Thoughts on “Throne Abdication” during the Warring States Period and the Theories of “Datong”/”Xiokang” in Li Yun

Thoughts on "Throne Abdication" during the Warring States Period and the Theories of "Datong"/"Xiokang" in Li Yun

Liang Tao - Visiting Scholar, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Professor of History, Renmin University

Thursday, March 29, 2007 - 4:30pm to 6:00pm
Room 217A, Hall of Graduate Studies (HGS) See map
320 York Street
New Haven, CT 6511

Please note this lecture will be given in Chinese. “Throne abdication” (“Shan Rang”) issues were mentioned by a few recently discovered bamboo texts such as “Tang Yu Zhi Dao” unearthed in Guodian, Hubei Province, “Ron Cheng Shi” and “Zi Gao” collected in Shanghai Museum. This suggests that thoughts on “throne abdication” emerged during the early and middle periods of Warring States, when Confucians, Mohists, Legists and diplomats (“zongheng jia” in Chinese) were all involved. At the same time, various practices of “throne abdication” were emerged in political arena as well. Thoughts on “throne abdication” declined after King “Kuai” of Yan State failed his “throne abdication” practice. Some Confuctian scholars such as Mencius and Xunzi changed their attitudes towards “throne abdication”. Li Yun, as a very influential text in Chinese intellectual history, emerged during this particular historical background. Based on the unearthed bamboo texts mentioned above, this lecture will present new analysis on the forming of Li Yun and its Datong/Xiokang theories. 战国时期的禅让思潮与《礼运》“大同”、“小康”说

梁 涛

最近出土的郭店简《唐虞之道》、上博简《容成氏》、《子羔》均谈到禅让问题,向人们显示,战国中前期社会上曾出现了宣扬禅让的思潮,儒家还包括墨家、前期法家、纵横家等都参与其中,与之相应,政治领域也出现了禅让的种种尝试。燕王哙禅让失败后,禅让学说才渐趋低潮,孟子、荀子等儒家学者也改变了其对禅让的态度。在中国思想史上有重要影响的《礼运》一文可能就是在这一背景下产生的,通过上述出土文献,可以对《礼运》的成书及其“大同”、“小康”学说做出新的探讨。

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