《尚書·酒誥》中,酒開始與王道必然性相連,被賦予了天命性質。酒禁忌的出現,意味著酒在政權更替中的負面作用第一次被凸顯出來。其形成既有歷史原因,也是一個政治哲學問題。殷商諸王正身敬法,不憚酒色,至紂王因縱酒荒淫而致政息國滅,留下千古罵名。殷王成德皆不崇飲與紂王沉湎于酒而引起人神共憤,形成鮮明對比,也引起后世反思。出于意識形態管理考慮,周公把殷滅周興歸因于對酒禁忌的違與遵,奉勸康叔不用"水監"而代之以"民監"。最終,君王為政當以民心為檢驗成敗得失的標準,構成了以儒家為中心的王權合法性理論的民意基礎。

In light of the Confucian Classics’explanation of jiugao,this paper discusses the connections among alcohol,the mandate of Heaven,and royal legitimacy,and how alcohol was fraught with moral and political meanings.Due to the need for ideological control,the Duke of Zhou attributed the rise and fall of dynasties to their compliance with and violation of the alcohol prohibition.In the Shang Dynasty,most of the kings and officers had revered Heaven and respected the people,and kept away from alcohol.On the contrary,King Zhou,who lost himself in alcoholic and sensual pleasures,incurred upon himself thousands of years’infamy,serving as a lesson that kings should care about popular support as the basis of royal legitimacy.