時 혹은 時中은 先秦儒家의 핵심 개념이다. 이는 복잡다기한 정치적 상황에서 자신의 진퇴를 적절히 단행하는 것과 연관된다. 예를 들어, 孟子는 孔子의 탁월함을 바로 시의적절하게 처신하는 능력에서 찾는다. 그런데, 유가를 강력히 비판한 法家 商? 역시 時, 즉 시의적절함을 중시한다. 그는 농업생산력 증대와 전쟁 능력 강화를 기초로 한 국가의 부강은 법치를 통해서만이 가능하다고 보는데, 바로 법치가 그 시대적 상황에 가장 시의적절한 통치 방식이기 때문이라고 주장한다. 이러한 유가와 상앙의 시의적절성 개념들은 그 해당 문맥 간의 차이가 있기 때문에 완전히 대조된다고 보기는 어렵다. 그럼에도 불구하고, 일정 정도의 추상화를 거친다면 그 둘 간의 유의미한 차이를 찾을 수 있다. 이러한 취지에서 본고는 유가와 법가(특히 상앙)가 정확히 어떠한 맥락에서 각기 시의적절함을 개념화하는지 살펴본다.

Early Confucian thinkers place great emphasis on the idea of timeliness(shi 時 or shi zhong 時中), namely conducting oneself in a timely manner, a good example of which is Mencius`s(孟子) high evaluation of Confucius(孔子) in that respect. According to Mencius, other sages could not measure up to Confucius, in that he was the only sage who could behave in accordance with timeliness, especially, in complex political circumstances. A similar idea is also found in other early Chinese texts. In the Tuan zhuan(彖傳) of the Zhouyi(周易), shi zhong is treated importantly. In the Zhong yong(中庸) chapter of the Liji(禮記), shi is presented as a standard for the differentiation between the gentleman(君子) and the petty person(小人). On the basis of the above examples, timeliness has traditionally been regarded as a key concept of early Confucian thought. Interestingly, the early legalist thinker(法家) Shang yang(商?) also puts great emphasis on the idea of timeliness(shi). As well known, he asserts that it is only through the rule of law(法治) that the establishment of a rich and powerful state based on the increase in agricultural productivity and the strengthening of the war capability becomes feasible. His supporting argument for this assertion is that the adoption of the rule of law is perfectly well timed in the political situation at that time. Strictly speaking, the context in which timeliness is emphasized is different from that of the Confucian idea. Nevertheless, it cannot be denied that Shang yang also regards a very similar idea importantly. It is clear then that the mere fact that the Confucians put emphasis on timeliness is not sufficient to characterize their thought. In other words, it is required to determine exactly in what context each of the schools of thought attaches importance to the idea. This article will deal with this issue.