本文旨在釐清中國古代政治哲學中的「非語言」因素及其在統治學說之功能和意義。為進行此一工作，筆者具體論證中國古代思想家為何懷疑語言統治之功效，並探究他們試圖以何種方式取代語言的統治效能。在郭店楚簡和上博楚簡的文獻中，對只靠語言法令統治人民之嫌惡廣泛可見。並且，若考察郭店《老子》中的「非語言統治」相關論述，我們並未發現「儒」「道」相對立的思想框架。據此本文指出：在郭店楚簡和上博楚簡思想形成的戰國早期，「非語言統治」之政治思想應該是不分學派的普遍觀點。本文也將分析此種「非語言統治」的概念和主張逐步被「誠」概念涵攝的狀況。戰國中後期以後的文獻，開始使用「誠」概念以提出更完整的「非語言統治」論述。

In the course of development of political thought during the Warring States Period and Qin-Han Empires, our general impression is that aristocratic court decorum was replaced by positive law. On the other hand, however, disbelief in verbal order by rulers has been expressed in various Warring States political discourses. Indeed, a group of thinkers believed that the establishment of a high level of morality would enable rulers to establish authority over the people without the help of any verbal decree. Interestingly, such ideas often appear in the newly excavated Guodian Bamboo texts. From this viewpoint, the paper will explicate several concepts and arguments that support the idea of such “non-verbal rule” mainly in the Guodian texts, and trace the process by which these ideas are crystallized into the idea of cheng (sincerity/co-creativity) in the mid-late Warring States and Qin-Han texts. In doing so, the author hopes that this research can delineate the process of theorization of main conceptual terms which were essential
for the discussion of socio-political issues arising in Warring States political discourse.