本文围绕人性论、政治哲学、经子关系、经典诠释等四个主题，对孟子哲学在两汉的展开与诠释进行整体性的研究。就人性论而言，汉代诸子对孟子人性论颇为注目。与孟子阐扬“仁义礼智”的性善论不同，汉儒立足于“性情善恶”或“性有品级”的立场，或对孟子有所批评，或从不同侧面吸收了孟子的思想。孟子性善论在两汉并未成为主流人性论思想，却为汉儒人性论的发展提供了重要助益。就政治哲学而言，政治权力的正当性、王霸之辨、义利之辨、制度建构、人伦、士人精神与君臣观等孟子政治哲学中的核心问题均在汉代产生过影响。一方面，两汉有大批统治者、思想家汲取、转化甚至改造了孟子思想，使之适应汉帝国政治发展的需要，也使得孟子哲学以不同的样态作用于现实政治生活。另一方面，孟子思想中的道义性、理想性色彩又对汉代政治生活起到了重要的价值引领与问题纠偏的作用。就经子关系而言，《孟子》在两汉时期被视为“诸子传记”之属，地位低于《五经》，但是又作为“翼经之传”，与两汉经学频繁呈现出“经子互动”的局面。经师不仅援引《孟子》以明事，更援引《孟子》以明经义。在经典诠释方面，随着章句之学的发展成熟，东汉后期出现了一批注解《孟子》的著作，赵岐《孟子章句》是其中的代表。赵岐注不仅是唯一完整保存至今的汉代《孟子》古注，尤其在诠释《孟子》的过程中汲取并总结了大量汉代的典型思想，代表着汉儒诠释与理解《孟子》的范式，具有重要的孟学史价值。两汉属于孟学发展的“起步阶段”。经由汉代思想家群体的继承与损益，为《孟子》在当时的传播，以及在后世地位的提升奠定了坚实基础。两汉时期孟子哲学不仅为士大夫乃至下层知识分子所广泛阅读与讨论，还出现了众多诠解《孟子》的注家，孟子的人格精神亦影响深远。如果将孟子哲学纳入更宏阔的历史背景审视，可以发现唐宋时期孟子地位逐步“升格”固然有其外部助缘；但是就孟学自身的演进脉络而言，孟子哲学中内圣与外王的面向会随着时代变化，以不同形式、不同侧重彰显出来，并且随着孟子哲学的普及、注释的丰富、讨论的累积，孟子学的发展是必然的。两汉孟学既有一定独特性，又融入到孟学发展的漫漫长河之中，诚然不宜忽视。
Mencius, a Chinese Confucian philosopher, has been normally deemed as “second Sage “after only Confucius himself. Mencius’ ideas have played a significant part in orthodox Chinese philosophy because it has been deeply influential from early Qin Dynasty to the contemporary China. However, study into Mencius at the period from early Qin Dynasty to Song Dynasty has been rather insufficient, is relatively scarce. To be specific, research into Mencius in both the Western Han and the Later Han Dynasty when his perspectives made a prolonged and profound impact on Chinese traditional culture. Mencius and his philosophical views have witnessed undulations through generations, with the huge predominance at the peak and the long-term lack of attention at the trough. This paper examines the development and the literary discourse of Mencius’ theories in Han Dynasty form four aspects including the belief of human nature, political philosophy, relationships between Chinese Classical Studies and The Hundred Schools of Thought, and hermeneutics.Concerning human nature, scholars in Han Dynasty interpreted Mencius’ perspectives differently from the key belief of innate goodness, which are Ren(benevolence), Yi(righteousness), Li (ritual propriety) and Zhi (wisdom), by asserting “good nature and evil emotion” , also known as “classification of nature”. They held mixed views about Mencius by criticising some theories and accepting some in another manner. Overall, innately good human nature was not the mainstream opinion at that time but contributed tremendously to defining the human nature, thus fuelling immensely the interpretation of human nature in the two given periods.As for political philosophy, core topics in Mencius’ philosophical system all had broad-ranging and significant effects in those dynasties, ranging from legitimacy of power, differences between benevolent governance and hegemony and trade-off between justice and short-term interests, from political system, interpersonal relationship, scholar-official spirit and relation between emperor and minister. For one thing, many rulers and thinkers during the periods assimilated and even adjusted Mencius’ ideas to the practical politics then. For another, the rationality in his theories detached him from real political life, and properly guided and rectify some social values. Compared with Xunzi who dominated the political life in both dynasties with proprieties and law and was more powerful in reality, Mencius generally guided and recalibrated the society in ideology. In terms of relationships between Chinese Classical Studies and The Hundred Schools of Thought, Mencius, as one of the most accomplished pieces in The Hundred Schools of Thought, surprisingly interacted frequently with Chinese Classical Studies, although inferior to Chinese Classical Studies. Scholars referred to Mencius not only to reason but also interpret the classics. To be specific, scholars on Chinese Classical Studies regularly cited Mencius when interpreting Classic of Poetry and “Three Rites (Rites of Zhou, Book of Etiquette and Ceremonial and Book of Rites)”. What’s more, philosophers including Dong Zhongshu inherited and furthered ideas in Chunqiu (or The Spring and Autumn Annals) by Mencius.As for hermeneutics, a great many of books interpreting Mencius poured in when the discourse analysis of Confucianism was gradually fledged, among which was Mencius Chapters by Zhao Qi. This book is of great academic value not only because it has been the solely intact version of hermeneutic Mencius in Han Dynasty but also because it is the summation of the monumental theories at that time, including the Confucian ethical code, “ Confucius as the Most Holy” idea, Celestial induction (the interaction between haven and man). Mencius ideology was inherited and developed as a preliminary phase in both the Western Han and the Later Han Dynasty. On the one hand, the interpretation of Mencius’ philosophy by scholars in both periods improved the Mencius’ popularity and status. On the other hand, the Mencius ideology impacted the public at that time when Mencius was widely and frequently read, discussed, and interpreted. If included in a longer historical background, Mencius’ philosophy gradually "upgraded" during the Tang and Song Dynasties despite many external reasons. However, in terms of its own development and improvement, Mencius’ philosophy has changed with the times with its ideas more popular and annotations richer, so Mencius philosophy is inevitable. In short, Mencius was outstanding but also integral to the long course of history, which should not be ignored.
