漢承周文疲敝以及暴秦無道，恢復文化命脈乃為當務之急。自董仲舒發明《公羊春秋》，司馬遷「究天人之際，通古今之變」，劉歆建立《三統曆》，班固撰論白虎觀，乃至何休注《公羊》、鄭玄注三《禮》，無不觸及文化經驗歸納傅承與新變的重大課題，可統名之為漢儒「三代質文論」。其總結夏、商、周各朝的歷史經驗，在政治統緒上形成「三統」，在天文曆法上樹立「三正」，在文化性格上標舉「忠、質、文」三教，象徵色彩則尊尚「黑、白、赤」三色，從而推演「更化改制」的施政理論，於是「改正朔、易服色、殊徽號、異器械、別衣服」，乃成為新朝初立必不可缺的政教措施。漢時集結的《禮記》亦見有不少相關載述，故而鄭玄注《禮》頗援用別代異制的觀點以解古禮。要之，本文著眼於《春秋繁露》、《白虎通》及何休、鄭玄經注等，所探討的漢儒「三代質文論」，不僅為理解漢人歷史觀、政教觀、文化觀鈐鍵所在，亦可兼明《公羊》與《禮》學相通之處。

Following the cultural decline of the Zhou and ruthless rule of the Qin, Han dynasty scholars’ major task was to restore the great cultural lineage of the Three Dynasties. The efforts of scholars such as Dong Zhongshu 董仲舒， Sima Qian 司馬遷，Liu Xin 劉歆，Ban Gu 班固，He Xiu 何休，and Zheng Xuan 鄭玄 all deal with the cultural and historical experience of those earlier times and attempt to identify the rules that were used to govern human affairs. Collectively their work can be referred to as the Three Dynasties Cultural Theory 三代質文論 of the Han dynasty. This theory draws on the historical experience of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou dynasties to produce formulations that gradually evolved into a system of governing by decree and educating the populace that was essential to the successful establishment of a new dynasty. It covered resetting the calendar, regulating dress codes and transportation for rites, inventing words and symbols, changing instruments used in rites, music, and battles, and establishing new ritual and ceremonial dress codes. This paper discusses Han scholars’ Three Dynasties Cultural Theory, aiming to understand Han dynasty perspectives on history, time, government, and culture, as well as to study the similarities between the Gongyang Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals 公羊春秋 and Book of Rites 禮.