這篇論文環繞著「在朝向二十一世紀發展的台灣，應如何對待儒家思想傳統？」這個問題展開分析。筆者在開始進入主題之前就首先指出，這個問題不能從抽象的或純理論的立場來談，而必須放在戰後台灣具體的歷史脈絡中來思考。從這個角度來看，筆者發現：儒家思想在戰後台灣可以分為兩個陣營，一是以中小學教科書為代表的「官方儒學」，它是國家政治目標的支持者，對儒家思想進行高度選擇性的解釋，以支持國家政治目標或為政治領袖的言行提供傳統文化的基礎；二是民間學者或知識分子所詮釋的「民間儒學」，它強調民族文化的認同遠過於政治認同。但在戰後台灣的歷史情境中，「官方儒學」透過正式教育系統發揮的影響力大於「民間儒學」。戰後台灣的儒學以兩個系統出現的狀態，其實是中國儒學史的常例之現代版而已。 筆者接著說明，在邁向二十一世紀的今日台灣，我們必須超越漢代以降各種「官方儒學」的糾纏與曲解，回歸先秦孔孟的原始教義，尋求儒學新生的精神泉源。這種精神泉源之特別具有現代意義者有二：一是連續性的觀點，二是有機體論的觀點。前者能對二十一世紀台灣的民主政治發揮滋潤的作用，在「個人主體性」快速成長的新時代中，使「個人」與「社會」的對立能稍微降低；後者則可以在二十一世紀台灣經濟發展的過程中，稍稍降低人與人以及人與自然的疏離感。這兩種原始儒學的精神，都可以為新時代的台灣「生命共同體」奠定傳統文化的基礎。

　　　　　Two trends of Confucianism exist in postwar Taiwan: one official version represented by textbooks in primary and middle schools; another popular version embraced by scholars and the intelligentsia. The latter version manifests the identity of popular culture in Taiwan; the former official version is a powerful booster of national aspirations. These two trends strongly remind us of the two familiar Confucian traditions-the great and the small-that have flourished throughout the intellectual history of China. This essay explores the significance of these two traditions in contemporary Taiwan for her open future in the 21st century. I will treat four themes: 1.What tensions and differences in philosophical contents, as well as in sociopolitical repercussions, there are between these two traditions in Taiwan; 2.How these two pairs of two versions of Confucianism differ-the historical pair of the great and the small traditions in China, the contemporary pair of the offical and the popular Traditions in Taiwan; 3.What light such differences throws on classical Confucianism; 4. What contemporary significance such a comparison has for contemporary Taiwan. I will explore the above themes from two futuristic angles: interactive harmony between the social and the subjective, and interactive harmony between the human and the ecological. This is to follow Confucius' injunction to warm up the old to know the new," i.e., to prepare us for21st-century Taiwan.