Research On Li'ao's Human Nature Theory

As an excellent Confucian scholar on the middle and late stage of Tang Dynasty. Li' ao was an important man on the history of Chinese thought. The theory of human nature of Li' ao was the result of movement against Buddhism and Taoism in the field of culture under the particular condition of history. And it was also the inevitable outcome of Confucian doctrine of human nature.Li' ao followed and developed the Theory of Good Nature of Meng Ke, chose and brought to play the Theory of Mind and Nature of Buddhism and Taoism, and then brought up the Theory of Good Nature and Evil Feeling and the way of self-cultivation of Perishing the Feeling and Recovering the Nature. The theory of human nature of Li' ao thought that the human nature was inborn good. But because of seven kinds of feeling blocking human lost the innate good nature, only if the evil feeling went out, could man recover the good nature. When Li' ao discussed his theory of human nature, he took the Confucianism as his standard, and excavated the contents of Confucian scriptures abundantly .And also , he emphasized that during the process of probing into recovering the nature that man should seek help from his own inner world and play the subject by himself .Because of Liao' s experience and his association with others ,and the particularity of the times he lived in ,his theory of human nature presented the distinguishing feature of itself: First , it is a kind of Confucian of human nature which founded on scriptures of Confucianism . Opposing Buddhism and reviving Confucianism is the real starting point of this theory . Second , it chose , developed and absorbed the theory of mind nature of Buddhism and Taoism bravely , innovating the theory of the traditional Confucianism appearing the distinguishing that quoting Buddhism into Confucianism . The theory If human nature of Li' ao is an important part of the stride from the traditional Confucian school of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasties. And it is also an important link during the interim between the theory of nature and feeling and the dualism . It changed the direction of theory of Three Grades of the Nature. It was the first signs of University Nature and Disposition Nature of Song Dynasty, and it was the sprout of moral accomplishment of keeping heavenly principles and extinguishing the desire, also, it open the Confucianism school of idealist philosophy of the Song and Ming Dynasty. Otherwise, Li' ao' s theory of human nature didn' t leave nothing to be desired. It couldn' t answer the difficult questions of itself , but with the brand of the landlord class in the feudal society.