“四民同道”与“士商合流”——以晚明“儒”“商”融合为中心的考察

The “People of the Four Classes Sharing the Same Way” and the “Merging of Scholarship and Commerce”—An Examination Centred on the Integration of Confucianism and Commerce in the Late Ming Dynasty

摘要: “儒商”一词诞生于经济变动频繁的晚明，既有深刻的思想史背景，又有复杂的社会发展原因。一方面，心学完成了儒家思想对“天理”“人欲”藩篱之突破，在肯定欲望的先天性的同时，将儒家“修己”之路向商人敞开。另一方面，商品经济发展，商人地位提高，促使其在精神追求与道德实践上向士人靠拢，加强与儒生的联系。正是在上层的思想界与下层的生活界相互渗透的大背景下，“商贾”完成了儒化，实现商业伦理与儒家道德的合一。

Abstract: This study explores the concept of “Confucianism and Commerce”, which emerged during the late Ming Dynasty, a period marked with frequent economic changes, influenced by a deep intellectual history and complex social development reasons. On the one hand, the study of the human mind facilitated the breakthrough of Confucianism beyond the limitations of “heavenly principles” and “human desires”, thus paving the way for merchants to adopt Confucianism as a means of “self-cultivation”, all while acknowledging the inherent nature of human desires. Furthermore, the growth of the commodity economy and the enhancement of merchant’s social status prompted them to come closer to the scholars in terms of spiritual pursuits and moral practices while strengthening their connections with the Confucians. In the context of the overlap between the intellectual world and the world of commerce, merchants achieved a Confucianisation, and this made them unify the principles of business ethics and Confucian morality.