从神佑血缘到天命归德——论西周“德”观念的确立

From Divine Protection of Bloodlines to Virtuous Mandate of Heaven:On the Establishment of the Concept of“De(Virtue)”in the Western Zhou Dynasty

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摘要 “德”是殷周之变间由周人确立的政治合法性依据,它源自周人先王先公施德于“民”而获得政治权力的历史传统。在取得天下共主的地位后,周人在思想领域将信仰的最高对象从殷商时期具有血缘性质的祖先神变为具有普遍意义的“天”,并利用信仰对象的普遍性将“得天命”的依据从特殊性的血缘转变为体现于民情民意的更具普遍意义的“德”。“德”由此指向对在上者的约束,即统治者需要首先践履“德”的规范以维系“天命”。当在上者被纳入“德”的价值框架,“德”便获得了超越阶层局限的普遍适用性。在思想建构的同时,周人通过封邦建国、制礼作乐等制度化安排,推动“德”观念从政治领域向社会生活各层面广泛渗透。经过思想确立和制度推广,“德”最终凝练为一种自上而下贯穿社会、具有广泛适用性的核心价值标准,由此形成了中国社会重“德”的思维习惯和中国文化重“德”的思想面貌。 “De(Virtue)”was established by the Zhou people during the transition from the Shang to Zhou dynasties as a basis for political legitimacy.It originated from the former Zhou rulers’tradition of exercising De(Virtue)towards the people to obtain political power.After attaining the status of universal rulers,the Zhou shifted the highest object of worship from the bloodline-based ancestral gods of the Shang period to the more universal concept of“heaven”.They utilized the universality of this belief to transform the basis for receiving the“mandate of heaven”from a specific bloodline to the broader concept of“De(Virtue)”reflected in public sentiment and popular will.Consequently,“De(Virtue)”became a constraint on those in power,requiring rulers to first adhere to the norms of“De(Virtue)”to maintain the“mandate of heaven”.By incorporating rulers into the value framework of“De(Virtue)”,it gained universal applicability beyond class distinctions.Alongside ideological construction,the Zhou people promoted the concept of“De(Virtue)”through institutional arrangements such as feudal states,rites,and music,ensuring its widespread penetration into all aspects of social life and garnering public recognition as a universal value standard.Through ideological establishment and institutional dissemination,“De(Virtue)”became a core value standard permeating society from top to bottom,forming the ideology of valuing Virtue in Chinese society and the habitual mindset of valuing virtue in Chinese culture.

作者乔健王睿 QIAO Jian;WANG Rui(School of History and Culture,Lanzhou University,Lanzhou 730000,China)

机构地区兰州大学历史文化学院

出处《兰州大学学报(社会科学版)》北大核心 2025年第3期149-158,共10页 Journal of Lanzhou University(Social Sciences)

基金教育部人文社会科学研究青年基金项目“先秦诸子治国之道中的廉洁意识研究”(23XJC810004)。

关键词殷周之变西周德天命礼制 Shang-Zhou transition Western Zhou De(Virtue) mandate of heaven ritual system

分类号 K224 [历史地理—中国史]

作者简介乔健(1961-),男,河南安阳人,教授,博士生导师,从事先秦诸子与中国思想史研究。