从《尚书》的记载理解“天”与“神”的关系 = Understanding 天(Heaven) and 神(Deity) from the records of 《尚书》

• Main Author: 何彦理 Ho, Seth Yenriel
• Other Authors: Park So Jeong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: Chinese
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66081
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

先秦时代“天”和“神”在古人社会里都占有特别的地位。不少思想家都提供了许多对“天”和“神”单独的解释，也给“天人”之间的关系许多不同的解释。对于“神”这个字的解释显得比较复杂。不同时代的思想家对“神“这个概念都各有自己独特的解释。对于“神”要如何去理解的问题，也产生了很多不同的看法，经历复杂的演变过程。要意识到“天”和“神”究竟是什么，就必须理解两者的本质。《尚书》就明确记载了夏，商，周三代的古人如何以思想以及行为待“天”和“神”。《尚书》分为《虞书》，《夏书》，《商书》和《周书》，是最早的皇室文献，记载了三代君王的行迹和话语。《尚书》通过对君王的记载，表现出“天”与“神”对人类社会的影响。此外，《尚书》也描述了三代古人对“天”和“神”的理解。利用《尚书》对夏，商和周时代的记载，也能够观察到“天”和“神”在经过三代演变后的异同之处，并且依据古人对天与神的看待并且了解到两者到底是有什么样的关系。In the Pre-Qin period, 天 (tien) and神 (shen) have a special place in ancient Chinese culture. Many philosophers of that period have provided their own unique interpretations of the words 天( heaven) and 神 ( deity), and have drawn their own conclusions about the relationship between humans and these two types of supernatural beings. With regards to the term (deity), the explanations are more complicated, and the different philosophers from different eras have come to their own unique definition for the word. There also varying opinions as to how it should be understood, as the meaning of the word 神(deity) does seem to change with the times. In order to gain an understanding of the terms 天(heaven) and 神(deity), it is essential to understand the origins of these two terms.《尚书》(Shang shu) is a piece of ancient literature which records the thought and treatment of (heaven) and (deity). It comprises of four parts, 《虞书》(yu shu), 《夏书》(xia shu), 《商书》(shang shu) and 《周书》(zhou shu) and it is the earliest records of royalty in ancient China. It is mainly a record of the words of the ruler and the debates in the royal court. Through these political records, it is possible to examine how 天(heaven) and 神(deity) influences the human society. Apart from this, it also depicts how the ancient Chinese understood the two terms. Using this ancient text record, it is also possible to see how the meanings of 天(heaven) and 深(deity) have changed throughout the Pre Qin period. By examining the treatment accorded to them by the ancient Chinese, we can then grasp an understanding of the relationship between the two kinds of beings.