学为圣贤到圣贤气象：程朱理学"圣贤气象"的义理建构与《大学》八条目修养路径
"圣贤气象"是宋明理学（Song-Ming Lixue, 宋明理学，宋明时期以"理"为核心的儒家哲学流派）中一个极具特色的道德修养命题。二程（Ercheng, 二程，程颢与程颐兄弟）首倡"观圣贤气象"（guan shengxian qixiang, 观圣贤气象，观照与体悟圣贤的道德人格风貌），朱熹（Zhu Xi, 朱熹，南宋理学集大成者）承其绪而拓展之，将"圣贤气象"（shengxian qixiang, 圣贤气象，圣贤所呈现的道德气度与精神风貌）与《大学》（Daxue, 大学，儒家"四书"之一，阐发"三纲领八条目"的修养经典）八条目（ba tiaomu, 八条目，格物、致知、诚意、正心、修身、齐家、治国、平天下的修养次第）的践履次第相贯通，构建了一套从"学为圣贤"（xue wei shengxian, 学为圣贤，以圣贤为目标的道德学习与修养）到"成就圣贤气象"的完整修养体系。钱穆（Qian Mu, 钱穆，二十世纪中国思想史家）在《朱子新学案》（Zhuzi Xinxue'an, 朱子新学案，钱穆研究朱熹学术思想的专著）中以"实学"（shixue, 实学，注重切实践履的学术精神）精神重构朱子学，指出"圣贤气象"绝非悬空想象的审美境界，而是必须通过切实工夫（gongfu, 工夫，道德修养的实践努力）、步步践履方能达至的人格成就。本文以"学为圣贤"为锚点，以达至圣贤道德修养境域为目标，沿《大学》八条目次第展开，深度解析"圣贤气象"的义理内涵、修养路径与当代价值，回答"何以是圣贤气象"与"如何成就圣贤气象"两个根本问题。
The "Sage-Like Persona" (shengxian qixiang, 圣贤气象, the moral bearing and spiritual aura manifested by sages and worthies) is a distinctive proposition of moral cultivation in Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism (Song-Ming Lixue, 宋明理学, the Confucian philosophical tradition centered on "Principle" that flourished from the Song through the Ming dynasty). The Cheng brothers (Ercheng, 二程, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi) first advocated "observing the Sage-Like Persona" (guan shengxian qixiang, 观圣贤气象, contemplating and internalizing the moral demeanor of sages), and Zhu Xi (朱熹, the great Southern Song synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism) inherited and expanded their teaching, integrating it with the practical sequence of the Eight Steps (ba tiaomu, 八条目) in The Great Learning (Daxue, 大学, one of the Confucian Four Books that articulates the "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Eight Steps" of cultivation)—investigating things, extending knowledge, making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—thereby constructing a complete system of cultivation from "learning to be a sage" (xue wei shengxian, 学为圣贤) to "attaining the Sage-Like Persona." In New Studies on Zhu Xi (Zhuzi Xinxue'an, 朱子新学案), Qian Mu (钱穆, the eminent twentieth-century historian of Chinese thought) reconstructed Zhu Xi's learning through the spirit of "practical learning" (shixue, 实学), arguing that the Sage-Like Persona is by no means an abstract aesthetic realm of imagination, but a moral achievement that can only be reached through concrete cultivation effort (gongfu, 工夫) and step-by-step practice. Taking "learning to be a sage" as its anchor and the moral realm of the sages as its goal, this paper unfolds along the sequence of the Eight Steps, deeply analyzing the conceptual meaning, cultivation path, and contemporary value of the Sage-Like Persona, and answering two fundamental questions: "What does it mean to speak of the Sage-Like Persona?" and "How does one attain the Sage-Like Persona?"
学为圣贤到圣贤气象：
程朱理学"圣贤气象"的义理建构
与《大学》八条目修养路径
From Learning to Be a Sage to the Sage-Like Persona: The Philosophical Construction of the “Sage-Like Persona” in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the Cultivation Path of the Eight Steps in The Great Learning
"圣贤气象"是宋明理学（Song-Ming Lixue, 宋明理学，宋明时期以"理"为核心的儒家哲学流派）中一个极具特色的道德修养命题。二程（Ercheng, 二程，程颢与程颐兄弟）首倡"观圣贤气象"（guan shengxian qixiang, 观圣贤气象，观照与体悟圣贤的道德人格风貌），朱熹（Zhu Xi, 朱熹，南宋理学集大成者）承其绪而拓展之，将"圣贤气象"（shengxian qixiang, 圣贤气象，圣贤所呈现的道德气度与精神风貌）与《大学》（Daxue, 大学，儒家"四书"之一，阐发"三纲领八条目"的修养经典）八条目（ba tiaomu, 八条目，格物、致知、诚意、正心、修身、齐家、治国、平天下的修养次第）的践履次第相贯通，构建了一套从"学为圣贤"（xue wei shengxian, 学为圣贤，以圣贤为目标的道德学习与修养）到"成就圣贤气象"的完整修养体系。钱穆（Qian Mu, 钱穆，二十世纪中国思想史家）在《朱子新学案》（Zhuzi Xinxue'an, 朱子新学案，钱穆研究朱熹学术思想的专著）中以"实学"（shixue, 实学，注重切实践履的学术精神）精神重构朱子学，指出"圣贤气象"绝非悬空想象的审美境界，而是必须通过切实工夫（gongfu, 工夫，道德修养的实践努力）、步步践履方能达至的人格成就。本文以"学为圣贤"为锚点，以达至圣贤道德修养境域为目标，沿《大学》八条目次第展开，深度解析"圣贤气象"的义理内涵、修养路径与当代价值，回答"何以是圣贤气象"与"如何成就圣贤气象"两个根本问题。
The "Sage-Like Persona" (shengxian qixiang, 圣贤气象, the moral bearing and spiritual aura manifested by sages and worthies) is a distinctive proposition of moral cultivation in Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism (Song-Ming Lixue, 宋明理学, the Confucian philosophical tradition centered on "Principle" that flourished from the Song through the Ming dynasty). The Cheng brothers (Ercheng, 二程, Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi) first advocated "observing the Sage-Like Persona" (guan shengxian qixiang, 观圣贤气象, contemplating and internalizing the moral demeanor of sages), and Zhu Xi (朱熹, the great Southern Song synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism) inherited and expanded their teaching, integrating it with the practical sequence of the Eight Steps (ba tiaomu, 八条目) in The Great Learning (Daxue, 大学, one of the Confucian Four Books that articulates the "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Eight Steps" of cultivation)—investigating things, extending knowledge, making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world—thereby constructing a complete system of cultivation from "learning to be a sage" (xue wei shengxian, 学为圣贤) to "attaining the Sage-Like Persona." In New Studies on Zhu Xi (Zhuzi Xinxue'an, 朱子新学案), Qian Mu (钱穆, the eminent twentieth-century historian of Chinese thought) reconstructed Zhu Xi's learning through the spirit of "practical learning" (shixue, 实学), arguing that the Sage-Like Persona is by no means an abstract aesthetic realm of imagination, but a moral achievement that can only be reached through concrete cultivation effort (gongfu, 工夫) and step-by-step practice. Taking "learning to be a sage" as its anchor and the moral realm of the sages as its goal, this paper unfolds along the sequence of the Eight Steps, deeply analyzing the conceptual meaning, cultivation path, and contemporary value of the Sage-Like Persona, and answering two fundamental questions: "What does it mean to speak of the Sage-Like Persona?" and "How does one attain the Sage-Like Persona?"
一、引言 / Introduction
"圣贤气象"作为宋明理学中一个深具原创性的道德修养命题，所关涉的并非抽象的概念推演，而是儒家"学为圣贤"这一根本宗旨在人格实践层面的具体落实。在儒家传统中，"学"从来不是单纯的知识积累，而是以人格转化为核心的生命实践；"圣贤"也并非遥不可及的神话人物，而是人人可学、可至的道德理想。然而，圣贤究竟是何种气象？学者又当通过何种路径去成就此气象？这两个问题构成了宋明理学家反复思索的核心议题。
The "Sage-Like Persona" stands as one of the most original propositions of moral cultivation in Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism. It concerns not abstract conceptual deduction, but the concrete realization at the level of personal practice of the fundamental Confucian aim of "learning to be a sage." In the Confucian tradition, "learning" has never meant mere accumulation of knowledge; it is a life-praxis centered on personal transformation. Nor are "sages and worthies" mythological figures beyond reach—they represent a moral ideal that every person can learn and attain. Yet what manner of persona do the sages embody? And by what path may a learner cultivate such a persona? These two questions constitute the core issues to which Song-Ming Neo-Confucian thinkers repeatedly returned.
二程兄弟在北宋儒学复兴运动中首次明确揭橥"观圣贤气象"的修养法门，将学者的目光从章句训诂引向对圣贤人格整体风貌的直观与体悟。朱熹继而以其宏大的理论综合能力，将这一命题与《大学》八条目所揭示的修养次第严密对接，使"圣贤气象"不再停留于审美性的赞叹，而成为有阶梯、有方法、可践履、可验证的修养目标。降至近现代，钱穆先生以"实学"精神重新解读朱子学，特别强调"圣贤气象"背后所蕴含的切实工夫品格，为我们理解这一命题提供了重要的方法论启示。
During the Confucian revival of the Northern Song, the Cheng brothers first explicitly articulated the cultivation method of "observing the Sage-Like Persona," directing the learner's gaze from philological exegesis toward the intuitive apprehension and internalization of the holistic demeanor of the sage. Zhu Xi subsequently deployed his formidable synthetic powers to align this proposition rigorously with the cultivation sequence set forth in the Eight Steps of The Great Learning, thereby transforming the "Sage-Like Persona" from an object of aesthetic admiration into a cultivation goal with discernible stages, methods, practices, and verification. In the modern era, Qian Mu reinterpreted Zhu Xi's thought through the lens of "practical learning," emphasizing in particular the concrete, effortful character underlying the Sage-Like Persona—an insight that offers crucial methodological guidance for our own understanding.
本文的核心关切在于：以"学为圣贤"为根本出发点，沿《大学》八条目由内而外、由近及远的践履次第，系统阐释"圣贤气象"的义理内涵与成就路径，并进而探讨其在当代跨文化语境中的思想价值。全文围绕"何以是圣贤气象"与"如何成就圣贤气象"两个根本问题展开，力求在坚守中国哲学固有义理脉络的同时，以国际学界可理解的学术语言传达这一命题所蕴含的深厚人文精神。
The central concern of this paper is to take "learning to be a sage" as its fundamental point of departure, and to follow the practical sequence of the Eight Steps—proceeding from the inner to the outer, from the near to the far—in order to systematically explicate the conceptual meaning and the path of attainment of the Sage-Like Persona, and further to explore its intellectual value in the contemporary cross-cultural context. The entire discussion revolves around two fundamental questions: "What does it mean to speak of the Sage-Like Persona?" and "How does one attain it?" It seeks to remain faithful to the inherent conceptual framework of Chinese philosophy while communicating the profound humanistic spirit embedded in this proposition in an academic language accessible to the international scholarly community.
二、圣贤气象的义理溯源与演进 / Conceptual Origin and Evolution
（一）二程"观圣贤气象"的首倡 / The Cheng Brothers' Initiative
北宋中期，面对佛老之学的强势冲击与汉唐经学的支离繁碎，程颢（Cheng Hao, 程颢，字伯淳，号明道，世称明道先生）与程颐（Cheng Yi, 程颐，字正叔，号伊川，世称伊川先生）兄弟以复兴先秦儒家之道为己任，开启了理学的基本规模。在修养论上，二程最为人称道的创发之一，便是提出"观圣贤气象"的为学宗旨。程颢尝言："学者不学圣人则已，若学之，当须观圣人气象。"此语将为学的目标直接指向对圣贤人格整体风貌的体认，而非对经典文字的记诵。
In the mid-Northern Song, confronted with the formidable challenge of Buddhist and Daoist learning and the fragmented pedantry of Han-Tang classical scholarship, the brothers Cheng Hao (程颢, courtesy name Bochun, known as Master Mingdao) and Cheng Yi (程颐, courtesy name Zhengshu, known as Master Yichuan) took it upon themselves to revive the Way of pre-Qin Confucianism and established the basic framework of Neo-Confucianism. In the realm of cultivation theory, one of their most admired innovations was the proposition of "observing the Sage-Like Persona" as the guiding aim of learning. Cheng Hao once remarked: "If a scholar is not going to learn from the sage, so be it; but if one is to learn, one must observe the persona of the sage." This statement directs the aim of learning straight toward the apprehension of the holistic demeanor of the sage, rather than toward the memorization of scriptural language.
guan shengxian qixiang：观圣贤气象 — "Observing the Sage-Like Persona." A Neo-Confucian cultivation method that calls upon the learner to contemplate, internalize, and gradually embody the integrated moral demeanor, deportment, and spiritual presence of the sages as recorded in classical texts and witnessed in exemplary lives. It is not a merely intellectual or aesthetic exercise, but a transformative practice in which the learner models the whole person of the sage.
在二程看来，"气象"一词所描述的，是一个人由内在德性充实而自然流露于外的整体精神风貌。它不同于具体的言行举止，也不同于抽象的道德规范，而是德性人格在言谈举止、应事接物之间的整体性呈现。程颢本人的气象即被时人誉为"如坐春风"，其温润和乐、从容不迫的人格魅力，正是"圣贤气象"在现实中的鲜活示范。程颐则以其刚方严毅的气象，展现了圣贤人格的另一面相。兄弟二人气象虽异，却共同昭示了"圣贤气象"并非单一的人格模板，而是德性在不同气质禀赋上的多样呈现。
For the Cheng brothers, the term "persona" (qixiang, 气象) describes the holistic spiritual bearing that flows naturally outward from a person's inner moral fullness. It is distinct from specific words and actions, and also from abstract moral norms; rather, it is the integrated manifestation of a virtuous character in speech, bearing, and the handling of affairs. Cheng Hao's own persona was praised by his contemporaries as "sitting in the spring breeze"—his gentle, joyful, and unhurried charisma served as a living demonstration of the Sage-Like Persona in reality. Cheng Yi, by contrast, embodied another facet of the sage's persona through his upright, rigorous, and austere bearing. Though the brothers' personas differed, they jointly demonstrated that the Sage-Like Persona is not a single template of personality, but the diverse manifestation of moral virtue upon differing temperamental endowments.
qixiang：气象 — "Persona" or "moral bearing." A key Neo-Confucian term referring to the integrated, perceptible spiritual aura and demeanor that emanates from a cultivated person. It encompasses the totality of one's moral character as expressed in posture, speech, expression, and conduct—an outward manifestation that cannot be reduced to any single action or rule. The term carries both aesthetic and moral dimensions, suggesting a harmonious unity of inner virtue and outward form.
更为重要的是，二程将"观圣贤气象"与"学为圣人"直接关联，确立了儒家修养的人格理想维度。在《论语》中，孔子（Kongzi, 孔子，名丘，字仲尼，儒家学派创始人）对尧舜等古圣的赞叹已含"观气象"之意，但将其提升为明确的修养方法论，则始于二程。这一创发的意义在于：它使儒家的道德学习超越了规则服从的层面，而成为对理想人格的直观、向往与内在化过程。学者在"观"的过程中，不仅是在认知圣贤的事迹，更是在以圣贤的生命形态为镜，照见自身德性的不足，并激发起转化自身的内在动力。
More importantly, the Cheng brothers directly linked "observing the Sage-Like Persona" with "learning to be a sage," thereby establishing the dimension of personal ideal in Confucian cultivation. In the Analects (Lunyu, 论语), Confucius' admiration for ancient sages such as Yao and Shun already implicitly contained the idea of "observing the persona," but it was the Cheng brothers who elevated it to an explicit methodology of cultivation. The significance of this innovation lies in its lifting Confucian moral learning beyond the level of rule-obedience, transforming it into a process of intuitive apprehension, aspiration, and internalization of the ideal personality. In the very act of "observing," the learner is not merely cognizing the deeds of the sages, but is using the sages' form of life as a mirror to reveal the deficiencies in his own virtue and to arouse the inner motivation for self-transformation.
（二）朱熹的拓展与体系化 / Zhu Xi's Expansion and Systematization
朱熹作为南宋理学的集大成者，对二程所开创的"圣贤气象"命题进行了系统性的拓展与深化。朱熹的贡献不仅在于对"圣贤气象"本身的义理阐释，更在于将其纳入一个以《大学》为核心的修养工夫体系之中，使之获得了坚实的方法论支撑。在朱熹看来，"圣贤气象"固然是学者所当向往的人格理想，但这一理想绝非可以通过顿悟或想象而获得，而必须经由《大学》八条目所揭示的次第工夫，逐步积累、层层推进，方能真实成就。
As the great synthesizer of Southern Song Neo-Confucianism, Zhu Xi systematically expanded and deepened the proposition of the "Sage-Like Persona" inaugurated by the Cheng brothers. His contribution lies not only in his conceptual explication of the Sage-Like Persona itself, but more significantly in his integration of it into a system of cultivation effort centered on The Great Learning, thereby endowing it with solid methodological support. For Zhu Xi, while the Sage-Like Persona is indeed the personal ideal toward which the learner should aspire, this ideal can by no means be attained through sudden enlightenment or imagination. Rather, it must be genuinely achieved through the sequential effort revealed by the Eight Steps of The Great Learning—through gradual accumulation and layer-by-layer advancement.
朱熹在《四书章句集注》（Sishu Zhangju Jizhu, 四书章句集注，朱熹为《大学》《论语》《孟子》《中庸》所作的集注，后世科举考试的标准解释）中，对《大学》"经一章"的注释明确指出："《大学》之书，古之大学所以教人之法也。"在他看来，《大学》所揭示的"三纲领八条目"，正是从"学为圣贤"到"成就圣贤气象"的完整路径。其中，"格物、致知"是知的工夫，"诚意、正心、修身"是行的工夫，"齐家、治国、平天下"则是德性推扩的外王层面。知行并进、内外交养，最终臻于圣贤气象。
In his Collected Commentaries on the Four Books (Sishu Zhangju Jizhu, 四书章句集注)—the authoritative commentary on The Great Learning, the Analects, the Mencius, and the Doctrine of the Mean that became the standard interpretation for the imperial examinations—Zhu Xi explicitly states in his annotation to the first chapter of The Great Learning: "The book of The Great Learning is the method by which the ancient great learning taught people." In his view, the "Three Cardinal Guidelines and Eight Steps" articulated in The Great Learning constitute the complete path from "learning to be a sage" to "attaining the Sage-Like Persona." Among them, "investigating things and extending knowledge" constitute the effort of knowing; "making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, and cultivating the person" constitute the effort of practice; and "regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world" represent the outer-king dimension of moral extension. Through the simultaneous advancement of knowledge and practice, and the mutual nurturing of inner and outer cultivation, one ultimately reaches the Sage-Like Persona.
Sishu Zhangju Jizhu：四书章句集注 — "Collected Commentaries on the Four Books." Zhu Xi's magisterial commentary on the Four Books, completed in its definitive form in 1190. It synthesized the commentaries of earlier Neo-Confucian thinkers with Zhu Xi's own interpretations and became the authoritative basis for the civil service examinations from the Yuan dynasty through the late Qing, profoundly shaping Chinese intellectual life for nearly seven centuries.
朱熹对"圣贤气象"的另一重要发展，是将其与"敬"（jing, 敬，贯穿始终的道德修养心态，含敬畏、专注、肃整之意）的工夫紧密结合。在《朱子语类》（Zhuzi Yulei, 朱子语类，朱熹讲学语录的分类汇编，由其弟子记录整理）中，朱熹多次强调："敬字工夫，乃圣门第一义，彻头彻尾，不可顷刻间断。"在他看来，"敬"是贯穿八条目始终的根本工夫，也是成就圣贤气象的内在保障。唯有居敬持志，方能在格物致知中不流于支离，在诚意正心中不陷于虚玄，在修齐治平中不堕于功利。
Another crucial development Zhu Xi made to the Sage-Like Persona was its close integration with the cultivation effort of "reverence" (jing, 敬). In the Classified Conversations of Master Zhu (Zhuzi Yulei, 朱子语类, the classified compilation of Zhu Xi's teaching discourses recorded by his disciples), he repeatedly emphasized: "The effort of reverence is the foremost teaching of the sage's gate; from beginning to end, it must not be interrupted for a single moment." In his view, reverence is the fundamental effort that runs through all Eight Steps, and it is also the inner guarantee for attaining the Sage-Like Persona. Only by maintaining reverence and holding fast to one's resolve can one avoid fragmentation in investigating things and extending knowledge, avoid empty mysticism in making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind, and avoid utilitarianism in cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.
jing：敬 — "Reverence." The central Neo-Confucian cultivation attitude, encompassing a sense of awe, focused attention, and moral seriousness. For Zhu Xi, jing is not mere emotional respect but a sustained, deliberate composure of mind that grounds all other cultivation practices. It is described as "the first principle of the sage's gate" and must be maintained without interruption from the beginning to the end of the cultivation journey. Jing functions as the unifying thread that prevents knowing from becoming scattered and practice from becoming utilitarian.
（三）钱穆"实学"精神的重构 / Qian Mu's Reconstruction through Practical Learning
近现代以来，对朱子学的理解常受两种倾向的影响：一则将其视为纯粹的思辨哲学，偏重其"理"（li, 理，宇宙万物的本体与准则，含规律、秩序、应当之义）论的形上建构；二则将其视为僵化的礼教意识形态，忽视其活的修养实践品格。钱穆先生在《朱子新学案》中对这两种倾向均有纠正，他以"实学"精神重新审视朱子学的全貌，特别揭示了朱熹思想中注重切实工夫、强调步步践履的核心面向。
In the modern period, the understanding of Zhu Xi's thought has often been influenced by two tendencies: one treats it as purely speculative philosophy, emphasizing the metaphysical construction of its theory of "Principle" (li, 理); the other dismisses it as a rigid ideological system of ritual propriety, overlooking its living character as cultivation practice. In New Studies on Zhu Xi, Qian Mu corrects both tendencies. Re-examining the full scope of Zhu Xi's thought through the spirit of "practical learning," he reveals in particular the core dimension of Zhu Xi's thinking that emphasizes concrete effort and step-by-step practice.
li：理 — "Principle" or "Pattern." The central metaphysical concept in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, referring to the immanent yet transcendent order, structure, and normative standard that governs all things. Li is both the ontological ground of existence and the moral principle of human conduct. It is universal and one, yet it manifests differentially in each concrete thing (the doctrine of "liyi fenshu," 理一分殊, "Principle is one, its manifestations are many"). Unlike a mere physical law, li carries an inherent normative dimension—it is not only what is but also what ought to be.
钱穆指出，朱子之学的根本精神在于"实"——实理、实心、实功、实效。"圣贤气象"在朱子那里，绝非悬空想象的审美境界，也非仅凭顿悟即可达至的神秘体验，而是必须通过今日格一物、明日格一物的积累工夫，通过诚意正心的省察（xingcha, 省察，自我反省与检察）工夫，通过修身齐家的实践工夫，方能真实呈现于人格之中的道德成就。钱穆的这一解读，为我们理解"圣贤气象"提供了关键的视角转换：从"看"圣贤气象，转向"做"圣贤气象；从静态的人格赞叹，转向动态的工夫历程。
Qian Mu points out that the fundamental spirit of Zhu Xi's learning lies in "concreteness"—concrete principle, concrete mind, concrete effort, concrete effect. For Zhu Xi, the Sage-Like Persona is by no means an abstract aesthetic realm of disembodied imagination, nor a mystical experience attainable through sudden enlightenment alone. Rather, it is a moral achievement that can only genuinely manifest in one's character through the cumulative effort of investigating one thing today and another tomorrow, through the self-examining effort of making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind, and through the practical effort of cultivating the person and regulating the family. This interpretation by Qian Mu provides a crucial shift of perspective for our understanding of the Sage-Like Persona: from "beholding" the Sage-Like Persona to "doing" the Sage-Like Persona; from static admiration of personality to the dynamic process of cultivation effort.
shixue：实学 — "Practical Learning." A term used by Qian Mu and other modern scholars to characterize the concrete, practice-oriented dimension of Zhu Xi's Neo-Confucianism. It emphasizes that moral learning must be grounded in real principles, exercised through a real mind, expressed in real effort, and verified in real effects. Shixue stands in contrast to both empty metaphysical speculation and purely formal ritualism, affirming that the Sage-Like Persona is achieved only through sustained, tangible cultivation practice in daily life.
三、何以是圣贤气象：义理内涵 / What Does It Mean: Conceptual Meaning
（一）氣与象：本体论基础 / Qi and Xiang: The Ontological Foundation
要理解"圣贤气象"的义理内涵，首先须厘清"氣"（qi, 氣，构成人与万物的物质性与精神性统一的生命力，含生理、心理、精神多重维度）与"象"（xiang, 象，事物内在本质的外在显现与可感知的形相）两个概念。在宋明理学的话语体系中，"氣"并非纯粹的物质质料，而是贯通形神、兼摄身心的生命力范畴。人所禀受的氣有清浊、厚薄、偏全之分，由此形成了不同的气质禀赋。然而，氣并非纯然消极的概念——在修养论的视野中，氣可以通过"变化气质"的工夫而得到转化与升华。
To understand the conceptual meaning of the Sage-Like Persona, one must first clarify the two concepts of "qi" (氣, psycho-physical vital force) and "xiang" (象, manifest image or form). In the discourse of Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism, qi is not mere material stuff; it is a category of vital force that bridges the physical and the spiritual, encompassing body and mind. The qi that a person receives varies in clarity and turbidity, thickness and thinness, partiality and completeness, giving rise to differing temperamental endowments. Yet qi is not an exclusively negative concept—in the perspective of cultivation theory, qi can be transformed and sublimated through the effort of "transforming one's psycho-physical constitution" (bianhua qizhi, 变化气质).
qi：氣 — "Psycho-physical vital force" or "vital energy." In Neo-Confucian cosmology, qi is the dynamic, constitutive energy that gives concrete form to all things and persons. It is both physical and psychological, material and vital. Each person receives a particular endowment of qi that shapes their temperament, capacities, and dispositions. Crucially, qi is not static or deterministic: through moral cultivation, one can "transform one's qi" (变化气质), refining and elevating one's natural endowment. The Sage-Like Persona is precisely the refined, luminous qi that results from thoroughgoing moral transformation.
xiang：象 — "Manifest image" or "perceptible form." In Chinese philosophical usage, xiang refers to the outward, perceptible manifestation of an inner reality. It is not a mere appearance in the pejorative sense, but the necessary and meaningful expression of what is within. The "xiang" of the sage is the visible, perceptible form that their inner moral virtue takes—their bearing, expression, manner, and the overall impression they create. Thus "qixiang" (气象) denotes the integrated vital-manifestation: the refined qi of the sage made perceptible as a distinctive moral aura.
"象"则是内在本质的外在显现。在《周易》（Zhouyi, 周易，又称《易经》，中国最古老的经典之一，以卦象符号系统阐发宇宙与人生的变化法则）传统中，"象"是"理"的可见形态，是本体在现象界的具体呈现。将"氣"与"象"合而为"气象"，所表达的正是：一个人的内在德性通过其氣的升华与转化，自然呈现为可感知的整体人格风貌。圣贤之气象，并非圣贤有意造作的外在装饰，而是其德性充沛、氣质精纯之后所自然流露的生命形态。正如程颢所云："天地生物之气象，圣人亦有之。"圣贤气象所体现的，正是与天地生物之心相贯通的仁德（ren, 仁，儒家最高的道德范畴，含爱人、生生、公溥诸义）在人格中的完满呈现。
"Xiang," by contrast, is the outward manifestation of inner essence. In the tradition of the Book of Changes (Zhouyi, 周易), xiang is the visible form of li, the concrete presentation of fundamental reality in the phenomenal world. When qi and xiang are combined into "qixiang" (气象), what is expressed is precisely this: a person's inner moral virtue, through the sublimation and transformation of their qi, naturally manifests as a perceptible, integrated personal bearing. The Sage-Like Persona is not an external decoration deliberately crafted by the sage; it is the form of life that flows naturally when their virtue is full and their qi is pure. As Cheng Hao remarked: "The creative persona of heaven and earth in giving life to things—the sage also possesses it." What the Sage-Like Persona embodies is precisely the perfect manifestation in personality of ren (仁, benevolence or humaneness)—the highest Confucian moral category, encompassing love, creativity, and impartial generosity—in continuity with the life-giving heart of heaven and earth.
ren：仁 — "Benevolence" or "humaneness." The highest moral virtue in Confucianism, encompassing love for others, the creative impulse of life (sheng sheng, 生生), and impartial care. For Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucians, ren is not merely one virtue among others but the vital root from which all other virtues grow. It is identified with the "mind of heaven and earth" that produces and nourishes all things. The Sage-Like Persona is ultimately the persona of ren made fully visible—a warmth, generosity, and creative vitality that mirrors the life-giving character of the cosmos itself.
（二）内德与外仪的统一 / The Unity of Inner Virtue and Outward Deportment
"圣贤气象"的义理内涵，其次体现为内德与外仪的统一。在儒家传统中，"德"（de, 德，内在的道德品质与人格力量）与"仪"（yi, 仪，外在的礼仪规范与行为举止）从来不是割裂的两端。孔子曰："文质彬彬，然后君子。"（《论语·雍也》）内在的道德品质（质）与外在的文化礼仪（文）必须相得益彰，方能成就完整的君子人格。圣贤气象正是这种"文质彬彬"在最高层次上的体现——内在德性的充实自然流露为外在的威仪与和乐，而外在的礼仪践履又反过来涵养和深化内在的德性。
The conceptual meaning of the Sage-Like Persona is, second, embodied in the unity of inner virtue and outward deportment. In the Confucian tradition, "virtue" (de, 德, inner moral quality and personal power) and "ritual deportment" (yi, 仪, outward ceremonial norms and conduct) have never been two separate poles. Confucius said: "When substance and culture are in proper balance, then you have the gentleman" (Analects 6.18). Inner moral quality (substance) and outward cultural refinement (culture) must complement each other to achieve the complete person of the junzi (君子, exemplary person). The Sage-Like Persona is precisely this "proper balance of substance and culture" at its highest level—the fullness of inner virtue naturally flows out into dignified and joyful outward bearing, while outward ritual practice in turn nurtures and deepens inner virtue.
junzi：君子 — "Exemplary person" or "noble person." The Confucian ideal of the morally cultivated person, standing in contrast to the xiaoren (小人, petty person). The junzi is characterized by the unity of inner virtue and outward cultural refinement, by commitment to the Way rather than mere profit, and by the capacity to transform others through moral example. While the sage represents the highest ideal, the junzi is the attainable model for all learners; the Sage-Like Persona may be understood as the junzi persona brought to its fullest perfection.
朱熹对此有极为精到的论述。他在注释《大学》"富润屋，德润身"时指出："德润身者，谓人能修德，则其身体发肤皆为所润，而自然安舒舒泰，见于面，盎于背，施于四体，四体不言而喻。"（《四书章句集注·大学章句》）在朱熹看来，德性对人身的浸润是全方位的——它不仅影响人的内心状态，更会自然呈现于面容、脊背、四肢的仪态之中。这种由内而外的自然流露，正是"圣贤气象"的本质特征。它不是刻意的表演，而是德性充沛到一定程度后的必然呈现。
Zhu Xi offers an especially incisive discussion of this point. In his commentary on the phrase in The Great Learning—"riches adorn a house; virtue adorns the person"—he writes: "'Virtue adorns the person' means that when one cultivates virtue, one's entire body—flesh and skin—is nourished by it, and one naturally becomes at ease and serene. It shows in the face, overflows in the back, and extends to the four limbs; the four limbs understand it without words" (Collected Commentaries, Commentary on The Great Learning). For Zhu Xi, virtue's permeation of the person is comprehensive—it affects not only one's inner state but naturally manifests in the bearing of face, back, and limbs. This natural outflow from within is the essential characteristic of the Sage-Like Persona. It is not deliberate performance, but the inevitable manifestation of virtue when it has reached a certain fullness.
然而，内德与外仪的统一并非自然达成，而须通过持续的修养工夫来维系。朱熹特别强调"敬"在其中的枢纽作用：唯有居敬，方能使内在的德性不致放失，外在的威仪不致惰慢。"敬"如同一座桥梁，将内在的德性涵养（hanyang, 涵养，以敬畏与专注来滋养德性）与外在的礼仪践履贯通起来。当学者在"敬"的持守中，使内心常存敬畏、常觉警醒，其外在的言行举止自然会趋于中节合度；而当中节合度的外在行为成为习惯，又会反过来稳固内在的德性。如此内外交养、循环递进，圣贤气象便在这一过程中逐渐养成。
Yet the unity of inner virtue and outward deportment is not achieved naturally; it must be sustained through continuous cultivation effort. Zhu Xi particularly emphasizes the pivotal role of "reverence" (jing): only through maintaining reverence can inner virtue be prevented from dissipating and outward dignity from degenerating into laxity. Reverence functions as a bridge, connecting inner moral nurturing (hanyang, 涵养) with outward ritual practice. When the learner, in the holding of reverence, keeps the mind constantly in awe and alertness, outward words and actions naturally tend toward what is appropriate and measured; and when appropriate, measured outward behavior becomes habitual, it in turn stabilizes inner virtue. Through this mutual nurturing of inner and outer, in a cycle of progressive advancement, the Sage-Like Persona is gradually cultivated.
（三）圣贤作为活的道德范式 / The Sage as a Living Moral Paradigm
"圣贤气象"的第三层义理内涵，在于圣贤并非抽象的道德符号，而是活的道德范式。在程朱理学的语境中，"圣贤"首先是具体的历史人物——尧、舜、禹、汤、文、武、周公、孔子、孟子等，他们的生平事迹、言行举止被载于经典之中，成为后世学者"观气象"的具体对象。然而，圣贤之所以为圣贤，并不在于他们的历史地位，而在于他们所体现的道德人格具有普遍的典范意义。
The third dimension of the conceptual meaning of the Sage-Like Persona is that sages are not abstract moral symbols but living moral paradigms. In the context of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, "sages and worthies" are first and foremost concrete historical figures—Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, Wen, Wu, the Duke of Zhou, Confucius, Mencius, and others. Their life stories, words, and deeds are recorded in the classics, becoming the concrete objects through which later learners "observe the persona." Yet what makes sages sages is not their historical status, but the universal exemplary significance of the moral personalities they embody.
二程特别强调，学者观圣贤气象，不可只观其迹，更要观其所以迹。所谓"迹"，是圣贤在具体历史情境中的言行事迹；所谓"所以迹"，则是这些言行事迹背后所体现的德性与道心。如果学者只模仿圣贤的外在言行，而不体悟其内在的德性精神，便会陷入"效颦"式的机械模仿，反而与圣贤气象背道而驰。因此，"观圣贤气象"本质上是一种"以意逆志"的理解活动——学者以自身的德性体验去迎逆圣贤的志向与用心，在心灵的感通中把握圣贤气象的精神实质。
The Cheng brothers particularly emphasized that when learners observe the Sage-Like Persona, they must not merely observe the "traces" (ji, 迹) but more importantly observe that "by which the traces are traced" (suoyi ji, 所以迹). The "traces" are the sages' concrete words and deeds in specific historical situations; "that by which the traces are traced" is the virtue and the mind of the Way underlying those words and deeds. If learners merely imitate the sages' outward words and actions without apprehending their inner moral spirit, they fall into mechanical mimicry—"imitating the frown of the beauty"—and thereby move further from the Sage-Like Persona. Thus, "observing the Sage-Like Persona" is essentially an act of understanding through "meeting the intention with one's own mind" (yi yi ni zhi, 以意逆志): the learner uses their own moral experience to meet and apprehend the sage's aspiration and intent, grasping the spiritual essence of the Sage-Like Persona through the resonance of mind with mind.
朱熹进一步将这一"活的道德范式"的思想与《大学》八条目结合起来。在他看来，圣贤气象之所以可学可至，正是因为圣贤所走过的修养路径——从格物致知到平天下——是人人可以遵循的普遍路径。圣贤并非天生的异类，而是通过切实工夫将人人本具的德性充分实现出来的人。因此，"学为圣贤"不是要学者成为某个具体历史人物的复制品，而是要学者沿着圣贤所开辟的修养道路，成就自身本具的德性可能，呈现出属于自己的圣贤气象。这正是儒家"人人皆可以为尧舜"信念的深刻表达。
Zhu Xi further integrated this idea of the "living moral paradigm" with the Eight Steps of The Great Learning. In his view, the reason the Sage-Like Persona can be learned and attained is precisely that the cultivation path the sages traversed—from investigating things to bringing peace to the world—is a universal path that anyone may follow. Sages are not a separate species by birth; they are persons who, through concrete effort, have fully realized the moral virtue that every person inherently possesses. Thus, "learning to be a sage" does not mean the learner should become a replica of some specific historical figure. Rather, it means the learner should follow the cultivation road opened by the sages, realize the moral potential inherent in themselves, and manifest a Sage-Like Persona that is uniquely their own. This is the profound expression of the Confucian conviction that "every person can become a Yao or a Shun."
四、如何成就圣贤气象：《大学》八条目修养路径 / How to Attain It: The Eight Steps
（一）格物致知：认知基础 / Investigating Things and Extending Knowledge
《大学》八条目以"格物""致知"为始，这一安排具有深刻的义理考量。在朱熹的诠释中，"格物"（gewu, 格物，即物而穷其理，对事物之理进行探究与穷尽）与"致知"（zhizhi, 致知，推致吾心之知，使心知无所不尽）是修养的认知基础。朱熹在《大学或问》中指出："格物者，格，尽也，须是穷尽事物之理。"所谓"格物"，不是对事物进行外在的客观观察，而是以吾心之知去即物穷理，在事事物物中体认其所具之理，并进而贯通众理，最终达到对"天理"（tianli, 天理，宇宙的普遍道德法则与本体秩序）的整体把握。
The Eight Steps of The Great Learning begin with "investigating things" (gewu) and "extending knowledge" (zhizhi致知), an arrangement of profound conceptual significance. In Zhu Xi's interpretation, investigating things and extending knowledge constitute the cognitive foundation of cultivation. In his Questions on The Great Learning (Daxue Huowen, 大学或问), Zhu Xi states: "'Investigating things'—ge means 'to exhaust'; one must exhaust the principle of things." Investigating things is not external objective observation of things, but the use of one's mind's knowing to approach things and exhaust their principle—to apprehend the principle inherent in each and every thing, and thereby to penetrate and connect the myriad principles, ultimately reaching a comprehensive grasp of the "Heavenly Principle" (tianli, 天理).
gewu：格物 — "Investigating things." The first step of the Eight Steps. In Zhu Xi's interpretation, gewu means approaching concrete things and affairs in order to exhaust the principle (li) inherent in them. It is not empirical science in the modern sense but a moral-epistemological practice: through attentive engagement with the principles of things, one deepens one's understanding of the normative order that governs both cosmos and human life. Zhu Xi famously speaks of "investigating one thing today, another tomorrow"—a gradual, cumulative process that eventually leads to a "sudden penetration" (huoran guantong, 豁然贯通) of all principles.
zhizhi：致知 — "Extending knowledge." The second step of the Eight Steps, intimately linked with gewu. Zhizhi means extending and completing the knowledge inherent in one's mind. For Zhu Xi, the mind inherently possesses the capacity to know, but this capacity remains partial and obscured until it is exercised through the investigation of things. Extending knowledge is thus not the acquisition of entirely new information from without, but the activation and fulfillment of one's innate capacity for moral understanding through engagement with the principles of concrete things. The unity of gewu and zhizhi ensures that knowing is never abstract but always grounded in the concrete, and that the concrete is always illuminated by the universal.
格物致知对于成就圣贤气象的意义，在于它为学者提供了对"理"的真切认知。圣贤气象不是盲目的道德热情的产物，而是建立在对道德之理的深切理解之上的人格呈现。一个人如果不了解父子之亲、君臣之义、夫妇之别、长幼之序、朋友之信等根本伦理之理，便不可能在人伦日用中自然呈现出中节合度的圣贤气象。格物致知的工夫，正是要学者在事事物物中明辨其理，使心知无所不明，从而为后续的诚意正心奠定坚实的认知基础。
The significance of investigating things and extending knowledge for attaining the Sage-Like Persona lies in its provision of a genuine understanding of "principle." The Sage-Like Persona is not the product of blind moral enthusiasm, but a personal presentation grounded in a deep understanding of moral principle. If a person does not understand the fundamental ethical principles—the affection between father and son, the righteousness between ruler and minister, the distinction between husband and wife, the order between elder and younger, the trust between friends—they cannot naturally manifest an appropriate, measured Sage-Like Persona in daily human relations. The effort of investigating things and extending knowledge is precisely to enable the learner to discern principle in each and every thing, so that the mind's knowing leaves nothing unillumined, thereby laying a solid cognitive foundation for the subsequent steps of making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind.
需要特别指出的是，朱熹的格物致知论并非纯粹的知识论，而是始终服务于道德修养的目的。他在《朱子语类》中明确说："格物致知，是要识得这个道理，然后诚意正心做工夫。"格物致知所获得的"知"，不是与道德实践无关的客观知识，而是对人伦日用之理的道德认知。这种"知"一旦真切，便自然会导向"行"——因为对道德之理的真切认知本身就包含着践行的动力。这就是朱熹"知行相须"（zhixing xiangxu, 知行相须，知与行互相依赖、互相促进）思想的深刻内涵。
It must be particularly noted that Zhu Xi's theory of investigating things and extending knowledge is not pure epistemology; it always serves the purpose of moral cultivation. He states explicitly in the Classified Conversations: "Investigating things and extending knowledge means understanding this principle, and then making the effort of making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind." The "knowledge" obtained through investigating things and extending knowledge is not objective knowledge unrelated to moral practice, but moral understanding of the principles of daily human relations. Once this knowledge is genuine, it naturally leads to "practice"—because genuine understanding of moral principle inherently contains the motivation to act upon it. This is the profound meaning of Zhu Xi's thought that "knowledge and practice are mutually dependent" (zhixing xiangxu, 知行相须).
（二）诚意正心：内在转化 / Making Intentions Sincere and Rectifying the Mind
在格物致知的基础上，《大学》继而提出"诚意"与"正心"两步，这是修养由认知层面向意志和情感层面的深化。"诚意"（chengyi, 诚意，使心志真诚，不自欺，好恶出于实然）的核心在于"毋自欺"——学者在已知善恶之理的基础上，必须使自己的意志真诚地向善去恶，而非表面行善而内心仍有私欲的夹杂。《大学》以"如恶恶臭，如好好色"来形容诚意的状态：对善的喜好应当如同喜好美色一样发自内心，对恶的厌恶应当如同厌恶恶臭一样出于本能。这种发自内心的真诚，是道德行为具有真实力量的根源。
Building upon the foundation of investigating things and extending knowledge, The Great Learning then proposes the two steps of "making intentions sincere" (chengyi) and "rectifying the mind" (zhengxin). These represent the deepening of cultivation from the cognitive level to the levels of will and emotion. The core of making intentions sincere lies in "not deceiving oneself" (wu zi qi, 毋自欺): on the basis of having understood the principles of good and evil, the learner must make their will sincerely incline toward good and away from evil, rather than performing good outwardly while still harboring selfish desires within. The Great Learning describes the state of sincere intention with the analogies "as one dislikes a foul smell, as one loves a beautiful sight": one's love of the good should be as spontaneous as the love of beauty, and one's hatred of evil as instinctive as the aversion to a stench. This sincerity arising from the depths of the heart is the source of the genuine power of moral action.
chengyi：诚意 — "Making intentions sincere." The third step of the Eight Steps. Chengyi means rendering one's inner will and motivation authentic, free from self-deception. It is the moment when moral knowledge passes into moral commitment: having understood what is good and evil, one resolves to love the good and hate evil with one's whole heart. The Great Learning emphasizes that sincerity must be genuine, not performative—"what is truly within will be manifested without" (cheng yu zhong xing yu wai, 诚于中形于外). Without sincerity, all subsequent cultivation risks becoming hollow pretense.
"正心"（zhengxin, 正心，使心端正，不为忿懥、恐惧、好乐、忧患等情绪所偏动）则进一步要求学者端正自己的心灵状态，不使忿懥、恐惧、好乐、忧患等情绪偏颇地影响自己的判断与行为。《大学》指出："身有所忿懥，则不得其正；有所恐惧，则不得其正；有所好乐，则不得其正；有所忧患，则不得其正。"这里的"正心"并非要学者消灭一切情感，而是要学者使情感的发用皆合乎节度，不致因私情的偏蔽而使心失其正。朱熹强调，正心的关键仍在于"敬"——居敬则心常惺惺，不为情绪所动而失其正。
"Rectifying the mind" (zhengxin) further requires the learner to rectify the state of their mind, ensuring that emotions such as anger, fear, fondness, and anxiety do not bias their judgment and conduct. The Great Learning states: "If the mind is under the influence of anger, it cannot be rectified; under fear, it cannot be rectified; under fondness, it cannot be rectified; under anxiety, it cannot be rectified." Here, "rectifying the mind" does not mean the learner should extinguish all emotions, but rather that the expression of emotions should all be properly measured, so that the mind does not lose its rectitude through the partial obstruction of private feeling. Zhu Xi emphasizes that the key to rectifying the mind still lies in "reverence": through maintaining reverence, the mind remains ever alert and awake, and is not moved by emotion to lose its rectitude.
zhengxin：正心 — "Rectifying the mind." The fourth step of the Eight Steps. Zhengxin means ensuring that the mind-heart remains balanced, clear, and not distorted by the sway of particular emotions. It does not advocate the suppression of emotion but rather their proper ordering and regulation. For Zhu Xi, the mind is the master of the body; when it is rectified, all emotions and desires respond appropriately to situations. The rectified mind is one that remains centered and impartial, responding to things as they are rather than as one's private feelings would have them be.
诚意与正心对于成就圣贤气象具有关键意义。圣贤气象之所以具有感人的力量，正在于它是真诚无伪的——圣贤的一言一行皆出于真诚的德性，而非刻意的造作。如果学者不能诚意，其道德行为便会沦为"义袭"——即偶尔做出合乎道义的行为，却并非出于内心的真诚，如此则不可能形成稳定的圣贤气象。如果学者不能正心，其情绪的偏颇便会在言谈举止中流露出来，破坏气象的和乐与中正。因此，诚意正心是将格物致知所获得的道德认知转化为内在德性品质的关键环节。
Making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind are of crucial significance for attaining the Sage-Like Persona. The reason the Sage-Like Persona possesses moving power is precisely that it is sincere and without pretense—every word and action of the sage flows from genuine virtue, not deliberate contrivance. If the learner cannot make their intentions sincere, their moral actions will degenerate into "righteousness by fits and starts" (yi xi, 义袭)—occasionally performing actions that conform to morality, but not from inner sincerity—and in this way a stable Sage-Like Persona can never be formed. If the learner cannot rectify their mind, the bias of their emotions will show through in speech and bearing, undermining the harmony and centeredness of their persona. Thus, making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind constitute the crucial link in transforming the moral understanding obtained through investigating things and extending knowledge into inner moral character.
（三）修身：中枢枢纽 / Cultivating the Person: The Central Pivot
"修身"（xiushen, 修身，修养自身的品德与言行，使身心皆合于道德规范）在《大学》八条目居于中枢地位。《大学》明确指出："自天子以至于庶人，壹是皆以修身为本。"从格物致知到诚意正心，都是修身的内在工夫；而齐家、治国、平天下，则是修身的外在推扩。修身是连接"内圣"与"外王"的枢纽，也是成就圣贤气象的核心环节。
"Cultivating the person" (xiushen) occupies the central position among the Eight Steps. The Great Learning explicitly states: "From the Son of Heaven down to the common people, all must take cultivating the person as the root." From investigating things and extending knowledge to making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind, all are inner efforts of cultivating the person; while regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world are its outward extension. Cultivating the person is the pivot connecting "inner sagehood" (nei sheng, 内圣) with "outer kingship" (wai wang, 外王), and it is the core link in attaining the Sage-Like Persona.
xiushen：修身 — "Cultivating the person." The fifth and central step of the Eight Steps. Xiushen means the comprehensive cultivation of one's entire person—mind, body, character, and conduct—so that all dimensions of one's being conform to moral principle. It is the pivotal point where inner moral transformation becomes visible in outward conduct, and from which moral influence radiates outward to family, state, and world. The Great Learning declares it the "root" (ben, 本) for all persons, regardless of social status, emphasizing that all social and political order ultimately depends on the moral cultivation of individuals.
朱熹对修身的理解，特别强调"敬"的贯串作用。他在《四书或问》中说："修身以敬，盖心之神明，妙众理而宰万物，其体则具乎仁义礼智之性，其用则行乎喜怒哀乐之情。敬以直内，则心无不正；义以方外，则身无不修。"在朱熹看来，修身的实质就是以"敬"来持守内心，以"义"（yi, 义，合乎时宜的道德判断与行为准则）来规范外在行为，使身心内外皆合于道德之正。当学者的身心皆得到修养，其言行举止、容貌辞气便会自然呈现出一种端庄、和乐、从容、中正的气象——这正是圣贤气象在个人层面的初步成就。
Zhu Xi's understanding of cultivating the person particularly emphasizes the unifying role of "reverence." In his Questions on the Four Books, he writes: "Cultivate the person through reverence. For the spiritual intelligence of the mind, which subtly comprehends the myriad principles and governs the myriad things, in its substance possesses the nature of benevolence, righteousness, ritual propriety, and wisdom; in its function it exercises the emotions of pleasure, anger, sorrow, and joy. Through reverence to straighten the inner, the mind is nowhere unrectified; through righteousness to square the outer, the person is nowhere uncultivated." For Zhu Xi, the essence of cultivating the person is to use "reverence" to hold fast the inner mind and "righteousness" (yi) to regulate outward conduct, so that both inner and outer dimensions of body and mind conform to moral rectitude. When the learner's body and mind are both cultivated, their words, actions, countenance, and tone of voice will naturally manifest a dignified, harmonious, unhurried, and centered persona—this is the initial achievement of the Sage-Like Persona at the personal level.
修身的另一重要面向是"变化气质"。如前所述，人所禀受的氣质有清浊偏全之异，而修身的工夫正在于通过持续的道德实践，逐渐转化自身的氣质之偏。朱熹说："为学乃能变化气质耳。"（《朱子语类》）气质变化之后，原本偏急的人变得宽和，原本柔懦的人变得刚毅，原本粗疏的人变得缜密——这种气质的转化正是圣贤气象得以形成的生理与心理基础。当气质得到充分的变化与升华，圣贤气象便不再是外在的模仿，而是从生命深处自然流出的真实呈现。
Another important dimension of cultivating the person is "transforming one's psycho-physical constitution" (bianhua qizhi, 变化气质). As discussed above, the qi-endowment that each person receives varies in clarity, turbidity, partiality, and completeness; the effort of cultivating the person consists precisely in gradually transforming the bias of one's own constitution through sustained moral practice. Zhu Xi says: "To learn is to be able to transform one's psycho-physical constitution" (Classified Conversations). After the constitution is transformed, the naturally impatient become generous and gentle, the naturally weak become firm and resolute, the naturally careless become careful and precise—this transformation of constitution is precisely the psycho-physical and psychological foundation upon which the Sage-Like Persona can be formed. When the constitution has been thoroughly transformed and sublimated, the Sage-Like Persona is no longer outward imitation, but a genuine manifestation flowing naturally from the depths of one's being.
（四）齐家：推扩之始 / Regulating the Family: The Beginning of Extension
修身之后，《大学》继而提出"齐家"（qijia, 齐家，整治家族，使家族成员各安其分、和睦相处），这是德性由个人向社会推扩的第一步。在儒家的理解中，家庭是个人成长的第一环境，也是人伦关系最基本、最密切的场所。父子、兄弟、夫妇——这三伦构成了家庭的基本关系，也是一个人学习如何处理人伦关系的起点。因此，齐家不仅是治理家庭事务，更是将修身所得的德性在最切近的人伦关系中加以实践和检验。
After cultivating the person, The Great Learning then proposes "regulating the family" (qijia), the first step in extending virtue from the individual to society. In the Confucian understanding, the family is the primary environment for personal growth and the most basic and intimate arena of human relations. Father-son, elder-younger brother, husband-wife—these three relationships constitute the basic structure of the family and the starting point from which a person learns to handle human relations. Thus, regulating the family is not merely managing household affairs; it is the practice and testing of the virtue obtained through cultivating the person in the most immediate human relationships.
qijia：齐家 — "Regulating the family." The sixth step of the Eight Steps. Qijia means bringing order and harmony to one's family, ensuring that each member fulfills their proper role and that relationships are conducted with virtue. The family is the first and most intimate sphere of moral practice; it is where the virtues cultivated in the person are first tested and extended. The Great Learning warns that one cannot teach others what one has failed to practice in one's own family—thus the family serves as the indispensable bridge between personal cultivation and broader social responsibility.
《大学》指出："所谓齐其家在修其身者，人之其所亲爱而辟焉，之其所贱恶而辟焉，之其所畏敬而辟焉，之其所哀矜而辟焉，之其所敖惰而辟焉。故好而知其恶，恶而知其美者，天下鲜矣。"这段论述深刻地揭示了齐家的难点：在家庭关系中，人最容易因情感的偏私而失去判断的公正。对所亲爱者往往只见其美而不见其恶，对所贱恶者往往只见其恶而不见其美。因此，齐家的关键仍在于修身——唯有自身已修、心已正，方能在家庭关系中超越情感的偏私，以公正的态度对待每一位家庭成员。
The Great Learning states: "What is meant by 'regulating the family depends on cultivating the person' is this: people are partial toward those they love and are intimate with, partial toward those they despise and dislike, partial toward those they fear and revere, partial toward those they pity and commiserate with, partial toward those they are arrogant and lazy toward. Therefore, to love someone and yet know their faults, to hate someone and yet know their merits—this is rare indeed under heaven." This passage profoundly reveals the difficulty of regulating the family: in family relationships, one is most prone to lose the impartiality of judgment due to emotional bias. Toward those one loves, one often sees only their merits and not their faults; toward those one dislikes, one often sees only their faults and not their merits. Thus, the key to regulating the family still lies in cultivating the person—only when one's person is cultivated and one's mind is rectified can one transcend emotional partiality in family relationships and treat every family member with fairness.
齐家对于成就圣贤气象的意义，在于它使圣贤气象从个人的修养成果转化为可感知的人伦关系中的道德力量。当一个人在家庭中能够做到父慈子孝、兄友弟恭、夫义妇顺，其德性便不再是孤悬的内在品质，而成为在具体人伦关系中发生实际作用的力量。这种在人伦日用中自然呈现的德性力量，正是圣贤气象的重要组成部分。程颢在家庭中的和乐气象，朱熹在家族中的严谨风范，都是齐家工夫成就圣贤气象的生动例证。
The significance of regulating the family for attaining the Sage-Like Persona lies in its transformation of the Sage-Like Persona from a personal achievement of cultivation into a moral power perceptible within human relationships. When a person can achieve parental affection and filial piety, brotherly kindness and respect, marital righteousness and compliance in the family, their virtue is no longer an isolated inner quality but a power that actually functions in concrete human relations. This moral power naturally manifested in daily human relations is precisely an important component of the Sage-Like Persona. Cheng Hao's harmonious and joyful persona in his family, and Zhu Xi's rigorous and exemplary bearing in his clan, are both vivid illustrations of how the effort of regulating the family achieves the Sage-Like Persona.
（五）治国：政治彰显 / Governing the State: Political Manifestation
"治国"（zhiguo, 治国，治理邦国，使国家政治清明、百姓安乐）是德性由家庭向国家层面的进一步推扩。在儒家的政治哲学中，政治的根本不是权力的运作，而是道德的感化。《大学》云："所谓治国必先齐其家者，其家不可教而能教人者，无之。"这一论述确立了儒家"德治"（dezhi, 德治，以道德教化为核心的政治治理模式）的基本原则：治国者必先在自己的家庭中践行道德教化，方能将这种教化推广到国家层面。
"Governing the state" (zhiguo) is the further extension of virtue from the family to the level of the state. In Confucian political philosophy, the essence of politics is not the operation of power but moral transformation. The Great Learning says: "What is meant by 'governing the state must first regulate the family' is this: there has never been a person who could not teach their own family and yet could teach others." This passage establishes the fundamental principle of Confucian "rule by virtue" (dezhi): the governor must first practice moral transformation in their own family before they can extend such transformation to the level of the state.
zhiguo：治国 — "Governing the state." The seventh step of the Eight Steps. Zhiguo means bringing good governance to one's state, characterized by moral order, social harmony, and the well-being of the people. In the Confucian tradition, governing is not primarily a matter of laws and coercion but of moral example: the ruler's personal virtue radiates outward, transforming the people through its influence. The state is thus understood as an extension of the family, and political order as an extension of familial virtue. The Sage-Like Persona at this level manifests as the moral authority and transformative power of the virtuous ruler.
朱熹在注释《大学》"治国"章时，特别阐发了"絜矩之道"（xieju zhi dao, 絜矩之道，以推己及人为核心的政治伦理原则）。所谓"絜矩之道"，就是治国者以自身为度量的标准，推己及人："所恶于上，毋以使下；所恶于下，毋以事上；所恶于前，毋以先后；所恶于后，毋以从前；所恶于右，毋以交于左；所恶于左，毋以交于右。"这一原则的实质，是将修身所成就的公正之心推广到政治治理之中，使政治决策皆出于对他人感受的体谅与尊重。当治国者能够践行絜矩之道，其政治气象便会呈现出公正、宽厚、体恤民情的特征——这正是圣贤气象在政治领域的彰显。
In his commentary on the "governing the state" chapter of The Great Learning, Zhu Xi particularly expounds the "way of the measuring square" (xieju zhi dao, 絜矩之道). The "way of the measuring square" means that the governor uses themselves as the standard of measurement, extending their own feelings to others: "What you dislike in those above, do not use in dealing with those below; what you dislike in those below, do not use in serving those above; what you dislike in those before, do not use in dealing with those behind; what you dislike in those behind, do not use in following those before; what you dislike in those on the right, do not use in dealing with those on the left; what you dislike in those on the left, do not use in dealing with those on the right." The essence of this principle is the extension of the impartial mind achieved through cultivating the person into political governance, so that political decisions all arise from empathy and respect for the feelings of others. When the governor can practice the way of the measuring square, their political persona will manifest the characteristics of impartiality, generosity, and concern for the people's welfare—this is precisely the manifestation of the Sage-Like Persona in the political realm.
xieju zhi dao：絜矩之道 — "The way of the measuring square." A core Confucian political ethic articulated in The Great Learning, meaning the principle of using oneself as the measuring standard and extending one's own feelings to others in all directions. It is a political application of the Confucian golden rule (shu, 恕, "reciprocity" or "do not do to others what you would not wish for yourself"). The "measuring square" symbolizes the impartial, consistent standard that the virtuous ruler applies to all relationships—above and below, before and behind, left and right—ensuring that governance is grounded in empathy rather than arbitrary power.
（六）平天下：普遍境域 / Bringing Peace to the World: The Universal Horizon
"平天下"（ping tianxia, 平天下，使天下太平，万邦协和，百姓各得其所）是《大学》八条目 的终极目标，也是圣贤气象的最高呈现。"平天下"之"平"，并非简单的平定或征服，而是"均平"之意——使天下万物各得其所、各遂其生，达到一种普遍的和谐与公正。《大学》在"平天下"章中提出"财聚则民散，财散则民聚"的经济伦理原则，以及"德本财末"的价值排序，深刻地揭示了平天下的根本在于以德为本、以民为本。
"Bringing peace to the world" (ping tianxia) is the ultimate goal of the Eight Steps and the highest manifestation of the Sage-Like Persona. The "ping" in "ping tianxia" does not mean simple pacification or conquest, but "equilibrium and harmony"—enabling all things under heaven to find their proper place and fulfill their nature, achieving a universal harmony and justice. In the "bringing peace to the world" chapter, The Great Learning proposes the economic-ethical principle that "when wealth is gathered, the people scatter; when wealth is distributed, the people gather," as well as the value ordering of "virtue is the root, wealth is the branch." These profoundly reveal that the foundation of bringing peace to the world lies in taking virtue as the root and the people as the foundation.
ping tianxia：平天下 — "Bringing peace to the world" or "bringing equilibrium to all under heaven." The eighth and final step of the Eight Steps. Ping means not merely the absence of conflict but the achievement of a just, harmonious order in which all persons and communities can flourish. It represents the universal horizon of Confucian moral aspiration—the extension of virtue from the individual through family and state to the entire world. The Sage-Like Persona at this ultimate level manifests as a boundless, all-embracing moral concern that seeks the flourishing of all humanity and indeed all things.
朱熹在阐释"平天下"时，特别强调"絜矩之道"的终极推扩。如果说治国层面的絜矩之道还局限于一国内部的上下左右关系，那么平天下层面的絜矩之道则要求将这种推己及人的精神推广到天下万邦之间。治国者不仅要体谅本国之民，还要体谅天下之人；不仅要追求一国之利，还要谋求天下之公利。这种超越了国家、民族、文化界限的普遍道德关怀，正是圣贤气象的最高境界。它所呈现的，是一种"民吾同胞，物吾与也"（张载《西铭》语）的博大胸怀——视天下人为自己的同胞，视万物为自己的伙伴。
In explicating "bringing peace to the world," Zhu Xi particularly emphasizes the ultimate extension of the "way of the measuring square." If the way of the measuring square at the level of governing the state is still limited to the relationships of above-below, before-behind, and left-right within one state, then at the level of bringing peace to the world it requires extending this spirit of putting oneself in another's place to all states and peoples under heaven. The governor must not only empathize with the people of their own state but with all people under heaven; they must not merely pursue the benefit of one state but seek the common good of all under heaven. This universal moral concern that transcends the boundaries of state, ethnicity, and culture is precisely the highest realm of the Sage-Like Persona. What it manifests is a boundless heart expressed in Zhang Zai's "Western Inscription" (Ximing, 西铭): "The people are my brothers and sisters, and all things are my companions"—seeing all people under heaven as one's own siblings and all things as one's own companions.
从格物致知到平天下，《大学》八条目构成了一个由内而外、由近及远、层层递进的完整修养体系。在这一体系中，每一步都以前一步为基础，又为后一步创造条件；每一步都既是独立的修养环节，又是整体圣贤气象的有机组成部分。学者在这一次第中步步践履，其圣贤气象便在格物中得以明其理，在致知中得以充其知，在诚意中得以诚其意，在正心中得以正其心，在修身中得以修其身，在齐家中得以和其家，在治国中得以治其国，在平天下中得以安天下——最终成就一个从内在德性到外在事功皆臻于完满的圣贤人格。
From investigating things and extending knowledge to bringing peace to the world, the Eight Steps of The Great Learning constitute a complete cultivation system that proceeds from inner to outer, from near to far, advancing layer by layer. In this system, each step is founded on the previous one and creates the conditions for the next; each step is both an independent link of cultivation and an organic component of the holistic Sage-Like Persona. As the learner practices step by step in this sequence, their Sage-Like Persona is clarified in its principle through investigating things, fulfilled in its knowing through extending knowledge, made sincere in its intention through making intentions sincere, rectified in its mind through rectifying the mind, cultivated in its person through cultivating the person, harmonized in its family through regulating the family, well-governed in its state through governing the state, and pacified in the world through bringing peace to the world—ultimately achieving a sage personality in which both inner virtue and outer merit have reached perfection.
五、圣贤气象的道德境域 / The Moral Realm of the Sage-Like Persona
（一）"敬"作为贯串工夫 / Reverence as the Unifying Effort
在沿八条目次第展开修养路径的同时，还须把握贯串于八条目始终的根本工夫——"敬"。如果说八条目是修养的"横摄"体系，那么"敬"便是修养的"纵贯"工夫。朱熹说："敬字工夫，乃圣门第一义，彻头彻尾，不可顷刻间断。"（《朱子语类》）这意味着，从格物致知到平天下的每一步，都必须以"敬"来持守，方能不致流于形式或陷入偏失。
While unfolding the cultivation path along the sequence of the Eight Steps, one must also grasp the fundamental effort that runs through all of them—"reverence" (jing). If the Eight Steps constitute the "horizontal" system of cultivation, then "reverence" is the "vertical" effort that runs through them. Zhu Xi says: "The effort of reverence is the foremost teaching of the sage's gate; from beginning to end, it must not be interrupted for a single moment" (Classified Conversations). This means that every step, from investigating things to bringing peace to the world, must be sustained through reverence, lest it degenerate into mere form or fall into bias.
"敬"的内涵，朱熹有精到的界定："敬有甚物？只如'畏'字相似。"又说："敬不是万虑休置之谓，只是随事专一，谨畏，不放逸尔。"（《朱子语类》）在朱熹看来，"敬"不是消极的枯静，而是积极的、随事专一的警觉状态。它要求学者在应事接物的每一个当下，都保持专注、敬畏、不放逸的心态。这种心态是道德修养的根本动力——唯有居敬，格物方能真切而不浮泛，诚意方能笃实而不虚伪，修身方能持久而不松懈，平天下方能公正而不偏私。
Zhu Xi offers a precise definition of the meaning of "reverence": "What is reverence? It is simply similar to the word 'awe.'" He also says: "Reverence does not mean the cessation of all thoughts; it simply means being focused in whatever one does, being cautious and in awe, and not being lax" (Classified Conversations). For Zhu Xi, reverence is not passive quietism but an active, alert state of focused attention in every situation. It requires the learner to maintain a mindset of focus, awe, and diligence in every moment of handling affairs and dealing with people. This mindset is the fundamental driving force of moral cultivation—only through maintaining reverence can investigating things be genuine rather than superficial, making intentions sincere be steadfast rather than hypocritical, cultivating the person be enduring rather than intermittent, and bringing peace to the world be impartial rather than self-serving.
在成就圣贤气象的过程中，"敬"的作用体现为一种"常惺惺法"——使心灵常保清醒、警觉、不昏昧的状态。当学者能够在日用常行中持续保持这种敬的心态，其言行举止便会自然趋于中节，其气象便会自然趋于端正。程颢的"如坐春风"气象，看似和乐从容，其背后正是"敬"的工夫在支撑——唯有内心常存敬畏，外在的和乐才不会流于轻浮。朱熹的严谨气象，更是"敬"的工夫的直接体现。可以说，"敬"是圣贤气象的灵魂——没有"敬"的贯串，八条目便只是一套外在的行为规范，而无法转化为内在的人格成就。
In the process of attaining the Sage-Like Persona, the function of "reverence" manifests as a "method of constant wakefulness" (chang xingxing fa, 常惺惺法)—keeping the mind in a state of constant clarity, alertness, and lucidity. When the learner can sustain this mindset of reverence in daily life, their words and actions will naturally tend toward what is appropriate, and their persona will naturally tend toward rectitude. Cheng Hao's persona of "sitting in the spring breeze," seemingly gentle and unhurried, is in fact supported by the effort of reverence—only when the heart constantly holds reverence can outward harmony and joy not degenerate into frivolity. Zhu Xi's rigorous persona is an even more direct embodiment of the effort of reverence. One may say that reverence is the soul of the Sage-Like Persona—without the unifying thread of reverence, the Eight Steps would be merely a set of external behavioral norms, unable to be transformed into inner personal achievement.
（二）知行相须 / The Mutual Dependence of Knowledge and Practice
圣贤气象的成就，还须在"知"与"行"的辩证关系中理解。朱熹提出"知行相须"的命题，深刻地揭示了道德认知与道德实践之间的内在关联。他说："知与行，工夫须着并到。知之愈明，则行之愈笃；行之愈笃，则知之益明。"（《朱子语类》）在朱熹看来，知与行不是先后割裂的两个阶段，而是互相依赖、互相促进的统一过程。
The attainment of the Sage-Like Persona must also be understood within the dialectical relationship between "knowledge" (zhi, 知) and "practice" (xing, 行). Zhu Xi proposed the proposition that "knowledge and practice are mutually dependent" (zhixing xiangxu), profoundly revealing the inner connection between moral understanding and moral practice. He says: "In knowledge and practice, the effort must advance together. The clearer the knowledge, the more steadfast the practice; the more steadfast the practice, the clearer the knowledge" (Classified Conversations). For Zhu Xi, knowledge and practice are not two separate stages divided by sequence, but a unified process of mutual dependence and mutual enhancement.
zhixing xiangxu：知行相须 — "The mutual dependence of knowledge and practice." A core epistemological and ethical thesis in Zhu Xi's thought, holding that moral knowledge and moral practice are inseparable, mutually reinforcing dimensions of cultivation. Knowledge provides the clarity and direction for practice, while practice deepens and verifies knowledge. Neither can be complete without the other. This stands in contrast to both intellectualism (prioritizing knowledge to the neglect of practice) and voluntarism (prioritizing practice to the neglect of understanding), affirming that the Sage-Like Persona emerges only from the integrated, simultaneous cultivation of both.
就八条目而言，格物致知属于"知"的层面，诚意正心修身属于"行"的内在层面，齐家治国平天下属于"行"的外在层面。然而，这种划分只是相对的——在格物致知中已有"行"的参与（以行动的意向去即物穷理），在修齐治平中亦有"知"的指导（以对理的认知来规范行为）。知与行始终交织在一起，共同推动着圣贤气象的成就。如果学者只知不行，其知便只是"空知"，无法转化为真实的德性；如果学者只行不知，其行便只是"冥行"，可能偏离道德的正途。唯有知行并进，方能使圣贤气象既有明觉的理性之光，又有笃实的实践之力。
With regard to the Eight Steps, investigating things and extending knowledge belong to the level of "knowing"; making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, and cultivating the person belong to the inner level of "practicing"; and regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world belong to the outer level of "practicing." Yet this division is only relative—within investigating things and extending knowledge there is already the participation of "practice" (approaching things to exhaust their principle with the intention of action), and within cultivating, regulating, governing, and pacifying there is also the guidance of "knowing" (using the understanding of principle to regulate conduct). Knowledge and practice are always interwoven, jointly advancing the attainment of the Sage-Like Persona. If the learner only knows without practicing, their knowledge is merely "empty knowledge" and cannot be transformed into genuine virtue; if they only practice without knowing, their practice is merely "blind practice" and may deviate from the moral path. Only through the simultaneous advancement of knowledge and practice can the Sage-Like Persona possess both the illuminating light of rational clarity and the steadfast power of concrete practice.
（三）从修身到平天下的贯通 / The Continuity from Self-Cultivation to World Peace
圣贤气象的道德境域，最终体现为从修身到平天下的贯通。在《大学》八条目 的体系中，修身是"本"，平天下是"末"；但这并非说平天下不重要，而是说平天下必须以修身为根本前提。朱熹在《大学章句序》中指出："夫以学校之设，其广如此，而其所以为教，则皆不过因人之伦，明其义理，以复其性之本然，而非有所为于外也。"这意味着，从个人的德性修养到天下的太平秩序，本质上是同一个"明义理、复本性"的过程在不同层面的展开。
The moral realm of the Sage-Like Persona ultimately manifests as the continuity from self-cultivation to world peace. In the system of the Eight Steps, cultivating the person is the "root" (ben, 本) and bringing peace to the world is the "branch" (mo, 末); but this does not mean that bringing peace to the world is unimportant—rather, it means that world peace must take self-cultivation as its fundamental precondition. In his preface to the Commentary on The Great Learning, Zhu Xi points out: "The establishment of schools was so extensive, yet what they taught was none other than clarifying the moral principles inherent in human relationships, so as to restore the original nature of one's being—not adding anything from without." This means that from personal moral cultivation to the peaceful order of all under heaven, it is essentially the same process of "clarifying moral principles and restoring original nature" unfolding at different levels.
这种贯通的意义在于：圣贤气象不是一种私人性的道德境界，而是具有普遍的社会与政治指向的人格成就。一个真正成就了圣贤气象的人，必然会将其德性推扩到家庭、国家、天下，在人伦日用、政治实践、天下关怀中呈现其道德力量。反之，如果一个人声称成就了圣贤气象，却不能在家庭中尽孝悌，在国家中尽忠义，在天下中尽关怀，那么其所谓"圣贤气象"便只是自欺欺人的空谈。正是在这个意义上，《大学》八条目为"圣贤气象"提供了可验证的标准——不仅要看其内在的德性修养，更要看其外在的事功成就；不仅要看其独善其身，更要看其兼善天下。
The significance of this continuity lies in this: the Sage-Like Persona is not a private moral realm, but a personal achievement with universal social and political orientation. A person who has truly attained the Sage-Like Persona will inevitably extend their virtue to the family, the state, and all under heaven, manifesting their moral power in daily human relations, political practice, and concern for the world. Conversely, if a person claims to have attained the Sage-Like Persona yet cannot fulfill filial piety and brotherly respect in the family, loyalty and righteousness in the state, and concern for all under heaven, then their so-called "Sage-Like Persona" is nothing but self-deceiving empty talk. It is in this sense that the Eight Steps of The Great Learning provide a verifiable standard for the Sage-Like Persona—one must look not only at inner moral cultivation but also at outer merit and achievement; not only at the cultivation of one's own person but also at the benefiting of all under heaven.
六、当代价值与全球意义 / Contemporary Value and Global Significance
（一）现代社会中的道德修养 / Moral Cultivation in Modern Society
在当代社会，工具理性的膨胀与价值理性的萎缩已成为一个普遍的文化症候。人们在追求效率、功利、物质满足的过程中，往往忽视了对内在德性的修养与人格的完善。程朱理学的"圣贤气象"思想，为现代人提供了一种重要的思想资源：它提醒我们，人的完善不仅在于外在的成就与占有，更在于内在的德性与气象。一个人即使拥有丰富的知识、显赫的地位、巨大的财富，如果缺乏内在的德性修养，其人格气象便会显得贫乏、浮躁、甚至可鄙。反之，一个人即使身处平凡的岗位，只要持续地进行道德修养，其人格便会呈现出令人敬重的圣贤气象。
In contemporary society, the expansion of instrumental rationality and the atrophy of value rationality have become a widespread cultural symptom. In the pursuit of efficiency, utility, and material satisfaction, people often neglect the cultivation of inner virtue and the perfection of character. The Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucian idea of the Sage-Like Persona offers an important intellectual resource for modern people: it reminds us that human perfection lies not only in external achievement and possession, but more profoundly in inner virtue and personal bearing. A person may possess abundant knowledge, eminent status, and great wealth, yet if they lack inner moral cultivation, their personal bearing will appear impoverished, restless, or even contemptible. Conversely, a person in an ordinary position, so long as they persist in moral cultivation, will manifest a Sage-Like Persona that commands respect.
更为重要的是，"圣贤气象"所蕴含的修养路径——《大学》八条目——为现代人提供了一套可操作的道德修养方法。它不要求人们脱离日常生活去追求玄远的境界，而是要求人们在格物致知中明理，在诚意正心中立德，在修身中完善人格，在齐家治国平天下中推扩德性。这种"极高明而道中庸"（《中庸》语）的修养智慧，恰恰能够弥补现代社会中道德教育空泛化、外在化的缺陷——它将道德修养落实到日用常行的每一个细节之中，使道德不再是高悬的理想，而是可践履、可积累、可验证的生命实践。
More importantly, the cultivation path embedded in the Sage-Like Persona—the Eight Steps of The Great Learning—provides modern people with an operable method of moral cultivation. It does not require people to abandon daily life in pursuit of abstruse realms; rather, it asks them to clarify principle through investigating things and extending knowledge, to establish virtue through making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind, to perfect character through cultivating the person, and to extend virtue through regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. This cultivation wisdom of "reaching the highest enlightenment while following the ordinary path" (Zhongyong, 中庸, the Doctrine of the Mean) can precisely remedy the deficiencies of vague, externalized moral education in modern society—it grounds moral cultivation in every detail of daily life, making morality no longer a lofty ideal but a life-praxis that can be practiced, accumulated, and verified.
（二）圣贤气象作为全球伦理资源 / The Sage-Like Persona as a Resource for Global Ethics
在全球化的语境中，不同文明之间的对话与冲突已成为人类面临的重大课题。西方启蒙运动以来所形成的普遍主义伦理话语，虽然为全球伦理的建构提供了重要资源，但其以个体权利为核心、以理性自律为基础的理论范式，在面对文明差异与文化多样性时，往往显得力不从心。程朱理学的"圣贤气象"思想，为全球伦理的建构提供了一种来自中国哲学的独特视角。
In the context of globalization, dialogue and conflict among civilizations have become major challenges facing humanity. The universalist ethical discourse formed since the Western Enlightenment, while providing important resources for the construction of global ethics, often appears inadequate when confronted with civilizational difference and cultural diversity, due to its theoretical paradigm centered on individual rights and based on rational autonomy. The Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucian idea of the Sage-Like Persona offers a distinctive perspective from Chinese philosophy for the construction of global ethics.
"圣贤气象"的核心，是一种以人格修养为基础、以人伦关系为纽带、以天下关怀为指向的道德理想。它不诉诸抽象的普遍法则，而是通过具体的人格典范来感召和转化人；它不强调个体权利的优先性，而是注重个体在人伦关系中的责任与义务；它不追求文明的同质化，而是主张在"和而不同"（《论语·子路》）的原则下实现文明间的和谐共处。这种道德理想对于当今世界面临的文明冲突、生态危机、贫富分化等全球性问题，具有重要的启示意义——它提醒我们，全球伦理的建构不能仅靠制度与规则的设计，更需要有圣贤气象的人格典范来引领和感召。
The core of the Sage-Like Persona is a moral ideal grounded in personal cultivation, connected through human relationships, and oriented toward concern for all under heaven. It does not appeal to abstract universal laws but inspires and transforms people through concrete personal exemplars; it does not emphasize the priority of individual rights but focuses on the responsibilities and obligations of individuals within human relationships; it does not pursue the homogenization of civilizations but advocates harmonious coexistence among civilizations under the principle of "harmony without uniformity" (Analects 13.23). This moral ideal has important implications for the global problems facing the world today—civilizational conflict, ecological crisis, and the gap between rich and poor. It reminds us that the construction of global ethics cannot rely solely on the design of institutions and rules, but more importantly requires the leadership and inspiration of personal exemplars embodying the Sage-Like Persona.
（三）跨文化对话中的中国文化主体性 / Chinese Cultural Subjectivity in Cross-Cultural Dialogue
在跨文化对话中，如何坚守中国文化的主体性，同时又能与其他文明进行有效的交流与互鉴，是一个至关重要的问题。"圣贤气象"的研究与传播，为我们提供了一个有益的范例。一方面，"圣贤气象"深深植根于中国哲学的义理土壤——它以"理""氣""心""性"等核心范畴为基础，以《大学》八条目为修养框架，以"敬"的工夫为贯串线索，构成了一个自足的、具有内在逻辑的思想体系。这一体系不需要依附于西方哲学的框架来获得合法性，它本身就是人类哲学智慧的重要组成部分。
In cross-cultural dialogue, how to maintain the subjectivity of Chinese culture while engaging in effective exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations is a crucial question. The study and dissemination of the Sage-Like Persona provides a helpful example. On the one hand, the Sage-Like Persona is deeply rooted in the conceptual soil of Chinese philosophy—it is grounded in core categories such as "Principle" (li), "psycho-physical force" (qi), "mind-heart" (xin), and "nature" (xing); it takes the Eight Steps of The Great Learning as its cultivation framework; and it uses the effort of "reverence" (jing) as its unifying thread. Together these constitute a self-sufficient intellectual system with its own internal logic. This system does not need to rely on the framework of Western philosophy to gain legitimacy; it is itself an important component of humanity's philosophical wisdom.
另一方面，"圣贤气象"所表达的道德理想——对人格完善的追求、对人伦和谐的重视、对天下太平的关怀——具有超越特定文化的普遍意义。通过以国际学界可理解的语言来阐释这一思想，我们既可以向世界展示中国哲学的独特智慧，又可以为人类共同面临的道德问题贡献中国方案。这种"以我为主、面向世界"的文化态度，正是中国文化主体性在当代的恰当体现——它既不是文化保守主义的自我封闭，也不是文化虚无主义的自我消解，而是在坚守中华文化本位的前提下，以开放包容的姿态参与全球文明对话，为人类文明的多样性发展贡献中国智慧与中国力量。
On the other hand, the moral ideal expressed by the Sage-Like Persona—the pursuit of personal perfection, the value placed on harmonious human relations, the concern for world peace—possesses universal significance that transcends any particular culture. By explicating this idea in a language accessible to the international scholarly community, we can both showcase the distinctive wisdom of Chinese philosophy to the world and contribute Chinese approaches to the moral problems confronting humanity as a whole. This cultural attitude of "rooted in ourselves, oriented toward the world" is precisely the appropriate embodiment of Chinese cultural subjectivity in the contemporary era—it is neither the self-enclosure of cultural conservatism nor the self-dissolution of cultural nihilism, but rather, while firmly maintaining the foundational position of Chinese culture, participating in global civilizational dialogue with an open and inclusive stance, contributing Chinese wisdom and Chinese strength to the diverse development of human civilization.
以"学为圣贤"为锚点，沿《大学》八条目次第，系统阐释了程朱理学"圣贤气象"的义理内涵、修养路径与当代价值。通过对二程"观圣贤气象"首倡、朱熹体系化拓展、钱穆"实学"重构的思想溯源，本文揭示了"圣贤气象"从审美性赞叹到实践性修养的理论演进；通过对"氣与象""内德与外仪""活的道德范式"三个维度的分析，本文回答了"何以是圣贤气象"的问题——圣贤气象是内在德性通过氣的升华而自然呈现的整体人格风貌，是内德与外仪的完满统一，是具有普遍典范意义的活的道德人格。
Taking "learning to be a sage" as its anchor and following the sequence of the Eight Steps of The Great Learning, this paper has systematically explicated the conceptual meaning, cultivation path, and contemporary value of the "Sage-Like Persona" in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism. Through tracing the intellectual lineage from the Cheng brothers' initiation of "observing the Sage-Like Persona," through Zhu Xi's systematic expansion, to Qian Mu's reconstruction through "practical learning," this paper has revealed the theoretical evolution of the Sage-Like Persona from aesthetic admiration to practical cultivation. Through analysis of three dimensions—"qi and xiang," "inner virtue and outward deportment," and "the living moral paradigm"—this paper has answered the question "What does it mean to speak of the Sage-Like Persona?": it is the integrated personal bearing that naturally manifests from inner virtue through the sublimation of qi; it is the perfect unity of inner virtue and outward deportment; and it is a living moral personality of universal exemplary significance.
通过对《大学》八条目修养路径的逐一解析，本文回答了"如何成就圣贤气象"的问题——圣贤气象的成就不是一蹴而就的顿悟，而是在格物致知中明理、在诚意正心中立德、在修身中完善人格、在齐家治国平天下中推扩德性的渐进过程。在这一过程中，"敬"的工夫贯串始终，知行相须提供了方法论的保障，从修身到平天下的贯通则确保了圣贤气象的普遍指向。这一修养路径既具有深刻的理论系统性，又具有切实的实践可操作性，为现代人的道德修养提供了来自中国哲学的智慧资源。
Through the step-by-step analysis of the cultivation path of the Eight Steps, this paper has answered the question "How does one attain the Sage-Like Persona?": its attainment is not a sudden enlightenment achieved in one stroke, but a gradual process of clarifying principle through investigating things and extending knowledge, establishing virtue through making intentions sincere and rectifying the mind, perfecting character through cultivating the person, and extending virtue through regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. In this process, the effort of "reverence" runs through from beginning to end; the mutual dependence of knowledge and practice provides methodological assurance; and the continuity from self-cultivation to world peace ensures the universal orientation of the Sage-Like Persona. This cultivation path possesses both profound theoretical systematicity and concrete practical operability, offering wisdom from Chinese philosophy for the moral cultivation of modern people.
在当代全球化与跨文化对话的语境中，"圣贤气象"的思想价值不仅在于它为中国人的道德修养提供了精神指引，更在于它为全球伦理的建构与人类文明的对话贡献了独特的中国智慧。坚守中国文化的主体性，以开放包容的姿态面向世界，让"圣贤气象"所蕴含的道德理想在新的时代条件下焕发生机，这既是对程朱理学优秀传统的创造性继承，也是中国哲学对人类文明应有的贡献。正如张载所言："为天地立心，为生民立命，为往圣继绝学，为万世开太平。"（《张子全书·近思录拾遗》）成就圣贤气象，正是这一宏大抱负在个体人格中的落实与呈现。
In the contemporary context of globalization and cross-cultural dialogue, the intellectual value of the Sage-Like Persona lies not only in its spiritual guidance for the moral cultivation of Chinese people, but more importantly in its contribution of distinctive Chinese wisdom to the construction of global ethics and the dialogue of human civilizations. Maintaining the subjectivity of Chinese culture while facing the world with an open and inclusive stance, and allowing the moral ideal embedded in the Sage-Like Persona to radiate new vitality under contemporary conditions—this is both a creative inheritance of the fine tradition of Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism and the contribution that Chinese philosophy should make to human civilization. As Zhang Zai (张载, the Northern Song Neo-Confucian pioneer) famously declared: "To establish the heart-mind for heaven and earth, to establish the destiny for the people, to continue the lost learning of the past sages, and to inaugurate great peace for ten thousand generations" (Collected Works of Master Zhang). Attaining the Sage-Like Persona is precisely the realization and manifestation of this grand aspiration in the individual personality.
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术语注释表 / Glossary of Key Terms
shengxian qixiang：圣贤气象 — The Sage-Like Persona—the integrated moral bearing, spiritual aura, and personal demeanor that naturally manifest from a person whose inner virtue has been fully cultivated through sustained practice.
Song-Ming Lixue：宋明理学 — Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism—the Confucian philosophical tradition that flourished from the Song through the Ming dynasty, centered on the concept of Principle (li).
Ercheng：二程 — The Cheng brothers—Cheng Hao (1032–1085) and Cheng Yi (1033–1107), the Northern Song thinkers who jointly founded the Cheng-Zhu school of Neo-Confucianism.
guan shengxian qixiang：观圣贤气象 — Observing the Sage-Like Persona—a cultivation method of contemplating and internalizing the moral demeanor of sages as recorded in texts and embodied in exemplary lives.
Zhu Xi：朱熹 — Zhu Xi (1130–1200), the Southern Song synthesizer of Neo-Confucianism whose commentaries on the Four Books became the standard interpretation for the imperial examinations.
Daxue：大学 — The Great Learning—one of the Confucian Four Books, articulating the Three Cardinal Guidelines and Eight Steps of moral and political cultivation.
ba tiaomu：八条目 — The Eight Steps—the sequential cultivation path: investigating things, extending knowledge, making intentions sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world.
xue wei shengxian：学为圣贤 — Learning to be a sage—the fundamental Confucian aim of moral self-cultivation, taking the sage as the model and goal of personal transformation.
shixue：实学 — Practical learning—the concrete, practice-oriented dimension of Zhu Xi's thought, emphasizing real principles, real mind, real effort, and real effects.
gongfu：工夫 — Cultivation effort—the sustained, deliberate practice of moral self-transformation, encompassing both inner mental discipline and outward conduct.
Qian Mu：钱穆 — Qian Mu (1895–1990), the eminent twentieth-century historian of Chinese thought whose New Studies on Zhu Xi reconstructed Zhu Xi's philosophy through practical learning.
jing：敬 — Reverence—the central Neo-Confucian cultivation attitude of focused awe, moral seriousness, and sustained attentiveness, the first principle of the sage's gate.
li：理 — Principle—the central metaphysical concept in Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism, the immanent yet transcendent order, structure, and normative standard governing all things.
qi：氣 — Psycho-physical vital force—the dynamic, constitutive energy that gives concrete form to all things, shaping temperament and capable of transformation through cultivation.
xiang：象 — Manifest image—the outward, perceptible manifestation of an inner reality; the visible form that inner moral virtue takes in a cultivated person.
ren：仁 — Benevolence/humaneness—the highest Confucian moral virtue, encompassing love, creative vitality, and impartial care, identified with the life-giving mind of heaven and earth.
gewu：格物 — Investigating things—the first of the Eight Steps, approaching concrete things to exhaust the principle inherent in them through cumulative moral-epistemological engagement.
zhizhi：致知 — Extending knowledge—the second of the Eight Steps, activating and fulfilling the mind's innate capacity for moral understanding through the investigation of things.
chengyi：诚意 — Making intentions sincere—the third of the Eight Steps, rendering one's inner will authentic and free from self-deception, so that moral commitment is wholehearted.
zhengxin：正心 — Rectifying the mind—the fourth of the Eight Steps, keeping the mind-heart balanced and clear, not distorted by the sway of particular emotions.
xiushen：修身 — Cultivating the person—the fifth and central step, comprehensive cultivation of mind, body, character, and conduct so that all dimensions conform to moral principle.
qijia：齐家 — Regulating the family—the sixth step, bringing order and harmony to one's family as the first sphere of extending moral virtue beyond the self.
zhiguo：治国 — Governing the state—the seventh step, bringing moral order and the people's well-being to one's state through the ruler's virtuous example.
ping tianxia：平天下 — Bringing peace to the world—the eighth and ultimate step, achieving a just, harmonious universal order in which all peoples and things flourish.
zhixing xiangxu：知行相须 — The mutual dependence of knowledge and practice—Zhu Xi's thesis that moral understanding and moral practice are inseparable, mutually reinforcing dimensions of cultivation.
xieju zhi dao：絜矩之道 — The way of the measuring square—the Confucian political ethic of using oneself as the standard and extending one's own feelings to others in all directions.
hanyang：涵养 — Nurturing—the practice of cultivating and nourishing inner virtue through sustained reverence and attentiveness.
xingcha：省察 — Self-examination—the practice of introspectively examining one's thoughts, intentions, and conduct to identify and correct moral deficiencies.
junzi：君子 — Exemplary person—the Confucian ideal of the morally cultivated person, characterized by the unity of inner virtue and outward refinement.
tianli：天理 — Heavenly Principle—the universal moral order and normative standard that governs both cosmos and human life.
daotong：道统 — The orthodox lineage of the Way—the Confucian conception of a continuous transmission of the true Way from the ancient sages through the Neo-Confucian masters.
Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism
Zhu Xi Studies
Moral Cultivation
The Great Learning (Daxue)
Chinese Philosophy
Sage-Like Persona (圣贤气象)
Eight Steps (八条目)
Practical Learning (实学)
Song-Ming Lixue
Confucian Ethics
Self-Cultivation
Qian Mu
Cheng Brothers
圣贤气象；程朱理学；《大学》八条目；学为圣贤；实学；道德修养Sage-Like Persona; Cheng-Zhu Neo-Confucianism; Eight Steps of The Great Learning; learning to be a sage; practical learning; moral cultivation
