唐人閻朝隱〈鸚鵡貓兒篇〉謂:「貓,不仁獸也」(《全唐詩》卷69原序),近代學者吳藕汀卻在《貓債》一書指自己養的貍貓「誠仁獸也」,貓的「物性」是一個由「不仁」到「仁」的發展過程嗎?中國的古典貓書寫,以儒學人本倫理觀塑造貓的「本性」,也劃定了評價貓類行為的基本視角,貓的身分和社會地位,隨著儒家倫理觀側重點的改變而反覆變異,人貓關係反映了傳統中國文化的人類中心特質,但也顯示了對生物本位的反省。本文擬透過檢討貓的名實和各種相關論述,分析貓身分的定型過程和社會定位,從而展示儒學道德本位文化觀,如何建構和限制了古代中國人對動物的認知。原始儒家的教導和經典威權,一方面以根於人類本位的生活需要,合理化了對動物的粗暴控制和管理,形成了動物物品化的普遍現象,但另一方面卻賦與了動物的「物性」可以被人性影響和修改的根據,古典書寫中的貓雖然是生物資源,但也是成就個人品格的重要道德受體。由此而言,人與生物的關係即使在「人禽之辨」這個大限制下,仍有一個互相影響,共同成長的發展過程。
The depiction of the cat in Chinese written records is generally thought to have evolved from being an animal with an "evil" nature to that with a "benevolent" nature. This article delineates and questions this view. The "nature" of the cat is constructed within and evolves with the framework of Confucian ethics, particularly within that of "human-animal difference". Chinese human-cat relationship is a testimony to the anthropocentricism of Chinese culture. On the one hand, Confucianism justifies the cruel control and management of animals by the humans. On the other hand, it also endows animals with "natures" and thereby allows for the possibility of animals being influenced by human ethics. The cat therefore is both a biological resource for humans and an ethical recipient of the human character.