過去對於呂祖謙《東萊書說》的認識與研究，多放眼在其「尊《序》信古」的解經立場，以及「理學解《書》」之解經方法，罕有人關注其《尚書》學的思想體系。呂祖謙是以兼合經、史的視角看待《尚書》，因此，他一方面認為可以從《尚書》中觀察上古至三代的世變風移；另一方面，因為《尚書》經過孔子之手，其中也蘊含著聖人的意志與精神心術，足為後世之法。本文梳理了呂祖謙對於上古、三代歷史轉換的鑑察與體會，以及其對於聖人心術之定義與理解。最後，由於他尊經的立場，對於《尚書》中有爭議的聖人事蹟，如「周公稱王」問題，亦從詮解中提出辯解之詞，試圖維護周公之完人形象。

While previous scholarship on Lu Zuqian’s Donglai shushuo [Donglai’s Explication of the Book of Documents] has focused mainly on his viewpoint (“follow the ‘Preface’ and believe in antiquity”）and his methodology (“use the Learning of the Principle to interpret the Shangshu”), the theory he formulated from the Book of Documents remains rarely studied. Through an integration of taking the Book of Documents as a historical text and a classical text, he believes, on the one hand, a reader can delineate the cultural change from high antiquity to the “Three ages”, namely Xia, Shang, and Zhou via studying the Book of Documents. On the other hand, since the Book of Documents had been edited by Confucius, it contains the will and the spirits of the sage which could serve as an exemplary model for later times. Hence, this essay examines how Lu Zuqian interprets the historical transitions between high antiquity and the “Three ages,” and how he defines the meaning of the art of the sages’ mind. While the Book of Documents contains controversial passages, for instance, passages regarding how the Duke of Zhou claim kingship, Lu Zuqian seeks to defend the image of the Duke of Zhou though he shows great reverence for classical texts.