「儒」、「儒士」、「儒者」、「儒學」、「儒家」語詞意義再探

摘要內容探析「儒」字淵源雖難有定論，但不妨從「需」字入手，如甲骨文的「□、□」，殷商需父辛鼎的「□」，西周晚期伯公父的「□」等，是以「需」作「儒」字初文；進而考索「儒」字原始、後起及一般意義。「儒」字出現先秦儒家典籍105筆，先秦非儒家典籍84筆，本文考察《論語》等先秦典籍，淺釋「儒」字由通稱到專稱的轉折。儒學歷秦漢定于一尊，仍存在非專稱儒家的現象，「儒」字實則兼涉廣狹二義。姑且藉「儒」字及「儒士」、「儒者」、「儒學」、「儒家」等語了解儒家淵源。另「儒者」出現兩漢典籍188筆，「儒士」出現宋明典籍23筆，「儒學」出現宋明典籍35筆，「儒家」出現清代典籍21筆，箇中數字或可表徵學術演變與意義。

關鍵字

需；儒；儒者；儒士；儒學；儒家

並列摘要

Although it is difficult to investigate and analyze the origin of the character "儒 (Confucianist)," it is acceptable to start with the character "需 (need)." The "□,□", in oracle, "□" created by Xin Ding in the Yin Shang dynasty, and "□" created by Bo Gong Fu in the Late Western Zhou dynasty used "需" as the original character of "儒." Therefore, this study intends to further probe into the origin, later, and general meaning of the character of Confucianism. The character of Confucianism appeared in 105 pre-Qin Confucian classics and 84 pre-Qin non-Confucian classics. This study investigated the pre-Qin classics, such as Analects, and briefly explained the transition of the character of Confucianism from a general term to a specific term. While Confucianism became the main academic trend in the Qin and Han dynasties, there existed a phenomenon that this character was not exclusively used to call Confucianism. The character of Confucianism actually involved both broad and narrow meanings. This study used the terms, such as "Confucian Literati," "Confucianists," "Confucianist Study," and "Confucianism," to understand the origin of Confucianism. Moreover, "Confucian Literati" appeared in 188 classics of the Han dynasties, "Confucianists" appeared in 23 classics of the Song and Ming dynasties, "Confucianist Study" appeared in 35 classics of the Song and Ming dynasties, and "Confucianism" appeared in 21 classics of the Qing dynasty. These numbers might have revealed the academic transformations and meanings.