許多關於荻生徂徠儒學思想的研究，主要是從傳統的經學或近代的哲學和政治思想等角度立論。但回到徂徠所處的時代脈絡，他是從歷史的角度，從己身所處的日本江戶社會這一相對時空，來理解中國「聖人之道」的形成與運作及批判「宋學」，面對這一脈絡的問題，研究者尚未有清楚的說明。事實上，徂徠主張「學問乃探究歷史之事」。他不僅探究日本歷史，亦透過從其文學研究發展出來的「古文辭學」這一方法來解讀中國經史典籍，對中國歷史變化有整體且深刻的認識。他從政治、經術（經學）、文學（詩文）等層面的變化整理出一套完整的中國史觀，並以之為基礎展開對「宋學」的批判與「聖人之道」的重構。所以，本文主要擬在社會史視角基礎上，再從東亞儒學中之比較政治思想史的觀點，以「封建」與「郡縣」為焦點，探討徂徠如何在將江戶社會與國家制度相對化的問題意識下，運用「古文辭學」解讀經史典籍乃至重要儒學概念，藉以想像「三代」與理解秦漢以後的中國歷史。從而釐清徂徠「聖人之道」的全體樣貌與其「宋學」批判的意義，進而討論其說與顧炎武和山鹿素行等約略同時代的中日思想家之論的異同，希望在東亞儒學思想史視野中，分析其政治思想的特色與意義。

Ogyū Sorai (1666-1728) is considered one of early modern Japan’s greatest thinkers. Much of the research examining Sorai’s Confucianist thinking approaches it from the viewpoint of either traditional Confucian classics studies, or modern philosophy and political thought. Sorai attempts to understand the formation and application of ancient China’s “Way of the Sages” 聖人之道from the perspective of the Edo 江戶 society in which he lives, and criticizes “Song Confucianism” from a historical point of view. The context of these questions has yet to be clearly explained by scholars. Sorai asserts that “scholarship is a matter of exploring history”: his explorations of Japanese history, together with a scholarly approach known as “ancient rhetorical studies” 古文辭學 that developed out of his literary research, inform his reading of the Confucian classics and works of Chinese history, giving him a deep awareness of historical change across its entirety. Based upon a well-rounded view of history that incorporates politics, classics, and literary studies, he then develops a critique of Song Confucianism and a reconstruction of the Way of the Sages. This paper’s approach, then, builds on a mainly socio-historical basis, adding a perspective of the history of comparative political thought in East Asian Confucianism. It focuses on the feudal system and the system of prefectures and counties to explore how, in light of his awareness of the related problems of Edo society and the national system, Sorai draws upon his literary scholarship to imagine the Three Dynasties 三代 of ancient China, and interpret post-Han dynasty Chinese history. It thus aims to clarify Sorai’s view of the Way of the Sages as a whole and to discuss his criticisms of Song Confucianism. Further, Ogyū Sorai’s ideas are compared with those of Gu Yanwu 顧炎武 (1613-1682) and Yamaga Soko 山鹿素行 (1622-1685), analyzing the characteristics and intrinsic meaning of his political thought in the context of East Asian intellectual history.