论“民贵君轻”与“君舟民水”——先秦儒家民本思想研究

On "People Are Primary,Sovereign is Secondary" and "Sovereign is Vessel,People Are Water:A Case Study on the Thought of People as Basis of Confucianism in the Pre-Qin Period

摘要: 民本思想是中国传统政治哲学的重要组成部分,以孟子“民贵君轻”论与荀子“君舟民水”论的影响尤深,孟子主要从正面突出“民”之重要性,而荀子则以“民”的正负两面的意义警示君主应该善待民众、以民为本。两者相统一构成先秦儒家民本思想的完整形态。“民本”不是“君本”,民本是治国之道不是政治体制,它不仅可以维护封建君主的统治,也适用于当今社会;“民本”也不同于“民主”,但民本存在可以向民主转换的可能。

Abstract: The thought of People as Basis (Min ben) is a very important theme of the Chinese traditional political philosophy.Mencius' "People are primary,Sovereign is secondary"(Mingui junqing) and Xun zi's "Sovereign is vessel,People are water"(Junzhou minshui) have deep influences on the history of China.In Mencius' opinion,people are the base of the nation.In Xun zi's opinion,people can destroy the nation,too.So,they thought that sovereign should treat people well.The thought of People as Basis is about how to control the nation.It is not a thought of the system of politics.The thought of People as Basis is close to democracy.But it is not democracy.According to the thought of People as Basis, Mencius and Xun zi had the same position on the history of Confucianism.