蒙元統治下的士人及其經學發展

The Scholars and the Development of the Study of Confucian Classics in the Meng-Yuan Dynasty

涂雲清(Yun-Ching Tu)

指導教授 ： 何澤恆

國立臺灣大學/文學院/中國文學研究所/博士(2009年)

https://doi.org/10.6342/NTU.2009.01520

摘要

多元與變異是元代政治、文化的特色，因而型塑了一個迥異於歷代王朝的時代。元代士人所處的政治環境，比中國史上任何一個王朝都來得複雜，觀察元代士人的出處，有其重要的時代意義。其次，部分學者主張元代是一個經學衰微的時代，因此缺乏研究的價值；但這些意見卻往往流於主觀籠統，甚至有誤導學者的可能。揭示代元經學的實況，及重新評價其成就，是本文研究的另一重心。
本篇論文，內容共分五章。以元代的士人與經學為兩大主軸，前兩章是針對元代士人出處方面的研究，重點放在觀察他們當時所遭逢的客觀環境，以及他們面對新環境時，所產生的主觀心理反應與行為上的抉擇。第三章至第五章，則主要聚焦於元代經學的層面來研究，詳論元代經學的發展與分布概況，並指出元代經學的特色，研究內容分述如下。
第一章「宋金元之際士人的時代思維及其作為」
宋金元之際的士人，面對改朝換代的局面，他們在心態上到底產生了什麼樣的變化？在現實上，他們又各有什麼樣的積極作為，來回應這個新的時代課題？這是本章所要探討的重點。內容共分三節，首先，析論金元之際，北中國在「戰爭陰影下的時代背景」，藉此來凸顯金元之際北方士人，在生死存亡的威脅下，所面臨的艱難處境。其次，則評述北方士人在此困境下，為了民族文化的延續，自覺地從事於「保種存文」的各項積極作為。再者，論述「金元之際」、「宋元之際」以及「元明之際」，南北兩地士人在新朝統治下，傳統華夷思想出現轉變的概況。此外，觀察正統思想對蒙元一代士人出處所產生的影響，也是本章討論的重點。
第二章「蒙元統一後士人的出處進退」
本章是透過對蒙元統一後士人出處群相的觀察，嘗試論述士人種種抉擇背後的可能動機。內容共分三節，將元代的士人約略分為「出仕元廷之士人」、「絕意仕進之士人」、「游移仕隱之士人」等三個族群，分別探討元代士人或仕、或隱乃至游移於仕隱之間的種種原因，並觀察他們作此抉擇的相應生命情懷。透過這樣的研究，可以看出蒙元一代士人與歷代士人在出處抉擇上的若干異同之處。
第三章「元代官方政策對經學的影響」
本章論述的重點是，從元代官方的相關政策，來分析這些措施，對元代經學發展，所可能產生的影響。內容分為三節，首先，藉著對蒙元諸帝的崇尚儒術等諸多面向的觀察，可以看出，透過各項政策的施行，對蒙元一代的經學發展，產生了積極正面的影響。其次，從蒙元朝廷的科舉制度層面，來觀察對經學所產生的影響。藉由元代科舉取士，確立以「經學」為考試內容的歷史轉向，論證元代科舉取士制度，對經學風氣所產生的正面影響。再者，論述蒙元時期，從中央國學到地方各級官學的設置情形，以及各地書院興立的概況，同時也針對各級學校及書院的教學內容進行研究，由此可以推知，學校教育對經學所產生的影響。再者，邊遠地區的儒學傳播，也是本章討論重點之一，藉此來彰顯元代儒學發展的特色。
第四章「元代經學的發展與分布」
本章分別自時間及空間的角度，探討蒙元一代經學的發展歷程，以及地域分布的概況，並詳述影響經學分布的各項因素。首先，以時間為主軸，約略將蒙元時期的經學分為三期，析論各期經學的發展概況。其次，蒙元統一中國之後，原本各自發展的南北兩地學術，開始大量地交流，本文著重在觀察南學之北來，對於南北兩地經學合流，所產生的影響。再者，則以空間為主軸，以蒙元十二大行政區域為單位，分別統計各行政區域內的經學家人數，以及經學著作數量，據此來比較各地經學的盛衰。另外一個討論重點，則在「學術重心南移」這個議題上，旨在探討中國學術重心，由黃河流域逐漸向江南地帶遷移的歷史發展軌跡。最後，分別自戰爭、政治、經濟、人口、書院、學術風氣、刻書事業以及交通等因素，探討它們對元代經學地理分布所產生的影響。
第五章「元代經學綜述」
本章針對元代經學中的部分層面，來觀察及凸顯元代經學，有異於其他朝代的特色。首先，從中國經學發展的角度，來觀察《五經》與《四書》學術地位的變化趨勢；另外，又分別自宋、元、明三代的科舉考試內容，以及元代學者的治學取向等兩方面，分析元代《四書》地位，正式凌越《五經》的過程。其次，則從學術史的角度，論述程朱之學，從兩宋學禁的主角，最終發展成為官方主流學術的過程。再者，本文透過「元代陸學的流傳」這一論述，揭示元代學術發展的另一面向，同時也呈顯元儒兼重「尊德性」與「道問學」的治學趨向。再者，論述元儒承宋儒之學風，並在蒙古人「重實用」文化傳統的影響下，提倡躬行實踐，在治學上以「學貴有用」為宗旨的學術風氣。另外，則從政治及社會背景等兩方面，探討元代實學思想的興起與發展的始末，以呈顯元代統治者「重經學」而「輕詩賦」的價值取向，及其對元代經學發展所產生的促進作用。
透過本文的研究可以發現，在異族入主的時代背景下，由於統治者的刻意操控與分化，造成士人的地位相對低落，也牽動了士人的出處進退，他們的若干人生抉擇，凸顯了特殊的時代意義，更示現了獨特的生命情懷。前人對元代士人出處的若干批評，忽略了「元代」這個特殊時空背景的因素，似乎缺乏同情的了解。
其次，在研究的過程中可以得知，雖然元代經學的發展存在著一些不利的因素，的確使得元代的學術無法獲得在上位者的大力支持與提倡；然而，蒙元朝廷也相對提供了一個開放的學術環境，終元一代，沒有嚴酷的學禁或文字迫害的事件發生，士人可以在自由的環境中，承繼學術命脈於不絕。另外，更不容忽視的是，蒙元統治時期，學校教育與書院教育都極為發達，而且它們的教學內容又以儒家經學為主，透過學校與書院的教學，使得蒙元時期的經學教育達到空前的盛況，經學分布的範圍更是超越了前代。再者，蒙元科舉考試的內容主要以經學為主，扭轉了自唐、宋、金以來偏重詩詞歌賦的傳統，這種科舉考試內容主流的轉向，帶動了士子們的學習重心及方向，因此，如果以經學學習的普遍性而言，蒙元統治時期，中國境內的習經風氣，足堪比肩於其他王朝。凡此種種，都足以證明蒙元時期的學術環境，對經學的發展，無疑具有促進的作用。
此外，經由本文的研究可以看出，元儒的經學著作相當豐富，而且有其可取之處，無論是從「量」或「質」的角度作觀察，元代為「經學積衰時代」的論點，並不反映事實，元代經學的歷史定位，可以藉由新的研究證據，重新加以評估。其次，元代經學在中國經學史上，其承前啟後的學術地位，實不容抹煞，明、清時期，許多的學術風氣若溯其源頭，元代實不乏開啟之功，例如：考據之學、輯佚之學等，都是彰明較著的例子。再者，清儒在中國經學史上，有兩項重要貢獻，即對《周易》圖書之學的辨明，以及偽《古文尚書》，與偽孔《傳》的考定，而這兩項學術成就，論其淵源，元儒都有一定的貢獻。再者，元儒在治學上，除了繼承宋學中的義理之學以外，又從漢、唐經學傳統中，汲取名物訓詁及典章制度之學，兼采漢、宋學之長，成為元儒經學的特色之一，這種學風，直接影響了清初由顧炎武、黃宗羲、王夫之三大家所倡導「漢、宋兼采」的學風。綜合以上所論可知，元代經學並非一無可取，在中國經學史上，應該有其一定的地位。

關鍵字

蒙元 ； 元代 ； 元代士人 ； 出處進退 ； 元代經學

並列摘要

Multicultural and political variations were the main characteristics of the Yuan Dynasty in Chinese history. As a result of such socio-political situation, the Yuan Dynasty saw a unique epoch. The socio-political situation that scholars experienced during this dynasty was more complicated than any other dynasties in Chinese history. For that reason, it is of epoch-making significance to conduct a study of these scholars’ outlook on life and their alternative lifestyle during the Yuan Dynasty. Meanwhile, some current researchers argue that the Study of Confucian Classics (經學) was at a low ebb during the Yuan Dynasty, and accordingly, it is not worth conducting much research on the literature of this period. Nevertheless, such points of view seem to be too subjective and arbitrary, possibly misleading other scholars. It is the writer’s intention to find out the true state of affairs concerning the Study of Confucian Classics during the Yuan Dynasty and reevaluate the remarkable achievements of the literature of that time.
The thesis consists of five chapters, closely related to two aspects: scholars’ outlook on life and their Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty. The first two chapters are focused on the studies of what kind of outlook on life that the scholars held and how they reacted accordingly when they faced a new socio-political situation during the Yuan Dynasty. Chapters Three to Five are closely related to the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty, providing thorough analysis of how the study was carried out, achievement, distinctive features, and various schools of the study in the Yuan society. The following is the description of each chapter.

-Chapter One-
The Thoughts and Reactions of the Scholars
During the Song, Jin and Yuan Dynasties

Facing the dynastic changes, psychologically, what outlook on life did scholars really have in the Song, Jin and Yuan dynasties? On the other hand, in reality, what kind of appropriate and positive actions did they take when they had to respond to the new socioeconomic challenge? These are the main issues that the writer will discuss in detail in this chapter which contains three sections. The first section analyzes the socioeconomic background of northern China which was in a state of war between the Jin and Yuan dynasties. The analysis shows what sort of difficulties that scholars had to face under the threat of life or death at that time. The next section discusses what voluntary and active actions the scholars in northern China took so as to preserve the literature of Confucian Classics and its cultural characteristics (保種存文). Then, the following discussion covers how the scholars in northern and southern China, who were under the control of the new dynasties, i.e. the Jin-Yuan, Song-Yuan, and Yuan-Ming dynasties, gradually changed their thoughts about the traditional orthodox ideas of the Han Chinese against the barbarian culture. In addition, it is also an important point in this section examining how Chinese orthodox thought affected the scholars’ outlook on life and their alternative lifestyle during the Meng-Yuan ages.

-Chapter Two-
Scholars’ Dilemma After the Meng-Yuan Unification of China
This chapter, based on analysis of large data, examines various motivations and choices the scholars had regarding their willingness of serving as officials for the new dynasty after the Meng-Yuan unification of China. There are three sections in this chapter, examining three types of scholars respectively: scholars who were willing to become officials for the new dynasty (出仕元廷之士人), scholars who refused to take up the post of officials for the new dynasty (絕意仕進之士人), and scholars who preferred to remain recluses (游移仕隱之士人). This chapter discusses all kinds of reasons that caused these scholars to make their own decisions. Through such analysis, it reveals the similarities and differences of attitude towards life between scholars in the Meng-Yuan Dynasty and those in other dynasties.

-Chapter Three-
The Influence of Official Policies in the Yuan Dynasty
Toward Study of Confucian Classics

The highlight of this chapter is the analysis of the relevant measures adopted by official policy in the Yuan Dynasty so as to find out the possible policy effects on the development of the Study of Confucian Classics at that time. The three sections in this chapter first examined the fact that all emperors of the Yuan Dynasty advocated Confucianism. As a result, the implementation of various relevant policies played a positive role in the development of the Study of Confucian Classics. Secondly, the influence of the imperial official policies can be viewed from the imperial examination system in the Meng-Yuan Dynasty. The writer demonstrated the fact that the Study of Confucian Classics was set as an important component in the imperial examination system during the Yuan Dynasty, which was a turning point in the imperial procedure of employing officials. Consequently, the strong washback effect of the imperial examination system played a very positive role in the spread of the Study of Confucian Classics. Furthermore, this chapter discussed the institutional establishment of the Study of Confucian Classics in educational curricula at both national and local levels, the development of various academies of classical learning, and the teaching contents of such academies of classical learning at different places. All these show that school education had a strong influence on the Study of Confucian Classics. Finally, this chapter also demonstrated the spread of Confucianism in outlying areas, which is one of the features of the development of the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty.

-Chapter Four-
The Development and Distribution of
the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty

This chapter discusses in detail the progress of “Study of Confucian Classics” both chronically and synchronically in the Meng-Yuan Dynasty, showing how the study of the classics was developed at different places and at different times. First of all, chronically, the Study of Confucian Classics during this dynasty could be divided into three periods for the purpose of this thesis. Then, the writer demonstrated when Meng-Yuan had unified China, different academia from both northern and southern China, which had originally developed on their own, started to have academic exchanges on a large scale. The focus of this thesis is on the academic influence from southern China on the development of the Confucian classics in northern China. Furthermore, synchronically, the writer has presented a statistical analysis of the number of scholars of Confucian classics and amount academic works they produced in the twelve main administrative provinces during the Meng-Yuan Dynasty, which provided empirical evidence of the rise and fall of the Study of Confucian Classics. Another key point of this chapter is focused on the phenomenon that “the major academic achievement of the Study of Confucian Classics was shifted from northern China to the South,” revealing the historical background of China’s academic change from the Yellow River valley to the lower Yangtze River valley. Finally, this chapter analyzes the influence of various possible causal factors such as war, politics, economy, population, schools, academic atmosphere, book carving business and traffic, etc. in the geographic distribution of the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty.

-Chapter Five-
Summary of the “Study of Confucian Classics” in the Yuan Dynasty

This chapter examines the development of the Study of Confucian Classics during the Yuan Dynasty from certain aspects so as to demonstrate how the study was different from that in any other dynasties in Chinese history. First of all, the Study of Confucian Classics could be examined along with the changing position of the “Five Classics (五經)” and the “Four Books (四書)” during that historical period. Next, the position of the “Four Books” was evaluated in terms of its position in the imperial examination systems of the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties, and in terms of the main research interest of scholars at that time. This part shows the process of how the “Four Books” surpassed the “Five Classics”. Then, viewed from the angle of academic history, this chapter analyzes the change of how the ban of the School of Cheng-Zhu (程朱) in the Song Dynasty was lifted in the Yuan Dynasty, and how the School of Cheng-Zhu (程朱) became the mainstream of the official school in the Yuan Dynasty. Moreover, another feature of academic development in this period was discussed according to the review of “the Spread of the Study of Lu in Yuan (元代陸學的流傳)”, which shows that the educational tendency of the Confucian started to pay much more attention to both “Zun De Xin”(尊德性) and “Dau Wen Xue”(道問學) in the Yuan Dynasty. However, the study style of the Confucianism since the Song Dynasty also changed under the influence of the pragmatism from Mongolian culture, which emphasized the combination of theory and practice, and the study style of practicability. Finally, viewed from the sociopolitical aspect, this chapter analyzed the development of the study style of practicability in the Yuan dynasty, and examined the phenomenon that the authority in the Yuan stressed the importance of “the Study of Confucian Classics” and regarded poetry and prose-poetry with disdain.

This thesis reveals that the social status of the scholars in the Yuan Dynasty was made relatively inferior under the control of the alien tribe whose deliberate manipulation and differentiation considerably affected the scholars’ outlook on life and their decisions in politics. Their outlook on life and lifestyle preference should be closely linked with the historical context and times, which had its own historical significance in respect of those scholars’ outlook on life. In this sense, some researchers’ criticism to these scholars in the Yuan Dynasty seemed to lack sympathy as these critics overlooked the unique sociopolitical conditions in the Yuan Dynasty.

This study shows that although there were various unfavorable factors in the development of “the Study of Confucian Classics” during the Yuan Dynasty due to the fact that its rulers did not support it whole-heartedly, it was a time when scholars had a relatively free environment to pursue their studies according to their own academic interest. The rulers of the whole Yuan Dynasty did not impose any academic ban like what was done by rulers of other dynasties. Thus, it was possible for scholars to keep “the Study of Confucian Classics” and continue their research in that sociopolitical context. In addition, it should never be ignored that school education and academies of classical learning were quite popular in the Yuan Dynasty, and the main teaching content was the Confucian classics. Hence, the Study of Confucian Classics developed at an unprecedented rate, and its study scope outshined that of any other previous dynasties. Still, the “Study of Confucian Classics” became to be the principal test content of the imperial examination system during the Meng-Yuan Dynasty, which reversed the tradition of emphasizing poetry and prose-poetry as the main test content since the Tang, Song and Jin Dynasties. The strong washback effect of the imperial examination policy brought about a change in the focus of learning in the Yuan Dynasty. Therefore, judging from the popularity of the Study of Confucian Classics, the Yuan Dynasty should not be ranged lower than any other dynasties in Chinese history. All in all, there is much evidence to support that the academic environment in the Ming and Meng-Yuan epoch certainly promoted the development of the Study of Confucian Classics.
In the final analysis, it shows that the works written by scholars in the Yuan Dynasty was both quite abundant and valuable. No matter whether the issue was studied quantitatively or qualitatively, it is incorrect to make a claim that the Study of Confucian Classics experienced a sharp decline at that time. With new research data, it is worthwhile to re-evaluate historically the Study of Confucian Classics of the Yuan Dynasty. What is more, in the history of Study of Confucian Classics, the Yuan Dynasty played a remarkable role in inheriting the previous knowledge and passing the enlightenment to the following generations. It can not be denied that the origins of the study styles in the Ming-Qing period were based on the Yuan Dynasty. There are many well-known instances to support this fact, such as: Textual Criticism (考據之學) and the Compilation of Unpublished Works (考據之學), which were of concrete proof. Furthermore, the Confucians in the Qing Dynasty had two pieces of great contribution to the Study of Confucian Classics. One is to have made a clear distinction of the definition of “Zhou Yi”(周易) and the other is the examination and correction of “Guwen Shangshu” (古文尚書) and of the fake “Kong Legend” (傳). The origin of these two academic achievements could certainly be linked with the contribution made by the scholars of the Yuan Dynasty. In addition, the Confucian scholars in the Yuan Dynasty not only inherited the Study of Argumentation (Yi Li) from the study style in Song, but also learned and developed the classic tradition of Exegesis and Laws and Rules from the Study of Confucian Classics in the Han-Tang Dynasty. They collected the merits of Studies of the Classics in both Han and Song, and then gathered them to form their own study style in the Yuan Dynasty. This kind of style of study directly inspired the style proposed by the scholars of early Qing Dynasty: Gu Yanwu, Huang Zongxi and Wang Fuzhi who advocated the style of adopting both the merits of the Han and Song (漢、宋兼采). According to all the analysis in this thesis, it can be concluded that the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty cannot be described without a saving grace, but instead, it should hold a certain status in the Study of Confucian Classics in Chinese history.

並列關鍵字

Meng-Yuan ； the Yuan Dynasty ； the scholars in the Yuan Dynasty ； the dilemma of outlook on life ； the Study of Confucian Classics in the Yuan Dynasty

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