天 Tian

對于“天”這個詞，我們打算采用音譯。這在很大程度上是因為，通常所用的英文譯法“Heaven”，為之強加了若干中國文化沒有的，源自耶穌-基督傳統的意象；而“Nature”也同樣不可取。在很多語境中，單獨使用的“天”字實際上是在指代“天地”--它暗示“天”并不是獨立于世的?！妒ソ洝分械纳系鄢３１晦D喻為創世之“Heaven”，而文言文中的“天”即是世界。

Tian is a term that we have chosen not to translate, largely because we believe its normal English rendering as “Heaven”cannot but conjure up images derived from the Judeo-Christian tradition that are not to be found in China; and “Nature” will not work either. In the first place, tian is often used alone to render tiandi天地—“the heavens and the earth”—suggesting that tian is not independent of this world. The God of the Bible, often referred to as metonymically“Heaven,” created the world, but tian in classical Chinese is the world.

“天”既包含有世界是什么之意，又隱喻了世界如何為之的反思。“萬物”是中國人指代所有客觀事物的成語。但是，萬物并不是獨立于秩序世界之外的“天”的創造物；恰恰相反，萬物構成了“天”。“天”既是造物者，又是滋養創造物的沃土。在秩序本身及其規定性之間并不存在嚴格的界限。正是因為超秩序的缺失，道家之“道”和佛教的dharma這兩個概念才頗具相似性；而且二者都曾經提及具體現象和從中總結出來的規律。

Tian is both what our world is and how it is. The “ten thousand things (wanwu萬物),”an expression for “everything,” are not the creatures of a tian which is independent of what is ordered; rather, they are constitutive of it. Tian is both the creator and the field of creatures. There is no apparent distinction between the order itself, and what orders it. This absence of superordination is a condition made familiar in related notions of the Daoist dao and the Buddhist dharma which at once reference concrete phenomena and the order that obtains among them.

因此，“天”應該是一種從其自身組成成分中抽繹出來的、自在自現的秩序。但是，“天”并不僅僅是“事物”；它是一種活生生的文化——發生、流傳，直至成為人類社會中不可替代的元素?！疤臁笔且粋€神、人同形同性的概念。這種性質揭示出它與“神話即歷史”的觀念的密切聯系--歷史人物被尊崇為神靈--此即中國人祖先崇拜的淵源。很可能，正是祖先崇拜這個共同基礎，使得商代的人文化的“帝”，與盤踞于黃河谷地的如羅馬人一般嗜血好戰的周人所拜的“天”相融合?！捎诓⒉淮嬖谑裁闯坏脑煳镏髯鳛檎妗⑸?、美的源泉，“天”似乎是一種聚焦于前人精神的，經年疊累而成就的文化遺產。因而，當我們發現在這種文化中，神話、理性和歷史的紛繁關系與西方傳統迥然不同時，并不感到絲毫詫異。諸如周公和孔子這樣的重要文化人物常常被神化為“天”；而“天”本身也在與人合一的過程中具體化為上述人物。

On this basis, tian can be described as an inhering, emergent order negotiated out of the dispositioning of the particulars that are constitutive of it. But tian is not just “things”;it is a living culture—crafted, transmitted, and now resident in a human community. Tian is anthropomorphic, suggesting its intimate relationship with the process of euhemerization—historical human beings becoming gods—that grounds Chinese ancestor reverence. It is probably this common foundation in ancestor reverence that allowed for the conflation of the culturally sophisticated Shang dynasty's di帝(ancestral spirits) with the notion of tian associated with the Zhou tribes, militant and Romanesque, who conquered the Yellow River valley….In the absence of some transcendent creator deity as the repository of truth, beauty and goodness, tian would seem to stand for a cumulative and continuing cultural legacy focused in the spirits of those who have come before. It is not surprising, then, that the relationship between mythos , logos , and historia is radically different from the Western tradition. Culturally significant human beings—persons such as the Duke of Zhou and Confucius—are“theomorphized” to become tian, and tian is itself made anthropomorphic and determinate in their persons.

不言不語的“天”通過神諭、反常的氣候現象和自然條件的改變等方式與人類進行有效的、但意圖并不總是那么明確的交流。“天”由此進入人類社會的話語系統——并且成為其中最為重要的元素。儒家世界中的各種秩序相互依存，相互影響、一榮俱榮、一損俱損。人文社會的衰敗紊亂將會波及自然環境。盡管“天”不是耶穌-基督文化傳統中的那種回應個人需要的人格神，但是作為祖先的集合體，“天”毫不偏頗地護佑其子嗣盡可能地在所有方面實現和諧圓滿。也就是說，“天”不是先驗的，而是盡心盡責地服務于子孫后代。對此，《尚書》早已明言曰：“天聰明，自我民聰明?！?/p>

（《〈論語〉的哲學詮釋》，第47-48頁）

Finally, tian does not speak, but communicates effectively although not always clearly through oracles, through perturbations in the climate, and through alterations in the natural conditions of the human world. Tian participates in a discourse shared by the human community—at least by the most worthy among them. Given the interrelatedness and interdependency of the orders defining the Confucian world, what affects one, affects all. A failure of order in the human world will symbiotically be reflected in the natural environment. Although tian is not the “personal” deity responsive to individual needs as found in the JudeoChristian worldview, as aggregate ancestor it would seem that tian functions impartially on behalf of its progeny to maximize the possibilities of emergent harmony at all levels. That tian is not transcendental, but indeed functions on behalf of its progeny, is seen clearly in the Book of Documents: “Tian hears and sees as the people hear and see.”

(The Analects of Confucius: A Philosophical Translation, pp. 46-48)

“天”是一個我們不打算翻譯的術語。作為其慣常的英文翻譯，“Heaven”只是變幻出了我們猶太—基督教傳統的令人誤解的聯想而已。那些神學的聯想多半與中國的經驗無關，卻常常給中國文化的各種實踐附加書寫了一些與其自身相異的預設（presuppositions）。無論如何，如果我們能夠發展一種對于“天”的理解的話，我們必須將這個術語從那些不幸的聯想中解救出來。

Tian is a term we choose not to translate. Its conventional English rendering as “Heaven” cannot but conjure up misleading associations drawn from our Judeo-Christian tradition. These theological associations are largely irrelevant to the Chinese experience but, nonetheless, have often overwritten Chinese cultural practices with presuppositions that are alien to them. In any case, we must extricate the term from these unfortunate associations if we are to develop an understanding of tian.

首先，“天”常常被用作“天地”的簡稱，這一點說明，“天”與這個世界不是彼此獨立的。“天”指示著我們周遭運行著的世界，它無窮無盡、不斷進展、始終處在更新之中。正如《中庸》第二十六章所描述的：

天地之道，可一言而盡也：“其為物不貳，則其生物不測?！?/span>

天地之道，博也，厚也，高也，明也，悠也，久也。

In the first place, tian is often used as an abbreviation for tiandi天地—“the heavens and the earth”—suggesting that tian is not independent of this world. Denoting the world as it turns around us, it is bottomless, ever advancing, and always novel. As described in Zhongyong 26:

The way of heaven and earth can be captured in one phrase: Since events are never duplicated, their production is unfathomable.

The way of heaven and earth is broad, is thick, is high, is brilliant, is far-reaching, is enduring.

《圣經》中的“God”（上帝），通常轉喻為“Heaven”?！癎od”或“Heaven”創造了（created）世界。但是，古代中國的“天”，卻不是世界的創造者，而就是（is）世界?！疤臁奔仁俏覀兊氖澜缰牵?span id="l7sgblp" class="italic">what our world is），同時又是我們的世界之如何是（how our world is）。萬事萬物不是獨立于其所制序（ordering）之外的一個“天”的受造物（creatures）?！疤臁奔仁恰耙弧币彩恰岸唷薄Ｋ仁歉鞣N過程和事件從中產生的單一的根源，又是由這些過程和事物構成的多種價值的場域（multivalent field）。

The God of the Bible, often referred to metonymically as “Heaven,” created the world, but tian in classical Chinese is the world. Tian is both what our world is and how it is. The“ten thousand processes and events (wanwu萬物)” are not the creatures of a tian that is independent of what is ordered; rather, they are constitutive of it. Tian is both one and many. It is both the single source from which processes and events emerge, and the multivalent field constituted by them.

在此基礎上，“天”可以被描述為由各個特定個體的各種傾向協調而出的必然發生的秩序（emergent order）。此外，“天”不只是自然世界，獨立于人工。毋寧說，“天”是活生生的、累積性的人工產物。既包括自然，也包括人對它的養育。那種養育不但與人類經驗不可分離，同時也在相當程度上恰恰是人類經驗的表達。它是在一個特定的人類社群內部得以創造和傳播的。

On this basis, tian can be described as the emergent orders negotiated out of the dispositions of the many particulars that are presently constitutive of it. Moreover, tian is not just the natural world, independent of human artifice. Rather, tian is a living, cumulative artifact, inclusive of nature and nurture that is not only inseparable from the human experience but is in an important degree expressive of it. It is created and transmitted within a particular human community.

“天”常常是被人化的，這一點提示著它與一種獨特的中國的神話即歷史觀（euhemerization）的密切關系。這種神話即歷史觀是基于祖先崇拜的?；蛟S正是這種基于祖先崇拜的共同基礎，說明了具有文化復雜性的商代的“帝”觀念與周人“天”觀念的合并。大約在公元前的第一個千年周人的部落征服了黃河流域。有很多很好的理由假定，對于中國“神靈”大體上都是已逝的祖先這樣一種主張來說，“天”也并非例外。在缺乏某種超越的創造者（transcendent creator）的情況下，“天”可以被認為是代表著一種累積和持續的文化遺產，這種文化遺產由那些先人的神靈所聚焦。

Tian is often anthropomorphized, suggesting its intimate relationship with a distinctly Chinese version of euhemerization that grounds ancestor reverence. It is probably this common foundation in ancestor reverence that allowed for the conflation of the culturally sophisticated Shang dynasty's di帝(ancestral spirits) with the notion of tian associated with the Zhou federation of tribes who conquered the Yellow River valley at the turn of the first millennium BCE. There are good reasons to assume that tian is not an exception to the claim that Chinese gods are, by and large, dead people. In the absence of some transcendent creator, tian would seem to stand for a cumulative and continuing cultural legacy focused by the spirits of those who have come before.

“天”不說話，但是，通過人制的甲骨、氣候的紊亂以及使人類世界境域化的自然條件的改變等，它卻能夠有效地與人進行溝通和交流。“天”參與著為人類社群中最為賢德的人們所共享的話語。鑒于界定儒學世界的各種秩序的關聯性和相互依賴性，影響一件事物的東西同時也影響著所有的事物。有這樣一種假定：人類世界的秩序的失敗也會在自然世界中得到反映。

（《切中倫常：〈中庸〉的新詮與新譯》，第97-99頁）

Tian does not speak but communicates effectively, although not always clearly, through human-generated oracles, through perturbations in the climate, and through alterations in the natural conditions that contextualize the human world. Tian participates in a discourse shared by the most worthy persons in the human community. Given the interrelatedness and interdependency of the orders defining the Confucian world,what affects one affects all. It is assumed that a failure of order in the human world will be reflected in the natural environment.

(Focusing the Familiar: A Translation and Philosophical Interpretation of the Zhongyong, pp. 79-80)

古典中國傳統總體上表現出借助內在和自然概念解釋存在的濃厚興趣。這類概念不會發展那些打算解釋宇宙本身發生的理論。現象就是“so of themselves”——自然。即便偶然有對起源理論的指涉也暗蔽在對轉化更為突出的探討中。上面所引《論語·陽貨》（天何言哉？四時行焉，百物生焉）即是明證。就此，“天”就不是一個生成了獨立于自己的世界的先在創造性原理。它更確切地說是一個自然產生的現象世界的總稱?！疤臁蓖耆莾仍诘模薪嬎某煞侄疾粫毩⒂谒嬖?。說現象“創造”“天”和“天”創造現象都同樣正確。因此，“天”和現象的關系是一種彼此依存的關系?！疤臁钡囊饬x和價值是其種種現象意義和價值的一個功能。“天”的秩序由彼此相關的成分之間獲得的和諧來表達。

The classical Chinese tradition generally evidences a strong interest in explaining existence by reference to immanental and naturalistic concepts. Such concepts preclude the development of theories that propose to explain the origin and birth of the cosmos per se. Phenomena are tzujan自然： “so of themselves.” The only occasional references to theories of genesis are eclipsed by the far more prominent discussions of transformation. The passage from the Analects (17.19) cited above (“What does t'ien have to say? And yet the four seasons turn and the myriad things are born and grow within it.”) is a case in point. In this context, t'ien is not a preexisting creative principle which gives birth to and nurtures a world independent of itself. T'ien is rather a general designation for the phenomenal world as it emerges of its own accord. T'ien is wholly immanent, having no existence independent of the calculus of phenomena that constitute it. There is as much validity in asserting that phenomena “create” t'ien as in saying that t'ien creates phenomena; the relationship between t'ien and phenomena, therefore, is one of interdependence. The meaning and value of t'ien is a function of the meaning and value of its many phenomena, and the order of t'ien is expressed in the harmony that obtains among its correlative parts.

中國古代封建結構使之成為最終主宰化身的“天”的形象與我們將之解釋為宇宙論整體的“天”并非不一致?！疤臁弊鳛槠浯砣恕疤熳印钡氖甲媾c其子孫后代有著內在的關系。生身之父活著是兒子的楷模，死后亦對其眷顧和保護。而子輩則成為祖先精神的化身和延續。他們彼此關聯，彼此詮釋。“天”作為統治者與他的“帝國”有種比擬關系，統治者就是他的“帝國”（或其“命”），而“帝國”也正是統治者。

（《通過孔子而思》，第255—256頁）

The projection of the classical Chinese feudal structure on to t'ien , making it the ultimate ruler, is not inconsistent with our explanation of t'ien as the cosmological whole. T'ien as primitive ancestor of his deputy, the “son of t'ien ,” has an intrinsic relationship with his progeny. The father is the source and model of the son in life, and his counsel and guardian in death. The offspring, for his part, is the psychophysical embodiment and continuation of his progenitor. They are correlatives, requiring each other for explanation. T'ien as ruler has an analogous relationship with his empire. The ruler is his “empire” (or“command”), and the “empire” is the ruler.

( Thinking Through Confucius, pp. 206-207)

“天”作為規定中國人的精神性的核心觀念，不能解釋為一個超越的范疇，……〔這一觀念的〕英文翻譯，如“Heaven”、“Providence”（意為天意、天命、天公、上帝），或“God”（意為上帝）顯然會造成誤解?，F在我們要進而討論“道”，它對于理解中國人的感悟方式同樣極其重要。我們將會發現，它與“天”一樣，也必須解釋為明顯非超越的觀念。此外，在西方尋找與中國的精神性相當的東西將引導我們聚焦于西方的神秘主義傳統，雖然我們對這一點將不加詳述。這是因為，就像我們在前面所說，有很好的理由相信，神秘體驗本身從根本上說是非超越的。

（《漢哲學思維的文化探源》，第252頁）

Tian , a central notion in defining Chinese spirituality, is not to be interpreted as a transcendent category…. English translations such as “Heaven,”“Providence,” or “God” are decidedly misleading. We shall now proceed to a discussion of dao 道， an equally fundamental notion for the understanding of the Chinese sensibility. We shall find that this notion, as well as tian, must be interpreted as distinctly nontranscendent. Further, though we shall not elaborate this point in any great detail, a search for Western counterparts to Chinese spirituality would lead to a focus upon the tradition of mysticism in the West. For, as we discussed above, there is good reason to believe that mystical experience is itself fundamentally nontranscendent.

(Thinking from the Han , p. 244)