我在早稻田大学教《论语》

左雯敏

2020 年8 月，我获得北京大学社会学博士学位，旋即东渡日本，担任早稻田大学国际教养学部讲师，从事社会学的教学与科研工作，如今已是第三年。

After obtaining my Ph.D. in Sociology from Peking University in August2020， I came to Japan and became a lecturer at the School of InternationalLiberal Studies， Waseda University， where I have been teaching andresearching sociology for three years.

我在早稻田大学开设了一门通识教育课程—“《论语》精读”。我和学生们一起细读《论语》原文，主要的阅读参考书包括宋代大儒朱熹的《四书章句集注》和《朱子语类》、明末大儒王夫之的《四书训义》，以及民国学者钱穆撰写的《论语新解》。在这门课上，我会要求学生手抄半部《论语》，希望学生逐字理解《论语》，并增强对《论语》的实体感受。此外，我要求学生任选《论语》中的一条原文进行详细讲解（包括翻译成英语或日语），并完成一篇读书报告（在夏目漱石的《心》和曹雪芹的《红楼梦》中任选一本）。这门课受到了学生的认可，选课人数从第一年的20 人提升到了第三年的60 人，六个学期一共有200 多人修过“《论语》精读”课。

I set up a general education course called “In-depth Study of The Analects，”where my students and I engage in close examination of the original text ofThe Analects， with the main references being Collected Commentaries on TheFour Books and Conversations between Zhu Xi and His Disciples written byZhu Xi， the renowned Song scholar， Interpretation of the Four Books by WangFuzhi， the famous Ming intellect， and New Interpretation of The Analects byQian Mu， a scholar in the period of the Republic of China. In this course， Irequire students to transcribe half of The Analects by hand， in the hope thatthey will gain a better understanding of the text and establish a more tangiblebond with the Chinese classics in this process. Additionally， students areasked to select a passage from The Analects for detailed analysis （includingtranslation from Chinese into English or Japanese）， as well as to submit a bookreview of either Kokoro by Natsume Soseki or Dream of the Red Chamber byCao Xueqin. This course has received very positive feedback， with enrollmentincreasing from 20 in the first year to 60 in the third year. In total， there areover 200 students who have taken the course over a span of six semesters.

開设“《论语》精读”课主要有以下三方面的考虑。第一，儒家思想对包括中日韩在内的东亚社会具有广泛而深远的影响。早大生以日本、中国和韩国学生居多，我希望《论语》中的智慧可以让更多的学生受益。第二，儒家思想诠释了关系社会的人伦之道和君子人格的修养之道，这对于我们理解东亚社会的性质和东亚人的身份认同具有重要的启发作用。身处全球化的现代社会，这种文化自觉的通识教育可以帮助现代人构造健康充实的精神世界。第三，从社会学研究的角度来说，通过“《论语》精读”将诞生于西欧工业时代的社会学与中国的儒家思想相结合，可以推动中国社会学向前发展。

The rationale for offering such a course is three-fold.Firstly， the Confucian philosophy has exerted a profoundand wide-ranging influence on East Asian societies，including China， Japan， and South Korea. Given thatthe majority of Waseda students come from these threecountries， I am eager to share the wisdom of Confuciuswith them. Secondly， the Confucian ideals shed light onethical principles within a relationship society and provideinsights into the cultivation of a junzi （gentleman）. Theseobservations can serve as important sources of inspirationfor our understanding of and identification with EastAsian societies. And I believe this course can help studentsdevelop a stronger cultural self-awareness， which is essentialfor building a healthier and more enriched inner worldin the modern era. Finally， by applying key sociologicaltheories that originated during the Industrial Era in WesternEurope to the interpretation of Confucian ideals， we aim tocontribute to the advancement of sociology in China.

從一般的学科分类而言，《论语》和儒学属于哲学学科的范畴，借由《论语》，我们可以把握儒家思想中那一整套具有东方特色的宇宙观、社会观、道德观、人生观和身体观等。在中国哲学研究的基础上，我们可以引入社会学的分析范式来进一步挖掘《论语》的价值。我举两个例子来说明如何从社会学的角度来研究《论语》。

The study of The Analects and Confucianism falls withinthe realm of philosophy. The Analects offers us an insightinto the systemic Confucian perspectives， with uniqueEastern features， on the cosmos， society， morality， life， andthe human body. Although it is a part of Chinese philosophy studies， we can also employ the analyticalparadigms of sociology to delve deeper into thesignificance of the text. Here， I would like toillustrate such an approach with two examples.

例一：让座。在不愿意给别人添麻烦的日本社会，让座并不常见。但是在中国，年轻人在公交车或地铁上给老年人让座是一项约定俗成的社会义务。给老人让座有两种行动逻辑：第一种，让座是尊敬老人、遵守礼貌的美德；第二种，想起自己年迈的父母或爷爷奶奶，希望也有人为他们让座。这两种行动逻辑达到了相似的效果。但是，第一种逻辑是道德教条，颇有“心灵鸡汤”的意味；第二种逻辑是“推己及人”，其基础是家庭伦理。基于家庭伦理的鲜活生命体验，从而激发出敬老孝老的仁敬之心，这样就把家庭伦理推到了家庭之外，这也就是儒家思想所说的“推己及人”。

Example 1： Offering One’s Seat. Offeringone’s seat to others is not a common practicein Japan， where people are often hesitant toinconvenience others. In contrast， in China， it is awell-established social obligation for the youngergeneration to give up their seats to the elderly on public transportation. This act can be attributedto either a display of proper manners and respect forthe elderly or a result of the elderly reminding theyoung people of their aged parents and grandparents，with the hope that their elderly family members canreceive similar kindness when in need. While bothmotivations lead to similar outcomes， the first one ismore of a “chicken-soup” moral teaching， whereas thesecond is grounded in family ethics. In the secondcase， personal experiences within one’s own familycultivate a genuine sense of respect and care for theelderly in society， thus extending ethical considerationsbeyond the immediate family. This demonstrates oneof Confucius’ ideals： tuiji-jiren （putting yourself inothers’ positions）.

例二：隔代抚养。在当前中国社会，隔代抚养（老年人帮助照顾年幼的孙子孙女，以减轻年轻夫妇的抚育压力）是一件很常见的事情，这在美国和日本却不常见。美国的老年人会觉得，即使已经年迈，自己依然是一个自由的个体，有自由的生活，不应该被绑定在子女的家庭事务之中。本质上，这是一个个体主义的行动逻辑。但是，日本的老年人会觉得，抚育子女是为人父母的责任，自己不能阻碍年轻夫妇履行为人父母的责任。从本质上说，这是一个加强“小家庭伦理”的关系主义逻辑，而不是像美国社会那样的注重个体权利的个体主义逻辑。注重家庭伦理的关系主义逻辑，与东亚社会的儒家思想，特别是“仁”的观念，有很密切的关联。

Example 2： Cross-Generational Child-Caring.Cross-generational child-caring， defined as grandparentscaring for children to alleviate young parents’ burdens，is common in contemporary China but rare in theUS or Japan. In the US， elderly individuals considerthemselves independent and not obliged to assistwith their children’s family responsibilities， reflectingan individualistic perspective. Conversely， in Japan，elderly individuals believe that they should not hinderyoung parents from fulfilling their parental duties，including childcare. Unlike the US view， whichemphasizes individual rights， the Japanese perspectiveis more centered on relationships and places a strongeremphasis on “family ethics”. This relationship-centeredlogic is influenced by the widespread Confucian ideals，particularly Ren （benevolence）， in East Asian societies.

实际上，我跟学生们的交流从课堂延伸到了课外。每周四下午课后，经常有学生到研究室来跟我讨论问题，然后一起吃晚饭，这似乎已经形成一个相对固定的“木曜会”。我经常组织学生（包括中国、日本、新加坡等国家的学生）爬山、聚餐或者做社会调查，比如我们在东京、埼玉、千叶、岩手、熊本等地都做过调查，参加过调查的早大学生有50 人左右。此外，还有一些选过我“《论语》精读”课，然后去中国（如北京大学、香港中文大学、台湾大学等）交换、读双学位或读研的日本学生，我从他们的反馈中获悉，“《论语》精读”课对他们理解中国社会和中国人的行为逻辑起到了重要的作用。

My interaction with the students extends beyondthe classroom. Every Thursday afternoon， my studentsvisit my office after class， and we engage in discussionsand often have dinner together. We fondly refer to thisas our “regular Thursday gathering.” Additionally， Ioften arrange a variety of activities， including hiking，group meals， and social surveys， for my studentsfrom different countries such as China， Japan， andSingapore. So far， about 50 Waseda students haveparticipated in my survey trips to various locations，such as Tokyo， Saitama， Chiba， Iwate， and Kumamoto.I also know Japanese students who， after taking mycourse， pursued opportunities at universities in China，such as Peking University， The Chinese University of Hong Kong， and National Taiwan University. Theyembarked on journeys as exchange students， pursued asecond undergraduate degree， or undertook graduatestudies. Through their feedback， I am glad to learn thattheir study of The Analects has played an irreplaceablerole in enhancing their understanding of Chinesesociety and the logic behind typical Chinese behaviors.

儒家圣賢孟子曾经说过，“得天下英才而教育之”。早稻田大学是一所国际化水平非常高的大学，来自世界各地的优秀学生汇聚于此。在早大教《论语》，让我找到了“得天下英才而教育之”的乐趣，也鞭策我不断提高自己的教学和科研水平。

Mencius， the esteemed Confucian sage， onceextolled the joy of “having all the talented individualsand educating them.” Given that Waseda Universityis an internationally renowned institution whereoutstanding students from across the world gather inpursuit of knowledge， I have the honor of sharing thephilosopher’s joy through my teaching of The Analects.This experience has also motivated me to continuouslyimprove my teaching and research capabilities.