中英雙語話中國歷史名人 第36期:董仲舒
Dong Zhongshu (179 B. C.~104 B. C.) was a Confucian scholar instrumental in establishing Confucianism in 136 as the state cult of China and as the basis of official political philosophy-a position it was to hold for 2 000 years.
董仲舒(約公元前179年~公元前104年)生於廣川，儒家學者，他促使儒家學說成爲中國國家思想和官方政治哲學的基礎(公元前136年)，從此儒家學說統治了中國兩千年。As a philosopher, Dong merged the Confucianist and Yin-Yang schools of thought.
作爲哲學家，董仲舒將“陰陽”學說與惴家學說結合在一起。
As a Chief Minister to the emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, Dong was chiefly responsible for the dismissal of all non-Confucian scholars from government. He established Confucianism as the empire's unifying ideology (136 B. C.) and set up an imperial college, instrumental in the later establishment of the Chinese civil service.
作爲漢武帝的主要大臣，董仲舒將所有不是儒生的學者趕出政府，使得漢武帝“罷黔百家，獨尊儒術”(公元前136年)並目建立太學，對後來科舉制度的建立也有影響。
As a philosopher, Dong made the theory of the interaction between heaven and man his central theme.
作爲哲學家，“天人合一”是董仲舒的主要思想。The emperor is heaven's ambassador on earth, and natural catastrophes such as floods and droughts are Heaven's way of warning the emperor to examine his personal conduct and correct his mistakes.
統治者是上天的使者，旱澇等自然災害是上天警告統治者要檢查個人行爲、糾正所犯錯誤的手段。Yang (light, positive, male) and yin(dark, negative, female) are the two fundamental forces of the universe and as such should be kept in harmony.
陰陽是宇宙的兩股基本力量，因而要保持平衡。The ruler has the duty to preserve that harmony. He must prevent disturbances by caring for and educating his people.
統治者有責任保持陰陽的平衡，必須通過關愛、教育子民來避免動亂的發生。He may reform institutions when necessary but may never alter or destroy the basic moral principles of heaven.
統治者可以在必要的時候進行制度改革，但是決不能改變或破壞上天的基本道德原則。In Dong's system the ruler has the central position-undoubtedly one of the major reasons that Confucianism was accepted by Emperor Wu.
在董仲舒的哲學體系裏，統治者居於中心地位。無疑，這是儒家學說被漢武帝接受的主要原因之一。Confucian scholars, however, are given an equal if less obvious power.
然而，儒家學者也被賦予同樣的權利，他們的權利不像統治者的權利那麼明顯。It is they who interpret the portents and thus exercise a check on the policies of the ruler.
正是儒家學者解釋了徵兆，從而檢查了統治者的政策。Dong's "Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals" is one of the most important philosophical works of the Han period.
董仲舒的《春秋繁露》是漢代最重要的哲學著作之一。In it, Dong interpreted the Confucian Classic “Spring and Autumn Annals", a chronicle of the events in Confucius' native state of Lu between 722 B. C. and 481 B. C., supposedly edited by Confucius.
在這本書中，董仲舒解釋了儒家經典《春秋》。《春秋》是公元前722年至公元前481年間孔子祖國魯國的編年史，據推測是由孔子編輯的。Dong felt that Confucius not only recorded events in such a way as to exercise judgment upon them but that he also laid down the rules to be used in governing future dynasties.
董仲舒認爲: 孔子在記錄事件的同時不但做了判斷，而且爲後世朝代治理國家定下了原則。According to Dong, Confucius understood the relationship between man and nature and therefore the way to interpret portents and omens.
根據董仲舒的看法，孔子深諳人與自然之間的關係，因而也知道如何解釋徵兆。
