上世紀80年代，日本漢學家鈴木修次在《中國文學與日本文學》一書中以中國文學尚「諷刺」、日本文學尚「風雅」；中國文學尚「風骨」、日本文學尚「物之哀」；中國文學尚「經世」、日本文學尚「遊戲」等二元對立的方式強調，中國文學總體上偏重於政治性和道德性，而日本文學更偏向于對娛樂性和人情的關注。鈴木的觀點某種程度代表了日本學者的普遍看法。從歷史的角度看，中國文學固然與政教倫理有很深的關係，而日本文學自18世紀江戶國學興起之後，也產生了類似于中國「道統」思想的政治倫理觀─「古道論」。「古道論」作為日本近代思想史上一個重要的概念，對近代日本的社會文化產生了巨大的影響。然而，迄今為止卻只是被放在日本思想史的範疇來探討，與文學的關係並未得到充分的重視。本文擬就18世紀的日本國學家如何在闡釋儒學理論的基礎上建立新的政治倫理——「古道論」進行分析，並對這一理論如何影響後來的日本文學進行考察。

In the 1980s, a Japanese Sinologist SUZUKI Sh𨨏ji has adopted a binary and diametric description in his publication Chinese and Japanese Literature that Chinese literature advocates「諷刺」 (satire), 「風骨」(vigor), and 「經世」(administration) , while Japanese literature upholds 「風雅」(elegancy), 「物之哀」(pathos), and 「遊戲」(entertainment), so as to emphasize the fact that Chinese literature in general stresses on political and moral factors, while the Japanese one tends to show greater concern for entertainment and sensibility. Such viewpoints represent the overall opinions of Japanese scholars. From a historical point of view, no doubt Chinese literature has a deep relation with politics, religions and ethics, and since the sprang up of Edo Nativism in the eighteenth century, Japanese literature has also cast a view similar to Chinese「道統」(Confucian orthodoxy) on politics and ethics —「古道論」 (The analects of Ancient orthodoxy), creating vast influences on modern Japanese society and culture. As an important notion in modern Japanese ideology, 「古道論」 deserves wider and deeper investigations; yet until now, it is only being discussed in the field of Japanese ideological history, and its relation with literature is not greatly valued. In this paper, we shall analyzing how Japanese Nativism in the eighteenth century established a new criticism, 「古道論」, on Japanese politics and ethics, based on a new explanation of Confucian theories, and investigate how these theories influence modern Japanese literature.