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1、•••5•••SPIRITUALDIMENSIONS:THEDOCTRINEOFTHEMEANTHEDoctrineoftheMeanandtheGreatLearningareoftenmentionedtogether.BothconstituteachapterintheLichi(BookofRites)andwereselectedbyChuHsi(1130-1200)toformthe"FourBooks"withtheAnalectsandtheBookofMencius.BothbecameClassicsandbasictextsforcivilservice
2、examinationsfrom1313until1905.BothexertedtremendousinfluenceinChinainthelasteighthundredyears,especiallyonNeo-Confucianism,whichlookedtothemastwooftheirmainsourcesofinspiration.Buttheyaredifferentinmanyways.TheGreatLearningdealswithsocialandpoliticalmatters,whiletheDoctrineoftheMeanisadiscou
3、rseonpsychologyandmetaphysics.TheGreatLearningdiscussesthemindbutnothumannature,whereaswiththeDoctrineoftheMeantheoppositeistrue.1TheGreatLearningempha-sizesmethodandprocedure,whereastheDoctrineoftheMeanconcen-tratesonreality.TheGreatLearningisgenerallyrationalintone,buttheDoctrineoftheMeani
4、sreligiousandmystical.ItcomesveryclosetothemoremysticalaspectoftheBookofMencius,andseveralpassagesarealmostidenticalinthetwoworks.2EvenbeforethisClassicattractedtheNeo-Confucianists,itssubtledoctrineshadstrongappealtobothTaoistsandBuddhists.Fromthefourthtotheeleventhcentury,TaoistandBuddhist
5、scholarswrotecom-mentariesonit,andoneBuddhistmonkintheeleventhcenturycalledhimselfbythenameofthebook.ItformedabridgebetweenTaoismandBuddhismandtheConfucianschoolandinthiswaypreparedfortheinfluenceofBuddhismandTaoismonConfucianism,thususher-ingintheNeo-Confucianmovement.WhatattractedtheTaoist
6、s,Buddhists,andtheNeo-Confucianistswerethetwomainsubjectsofthebook,theverysubjectsonwhichConfucius'pupils"couldnothearhisviews,"3namely,humannatureandtheWayofHeaven.Humannature,endowedbyHeaven,isrevealedthroughthestatesofequilibriumandharmony,whicharethemselvesthe"conditionoftheworld"andthe"
7、universalpath."TheWayofHeaventranscendstime,space,substance,andmotion,andisatthesametimeunceasing,eternal,andevident.1Theword"nature"appearsonlyonceintheGreatLearning(ch.10)andtheword"mind"isnotfoundinTheMeanatall,exceptinChuHsi'sandCh'engI'sremark
