Various schools of thought - Shoshihyakka

Various thinkers who emerged in China during the Warring States period. Or their classics. Regarding the origin of this word, one theory is that 189 schools and 4,324 works are recorded in the "Luan" section of the "Han Shu" (Book of Han) by Ban Gu, and it is interpreted as a rough expression of the number of 189 schools. However, since the first appearance of this word is in the biography of Jia Yi in the "Records of the Grand Historian," where he says, "He was quite knowledgeable in the learning of the Hundred Schools," it is thought that the "Hundred Schools" simply means a large number of schools.

In the bibliography, the term "various scholars" is contrasted with classics and historical texts, but in reality it refers to various scholars. The full-scale classification of schools of thought began with the Six Schools (Yin Yang, Confucian, Mohist, Famous, Legal, and Taoist) of Tan, the father of Sima Qian, and the Ten Schools (Confucian, Taoist, Yin Yang, Legal, Famous, Mohist, Vertical and Horizontal, Miscellaneous, Farmers, and Novelists) of Ban Gu. In the Book of Sui, the Jijingzhi, five categories were added: military, astronomy, calendar and numbers, five elements, and medical. As far as the various scholars of the pre-Qin period are concerned, such classifications based on later standards do not necessarily lead directly to an understanding of their actual situation. This is because it is assumed that only the Confucian and Mohist schools of thought were substantial enough to be called schools of thought among the so-called Hundred Schools of Thought. Therefore, classifications such as the Ten Schools merely indicate the general tendencies of the ideas and theories of the various schools of thought. The reasons for the emergence of various schools of thought during the Warring States period include the fact that the rulers of each country were seeking ways to survive in an era of chaos, and the accompanying trend of overthrowing the ruling class, which was based on a lively spirit.

[Michihiro Ito]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

中国、戦国期を中心とする時代に輩出した諸種の思想家。またはその典籍。この語の由来に関し、一説に班固(はんこ)の『漢書(かんじょ)』芸文志(げいもんし)の諸子略に189家、4324編の書が著録されている事実を根拠とし、百家を189家の概数的表現と解する。だが、『史記』賈誼(かぎ)伝に「頗(すこぶ)る諸子百家の学に通ず」というのがその初出の例である以上、百家は単に諸子の数の多いことを意味すると考えられる。

　諸子とは、書目(しょもく)では経書や史書などと対置されるのだが、本来はもろもろの学士をさす。その本格的な学派分類は、司馬遷(しばせん)の父、談の六家（陰陽家(いんようか)、儒家(じゅか)、墨家(ぼくか)、名家(めいか)、法家、道家(どうか)）、および班固の十家（儒家、道家、陰陽家、法家、名家、墨家、縦横家(じゅうおうか)、雑家、農家、小説家）に始まる。『隋書(ずいしょ)』経籍志では、兵、天文、暦数、五行(ごぎょう)、医方の5類が付加される。先秦(せんしん)時代の諸子に限っていえば、かかる後代の尺度による分類は、かならずしもその実態の把握に直結しない。なぜなら、いわゆる諸子百家のうち学派とよぶにふさわしい実質を備えていたのは、儒家と墨家の両派のみであったと推測されるからである。したがって、十家などの分類は、諸子の大まかな思想・学説の傾向を示したものにすぎない。戦国期に諸子の輩出した原因としては、各国君主が混迷の時代を乗り切るための方策を求めていたことや、それに伴う活発な精神を基調とする下剋上(げこくじょう)の風潮などをあげることができる。

［伊東倫厚］

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