A Study Of Confucian Theory Of Human Nature Containing Qi In The Pre-Qin And Han Dynasties

Human nature and Qi are two important topics in Confucian philosophy of the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties.After reviewing the classics of the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties,we found that:When the ancients talked about human nature,they often talked about Qi,when they talked about Qi,they often talked about human nature,sometimes human nature and Qi are inseparable,they thinking that human nature containing Qi,and even think that human nature is Qi.The relationship between human nature and Qi is very close,and its root is closely related to the ancient cosmology.In the view of Confucian scholars in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties,heaven is the origin of all things,and Qi is the material of all things.The heaven containing Qi and can breathe organisms.That is to say,everything begins with Qi,Qi is the beginning of survival.In Confucian traditional philosophy,the origin of existence is also related to human nature,it even refers to human nature,which is the meaning of life.Therefore,Confucian scholars in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties generally believed that human nature containing Qi or human nature is Qi.This theoretical form about human nature can be called Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi.The theory of Qi provides a new perspective for us to study human nature.For this reason,in this paper,the study of Confucian human nature in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties is placed in the perspective of cosmology.By sorting out and interpreting the Confucian classics and referring to the research achievements of contemporary scholars,emphasis is laid on expounding the different connotations and historical evolution logic of Confucianism from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty.The main content of the paper includes four parts:the preface,the body,the conclusion and the appendix.The preface mainly elaborates the origin,significance,literature review,writing ideas and methods,innovations and difficulties of the topic selection.The first part of the main text is part one,which mainly elaborates the historical evolution logic and characteristics of the Confucian scholars' thoughts of human nature containing Qi in the Pre-Qin period,it covers chapters?,?,? and ?,in content,it explores the theory of human nature containing Qi in Confucius,Guodian Confucian bamboo slips,Mencius and Xunzi.We think that Confucius was the pioneer of Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi,his thinking route of thought of"nature and heaven "became the foundation of the theory of human nature containing Qi of Confucianism in later generations.In Confucius's view,human nature is everything that human beings are born with,and it comes from heaven.And the heaven containing Qi,which can breathe organisms.Therefore,as a product of heaven,human nature naturally containing Qi.Guodian Confucian bamboo slips believe that human nature is the primitive state of life;heaven can give people life and Confucian bamboo slips regard human nature as mood.However,neither Confucius nor Guodian Confucian bamboo slips clearly distinguish the good from the evil of human nature,they think that human nature is both good and evil,and human nature of good and evil depends on acquired domestication,or they hold the position that good and evil are inseparable.From Mencius,human nature began to have qualitative attributes;Mencius regards human nature as kind Qi,similar to noble spirit,which is the beginning of benevolence and righteousness,this is the theory of good nature.Xunzi regards human nature as bad Qi,which is the beginning of evil;this is the theory of evil nature.Thus,two different ways of thinking in the Confucian philosophy of the Pre-Qin Dynasty,namely,the theory of good Qi and the theory of evil Qi were put forward,at the same time,it has formed two kinds of traditional Confucian ways of nourishing Qi and governing Qi,the emphasis of nourishing Qi lies in nature,and the emphasis of governing Qi lies in man-madeThe second part of the main text is part two,which mainly elaborates the historical evolution logic and characteristics of Confucian scholars' thoughts of human nature containing Qi between Qin and Han Dynasty,it covers chapters V and VI,in content,this paper discusses the human nature has Qi in the book of Yi Zhuan and the Book of Rites.Compared with the previous Confucian scholars,Yi Zhuan and the Book of Rites formed a relatively complete framework of cosmology;they all think that yin and yang are the materials of all things.It also introduces yin and yang into the study of human nature.They think that human nature containing yin and yang,this is their common position.Meanwhile,they all hold the principle of "yang is superior to yin is inferior",and began to discuss the good and evil of nature with yin and yang,shows a trend of synthesizing Mencius' doctrine of good Qi and Xunzi'doctrine of evil Qi.This reflects the period from the end of the Warring States Period to the beginning of the Western Han Dynasty,the trend of combining Confucianism's theory of human nature with cosmology is gradually closely.And this trend of thought promoted the rise of the Confucian theory of human nature and human feelings contain yin and yang in the Han Dynasty.Since then,the Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi has entered the stage of good Qi mixed with evil Qi.The third part of the main text is part three,which mainly elaborates the historical evolution logic and characteristics of Confucian scholars' theory of human nature containing Qi in the Han Dynasty,it covers chapters VII,VIII,IXandX.The Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi in the Han Dynasty can be divided into two periods,the Western Han Dynasty and the Eastern Han Dynasty.Among them,Dong Zhongshu and Yang Xiong were the most representative in the Western Han Dynasty,in the Eastern Han Dynasty,White tiger tong yi and Wang Chong were the most typical.In the Confucianism of the Han Dynasty,the theory of cosmology became more complete and sound than ever before.Whether Dong Zhongshu and Yang Xiong in the former Han Dynasty or White tiger tong yi and Wang Chong in the latter Han Dynasty,these scholars have not escaped from the thinking line of heaven and man.They generally stand in the position of heaven and man are all made up of Qi,or Lusing yin and yang to discuss human nature.For example,in Dong Zhongshu' opinion,heaven has yin and yang,and human nature is the product of heaven,it naturally contains yin and yang.This is the human nature of greed and benevolence,or using quantity of Qi to discuss the good and evil of human nature,for example,Wang Chong thought that all things are born with natural Qi,human nature is the product of Qi.There is not only five kinds of good Qi,but also evil Qi in human beings.The amount of Qi contained determines the good and evil in human nature.Therefore,there are good and evil in human nature and human feelings.In other words,human nature is a mixture of good Qi and evil Qi.This is the common position of the Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi in the Han Dynasty.The concluding part concisely expounds the thinking line of human nature containing Qi and its characteristics of Confucian scholars from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty,and draws some conclusions.Firstly,from the perspective of the evolution of the theory of human nature containing Qi,the Confucian theory of human nature containing Qi from the Pre-Qin Dynasty to the Han Dynasty presents a trend of development from monism to pluralism.Ancient Confucians emphasized that human nature containing Qi,Confucius and Guodian Confucian bamboo slips regard human nature as a whole,there is no clear distinction between the good and evil attributes of human nature.Beginning with Mencius,human nature is divided into two parts.Mencius regards good Qi as human nature,good Qi is the origin of benevolence and righteousness.Xunzi regards evil Qi as human nature,and evil Qi is the root of evil nature.Yi Zhuan and the Book of Rites show a tendency to integrate Mencius' doctrine of good Qi and Xunzi' doctrine of evil Qi,they began to discuss the good and evil of nature with yin and yang.Dong Zhongshu,Yang Xiong,White tiger tong yi and Wang Chong in the Han Dynasty all thought that human nature is a mixture of good and evil,that is to say,good and evil are all in human nature.Secondly,the design of educational system is based on human nature.As far as how to cultivate morality is concerned,there are two camps in Confucianism in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties.Mencius regards human nature as good Qi,which is the foundation of goodness.He emphasized the nurturing of Qi and the natural development of good Qi,that is,frankness.Frankness means negating the individual and letting nature show itself naturally.Good is the result of frankness.This means that the bad Qi in human nature is neglected.This leads to the lack of rationality of rules,regulations,etiquette and justice,which is unsatisfactory to Xunzi and later scholars.Therefore,from the perspective of the study of heaven and man,and on the basis of the principle of heaven and man are made up of Qi,Xunzi and those who holds the doctrine of human nature is a mixture of good and evil demonstrated the relationship between ritual and music system and Qi,for example,the theory of San gang liu ji based on yin and yang,or using yin and yang to demonstrate ritual of sacrifice,or to demonstrate the penalty system with yin and yang.Etc.They also emphasizes the principle of induction(seeking for the same Qi),and by the method of music education to promote good Qi and suppress evil QiThe appendix inspects the origin and shape of the words nature and Qi.At the same time,summarizes the Pre-Qin and Han Confucianism's discussion on the characteristics and attributes of the category of human nature and Qi.In a word,the Confucian scholars in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties discuss the theory of human nature on the basis of Qi and heaven,generally regarded heaven as the ultimate source of human nature,they think that heaven can breathe creatures with Qi.In other words,Qi is the beginning of survival.In the Pre-Qin and Han Confucians,Qi,generally containing material.Therefore,the products made up of Qi naturally possess material.That is to say,human nature is the product of heaven;it has material meaning,and also containing Qi.This is the general meaning of Confucianism scholars in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties.This understanding of human nature is obviously different from that of Neo-Confucianism in Song and Ming Dynasties,which regard human nature as a pure and transcendent category and use an additional metaphysical theory to discuss human nature.In other words,discussing human nature use Qi(human nature containing Qi)is a reasonable and meaningful way to interpret the Confucian human nature in the Pre-Qin and Han Dynasties.