On Comparison Of Human Nature Thought Between Mencius And Xun Zi

The theory of human nature is an important subject in the history of Chinese philosophy, and it is also an important one for Confucianism, especially before Qin Dynasty. Mencius and Xun Zi are two most renowned Confucius scholars after Confucius. They both lived in different eras, between a span of 100 years, therefore, their argument about whether the human nature is essentially good or evil was not face-to-face. Nonetheless it was indeed an ideological confrontation and a dialogue between souls. Such an argument has always been centered around the explanation of Confucius' theories.Confucius stated, on human nature, a simple yet famous line: "people are similar by nature, but different in habits." He thought people were born with similar human nature, but became completely different characters due to various habits after birth. Confucius didn't elaborate on the topic; he just said people had similar nature, but didn't clearly state whether the nature is good or evil. In the biography section of Biographies of Ancient and Contemporary figures in the Book of Former Han, there was an explanation on the quote, and based on this explanation, a deduction can be reached that Confucius believes there exists two kinds of human nature, one Good, the other Evil. As long as he thinks of two different types of human nature, we may wonder why he also says "people are similar by nature." The only logical conclusion is that Confucius' theory of human nature is self-conflicting. Mencius' doctrine of good human nature and Xun Zi's doctrine of wicked human nature, each holding extreme opinions, resolved Confucius' conflicting theory on human nature.The focal point of the argument of human nature between Mencius and Xun Zi is: 1, what is human nature? 2, is human nature good or wicked? 3, how to explain goodness and evilness? This paper analyzes the issue from the above 3 aspects, and following Confucianism, extends the discussion further to the area of the methods of self cultivation, and thoughts on state affairs.Part One. Defining human nature is the first step for establishing the theory of human nature. Mencius defines human nature as morality, while Xun Zi defines it as physical desire. Despite this, they both hold that human has morality as well as physical desire.Part Two. Theory of human nature needs to answer the question what the characteristics of human nature are when a human is born, i.e. what the human nature really is at birth. The different definitions of human nature given by Mencius and Xun Zi lead to different answers to this question. Mencius believes that Man's nature at birth is good, that men have the four beginning(the root of four moral traits), and that all men have a mind which cannot bear to see the suffering of others. But Xun zi, in his criticism of Mencius' theory of good human nature, argues that human nature is originally evil, and that goodness is the result of activity. He further accuses that Mencius did not know the nature of man and did not understand the distinction between man's nature and his effort. In sum, Xun Zi asserts that physical desire causes people to behave improperly, is the origin of destroying morality, and is naturally the opposite of morality. From this point of view, it is clear that man's nature is evil.Part Three. In explaining goodness and wickedness, both Mencius and Xun Zi admit that good conduct and misconduct co-exists in society. According to Mencius, man inclines to do good deeds because the goodness of human nature and the evil in him is the result of external influence; Xun Zi believes that man means to do no good because of the wickedness of human nature. But why is mere goodness? Goodness is only the result of his activity.While both Menciu and Xun Zi hold opposite views on human nature, they share the same purpose of shunning evil and promoting good, and believe this is possible. But their methods are different. Generally speaking, for Mencius, preserving and cultivating his innate good nature is the essence of his moral cultivation, while for Xun Zi developing his nature into goodness is.1. Mencius thinks, based on the goodness of human nature, the way of self cultivation is to preserve the innate good nature, and expand that nature, i.e. do things by following original feelings. The closer a man is to his true nature, the more goodness he will show and the closer he is to an ideal stage. How to achieve this? By continuingly improving moral cultivation and constantly striving to be stronger. Mencius advises the following method: "being rest assured, " "having few desire," and "cultivating righteousness"2. Believing man's nature is wicked and goodness is the result of activity, Xun Zi thinks moral cultivation starts from developing man's nature into goodness. His method emphasized two points: "renunciation of one's evil nature and a commitment to conscious activity" and "renunciation of desires"Part Four. The purpose of deep thinking about human nature by Mencius and Xun Zi is to change society and to establish ideal political environment which suits human nature. Such ideology means benevolent rule to Mencius, ruling by kings to Xun Zi. According to Mencius, Benevolent rule is to rule with the mind which cannot bear to see the suffering of others, thus applying the theory of good human nature to the area of politics, which is the core of Mencius theory. Xunzi's argument , rule with Ritual Propriety, comes from his fundamental view that man's nature is evil. Ruling with Ritual Propriety therefore is a necessity for the principle of managing state affairs.Studying and comparing the inner meaning of Mencius and Xun Zi's theories of human nature has theoretical and practical significance on reflecting on the nature of the conflict between human misbehaviors and moral values in today's China, carrying forward traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, and re-establishing proper moral and faith system.