试论“中庸之道”的历史渊源及发展演变
The Historical Origin and Development of the “Golden Mean”

“中庸之道”是孔孟思想中重要的组成部分。孔子认为“中庸”要“执其两端”，勿失公允处理事情。孟子引入“权”的思想完善“中庸之道”，主张权衡、灵活地分析事物。程子将“中庸”上升为世间定理，朱子则对“中庸”的概念做了更直观的阐释，他指出“中庸”便是做事要避免“过”与“不及”。在古代，封建王朝以“中庸”思想维持君臣关系，乾隆帝的治国理政也体现出“中庸”思想的实践运用。到了近代，一批知识分子为建设新社会，对“中庸”思想的价值进行了重新评估，出现了两种截然不同的态度，一种观点认为“中庸”思想即为社会公正与平等，应推崇弘扬，另一种观点指出“中庸”是落后的思想，是变相的折衷主义，理应抛弃。进入现代后至20世纪80年代左右，学界大多将“中庸”思想视作折衷主义，80年代后，学界重新反思“中庸”思想的现实价值，指出其是构建和谐社会的重要因素。可见，“中庸”思想的内涵在历史长河中不断丰富，对中国的发展进程产生了重要的影响。
The “golden mean” is an important part of the thinking of Confucius and Mencius. According to Confucius, “the golden mean” is to “hold both ends of the spectrum” and not to be unfair in dealing with things. Mencius introduced the idea of “balance” to perfect the “golden mean”, advocating weighing and analysing things flexibly. Chengzi elevated “the golden mean” to a theorem of the world; while Zhuzi made a more intuitive interpretation of the concept of “the golden mean”, pointing out that “the golden mean” means to avoid “too much” and “too little” in doing things. He pointed out that “mediocrity” means to avoid doing things “too much” and “not enough”. In ancient times, feudal dynasties used the “golden mean” to maintain the relationship between ruler and minister, and the governance of Emperor Qianlong also reflected the practical application of the “golden mean”. In modern times, a group of intellectuals, in order to build a new society, reassessed the value of the “golden mean” idea, and two distinct attitudes emerged. The other viewpoint pointed out that the “golden mean” was a backward idea, a disguised form of eclecticism, and should be abandoned. After entering the modern era until the 1980s, most of the academics regarded the “golden mean” as eclecticism. After the 1980s, the academics rethink the realistic value of the “golden mean”, pointing out that it is an important factor in the construction of a harmonious society. It can be seen that the connotation of the “golden mean” has been continuously enriched in the course of history, and has had an important impact on the process of China’s development.