哲学动态

“天下”是中国古代政治论说中的特有观念，含义复杂多样。《老子》文本中的“天下”主要有三种含义。第一义是至大的地理空间，即“天地之间”。“天下”是万物存在的空间，也为万物的生成提供空间和条件。第二义是“天地万物之全体”,是无形之“道”所生成的有形之“物”。第三义是无外的政治共同体，作为“政治共同体”的“天下”不仅是人的集合体，而且可以囊括“物”的世界，是“天地万物之全体”在政治视域中的体现。《老子》及道家的“天下”观念涉及道与天、道与物、天地与万物的关系，其“天下观”并不限于政治话题之内。

Tianxia is a unique concept in ancient Chinese political discourse, with complex and diverse meanings.However, current academic research on the meaning of tianxia still focuses on its historical context of the Confucian understanding of the concept. Separate from this, Laozi maintained Dao as the source and foundation of all things. In his ideological system, the meaning, status, and role of tian have undergone important changes that reflect his view of the concept with its own characteristics. Clarifying the meaning of tianxia in the text of Laozi is a prerequisite for exploring his view of tianxia, and it can also enrich the understanding of the concept in ancient China.There are three separate meanings of tianxia in the text of Laozi. First,tianxia is used as a geographical concept, referring to the space between heaven and earth where all things exist. Laozi emphasizes that Dao exists before the birth of heaven and earth and is their source. This implies that Dao gave birth to them, with all other things generated afterwards. Heaven and earth provide not only the field where all things are generated but also the continuous power and conditions for their creation. In this sense,tianxia can be used to qualify all people, events, and things by referring to them generally as that which exists between heaven and earth. By extension and abstraction,tianxia can further refer to all things whatsoever including heaven and earth themselves.This leads to the second meaning of tianxia, which refers to the entirety of all tangible things generated by the intangible Dao. In the text of Laozi, both “the ten thousand things” （万物） and “things”（物） can refer to the totality of “things” born from Dao. The term “ten thousand things” denotes differentiated and specific entities, while “ things” can also refer to the unformed state between Dao and specific tangible entities.Furthermore, even Dao itself is sometimes referred to as a “thing”.Tianxia is more often regarded as a political concept with reference to a political community. From this perspective, the third meaning of tianxia refers to the territory ruled by the Zhou dynasty's emperor, which has boundaries. However, in Laozi's philosophy, the territory of this political community of tianxia has no specific boundaries and can extend to all the earth under heaven. It can be said that tianxia is a political community without limits. As a political community,tianxia is not only a collection of people, but also includes the world of all things, embodying the second meaning of tianxia from a political perspective. As the object of governance,tianxia is actually the “entirety of all things”.The three meanings of the concept of tianxia were inherited by the Zhuangzi school and Huang-Lao Daoism, leading to various further developments of the Daoist view of tianxia. The concept of tianxia in Laozi,and in Daoism more generally, involves the relationships between Dao and Heaven,Dao and things, and Heaven and all things. In sum, the Daoist view of tianxia is not confined to political topics.