经学盛极而衰 ,也导致了士人的坎坷与分流。很多士人与政治渐渐疏离 ,尽管表现方式各有不同 ,但总体上呈现出一股道家思想回归的潮流

A Survey of the Last Hundred Years of the Western Han Dynasty: Imperial Administration, Study of Confucian Classics and the Mentality of Confucian Scholars

A hundred years or so, from the year of the emperor Zhao of the Han Dynasty ascending throne to the end of the Western Han Dynasty came the period different to the preceding times for the evolution of imperial administration and the study of Confucian classics. Political unrest was marked on this period. The monarchial power lost to the subordinates as the arrogation of power by the relatives on wife's or mother's side of the royal family, and the eunuchs who took charge of transmitting imperial decrees and edict. As to the study of Confucian classics, we have in this period the scholars were put on the important positions, numerous schools had been setting up, the use of the theory of visitations of nature in judging political affairs, and the union of politics and Confucianism. Here we can see the disparity between this period and its preceding reign of Emperor Wu in dealing with the study of Confucian classics and the treating of Confucian scholais. Empesor Wu dealing with the study of confucian classics as an imstument used to polish the imperial deeds, and Confucian scholars the comedians. Surely was the study of Confucian classics forging ahead in the Western Han Dynasty. In the end, however, the political unrest had led the decadency of Confucianism which passed its zenith and was being on the wane. The Confucian scholars were lost in frustration and met with fractionalization. Most of the Confucian scholars had been taking alienation from the government, which threw light on a mentality of inclining to Taoism to which they were so consciously to be led into temptation.