經典詮釋與技藝: 論「游於藝」對經典教育之啟迪

Today in Taiwan, it is so much urgent for us to search for the answers to the questions of how to interpreting classics. This urgency springs from two interacting sources. One is the ‘ Crisis of Meaning ’ , which lasts until now as its first appearance in the wane of Ching Dynasty; the other is possibly the development of modern democratic society. The latter can be analyzed further into two dimensions : one is a very particular phenomenon the modern vulgar mass culture brings about and the other is a ‘ community of hatred’ found in Taiwan society. The best way to resolve the above mentioned crisis, in my opinion, is to question the classics. Essentially this questioning is not just to pose an objective question, but ,most importantly, to do it when realizing one as an authentic being . It is this process of ever lasting questioning that brings us to the quest for the true meaning of ‘ Yu-yu-i, ’ by which plus ‘ Zh dao ’ （ 志道 ） , ‘ Jyu de ’ （ 據德 ） , ‘ I ren ’ （ 依仁 ） , an Confucian ideal man of complete virtues is attained. Besides, Zhu xi( 朱熹 ) had ever connected ‘ Yu yu I’ with ‘ Xing yu shih ’ ( 興於詩 ), ‘ L i yu li ’ （ 立於禮 ） , and ‘ Chen yu yue ’ （ 成於樂 ） and tried to interpret all these four as a whole. What Chu Hsi had done provides a thoughtful insight for our quest here. It is that ‘ Xing yu shih ’ ( 興於詩 ), ‘ Li yu li ’ （ 立於禮 ） , and ‘ Chen yu yue ’ （ 成於樂 ） provide us with an community of common rules and institutions, and ‘ Zh dao ’ （ 志道 ） , ‘ Jyu de ’ （ 據德 ） , ‘ I ren ’ （ 依仁 ） , and ‘ Iou yu i ’ （ 游於藝 ） , all of them cultivate our power of judgment through the daily practice. And behind this power of judgment stands a ‘ sense of fullness ’ with which we can make sure our sociality and interaction with others. Lastly ‘ Shih ’ （ 詩 ） , and ‘ Li ’ （ 禮 ） can be merged into ‘ Yue ’ （ 樂 ） . What this means is that the community we just referred to is a ‘ community of language. ’ So this brings us to our conclusion that what the education of classics intends to do is build up an ‘ community of language, ’ which pivots upon ‘ Shih ’ （ 詩 ） , and ‘ Li ’ （ 禮 ） . This we hope can be the cure for the sickness caused by the ‘ community of hatred’ found in today ’ s society of Taiwan.