理学名臣刘健与“弘治中兴”

摘要

During the Hongzhi period of the Ming dynasty, the emperor and vassals scrupulously abided by the regulatory traditions, the state affairs were peaceful, and this period was historically referred to as“Hongzhi’ s Era of Prosperity”. The emergence of a regime characterized by orderliness, stability and little change, a“conservative state”, is largely a result of the emperor and vassals’ ideology of Neo Confucianism. Especially, the colonial Sec-retary Liu Jian, who was known for his mastery of Neo Confucianism, his courageous and resolute political charac-ter, the upright personality, and the special relationship with the emperor, had played a prominent role to achieve“Hongzhi’ s Era of Prosperity”. But to advocate the spirit of Neo Confucianism, Liu Jian’ s influence was confined to facilitating the “conservative state”.%明孝宗在位的弘治时期，君臣恪守制度，朝政相对清宁，被后世誉为“弘治中兴”。这种彰显秩序、维护稳定而少创新之“守成之象”的出现，在很大程度上与弘治君臣以理学为宗的理政意识及其为政风尚有关。特别是辅政大臣刘健，以其深厚的理学底蕴、果敢的为政风格、刚正的人格魅力，以及与明孝宗的特殊关系，在辅成“中兴之治”中产生了独特而突出的作用。但秉持理学精神的刘健最终也只能在辅成“守成”的范围内发挥其政治作用与影响。