禮制語境與經典詮釋

「禮制語境」為文字所記錄的古人踐行禮儀的特定環境。「禮制語境」存在於經典的字裏行間，即其文理結構之中，對詮釋經典禮制至關重要。本書所指的「禮制」，取義甚廣，既表示各種禮典及其組成元素（「禮物」、「禮儀」、「禮辭」）有機結合而成的集合體，也包括禮典所蘊含的觀念和意識（「禮義」）。「禮制語境」有言表之意，也有言外之意；前者呈現於言表，後者隱藏於言外；言表之意曉明，言外之意隱微。無論顯隱，只要確定了「禮制語境」，自能掌握其中的意涵。「禮制語境」在禮書裏出現，自不必說。其他經典中的許許多多關涉禮儀的文字，本身帶有表禮的功能，必須細加辨識，結合本證與他證，藉此重構該等文字的「禮制語境」，重現其所處的立體的禮樂環境。本書列舉以「禮制語境」詮釋《三禮》、《尚書》、《論語》及《左傳》的例證。此等例證，以禮典論，涵蓋冠、昏、喪、祭、朝、聘、鄉、射等禮。討論的對象廣涉禮物、禮儀、禮辭等禮制中的要素。要之，若將經典文字的含意比喻為一道門，那麼，「禮制語境」就是開啟這道門的一把鑰匙，沒有這把鑰匙，也就不得其門而入。

Being one of the world’s earliest civilizations, Chinese culture is characterized by its richness in ritual and music, which largely originated from and reached its culmination in during the Western Zhou (1045–771 B.C.). Rituals and etiquettes are the essence of Chinese thought; and govern the moral, social, and religious activities of the entire aristocratic world of ancient China. Without adequate knowledge of them, it is impossible to understand ancient China thoroughly. The earliest extant Confucian Classics, including the Book of Changes, Book of Songs, Book of Documents, Three Books of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals, as well as the Zuozhuan, along with others—particularly the Analects of Confucius—serve as written records of traditional rituals and etiquettes. In other words, the rituals and etiquettes found in these books are largely describing people’s ritual behaviour during the Zhou dynasty and the Spring and Autumn period. Focusing on the rituals and etiquettes that appear in extant Classics, the present monograph examines in detail ritual elements found in the above-mentioned Classics, with tightly-coupled theoretical constructs and case studies. Originality is shown in establishing “ritual context”, a theoretical framework for interpreting Three Books of Rites and other Classics alike. In so doing, ritual practices in the Classics are realized and reified. For many passages in the Classics, “ritual context” brings the text to life and is thus the key to understanding their real meaning. Case studies on Three Books of Rites, Book of Documents, the Analects of Confucius and Zuozhuan reveal how this innovative approach can be adopted by combing meaning with syntax and taking both narrative and ritual into consideration. In a nutshell, this book refers to reconstructing the “ritual context” of the Classics and brings about a significant advancement in the related fields of study.