摘要
明代是一个社会转型的时代 ,是从传统的农业社会向商业社会过渡的时期。晚明商业化的浪潮 ,导致社会上出现了“弃农就贾”与“弃儒就贾”之风。在这种社会变动的背景下 ,关于致富的思考也出现了新的历史转向 ,传统的儒家伦理与商人精神之间产生了很大的冲突。对儒家传统“五常” ,大体形成四种看法 :一是全盘否定 ,甚至斥之为“五贼” ;二是部分否定 ,剖析其中的“五贼” ;三是从正、反两个方面重新评价 ;四是逐条分析 ,否定其中的仁、义、礼 ,肯定其中的智与信。这说明 ,从勤俭致富转向智慧致富和诚信致富 ,从力农致富转向经商致富 ,这既是一种社会变动 ,更是一种观念变革。儒家传统在这一变革进程中也在悄悄发生一些蜕变。在此基础上 ,商人开始建立起属于自己的新的伦理。通过明代的例证 ,可以推测 ,儒家伦理只要得以创造性地转化 ,完全可以适应中国这样迥然不同于西方文化的近代化的需要 。
Ming Dynasty is a transitional epoch, a time from the traditional society of agriculture to a business one. The commercialization wave in late Ming Dynasty even leads to a vogue of ”discarding agriculture for business” and ”abandoning Confucianism for trade”. Under this social change, there comes forth a new historical veer in contemplating fortune making, which brings about a great conflict between the traditional Confucian ethic and the current spirit of the businessmen. Four opinions on the traditional ”Five Constant Virtues”, i.e. benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom and fidelity, are formed. The first is to disavow them completely and denounce them as ”Five Thieves”; the second to deny them partially by means of distinguishing the ”Five Thieves” contained; the third to offer a re-evaluation from the positive and the negative aspects; and the last, to analyze them item by item, and gainsay benevolence, righteousness and propriety but affirm wisdom and fidelity. It is then a transitional time of social as well as ideological changes from fortune making by diligence and thrift, to that by wisdom and fidelity, or from that by devoting to agriculture, to that by doing business. And the Confucian tradition thus degenerates quietly to some degree. On this basis, businessmen begin to erect new ethic of their own. From these instances it is presumable that the Confucian ethic might have surely worked out a way unique to modernization suitable to China only and different from that of the Western culture, if it had creatively transformed itself.
出处
《北京师范大学学报（社会科学版）》
CSSCI
北大核心
2004年第6期55-66,共12页
Journal of Beijing Normal University(Social Sciences)
关键词
明代
致富论
儒家伦理
商人精神
近代化
Ming Dynasty
fortune-making theory
Confucian ethic
businessmen's spirit
modernization
