The Confucian Theory Of Human Nature

The theory of human nature is an important component of the Confucian ethical and moral system in the pre-Qin Dynasty. The Confucian school developed its theories on morality, cultivation of morality and politics all on this basis. The theory of human nature was first put forward by Confucius at the end of Spring and Autumn Period and became a hot topic in the academic circle at the end of the Warring States Period. The debate on the good nature and bad nature of human between Mengzi and Xunzi came to birth and developed under this background.In order to study the theory of human nature in the pre-Qin period, we should first analyze its theoretical basis. The establishment of the theory of human nature in the pre-Qin Dynasty resulted from the function of multi-factors. This part tries to probe into the cultural basis of the establishment of the human nature theory in the pre-Qin Dynasty under the social political and economic background, with the focus on the spirit of humanism, the lofty moral vogue and the impact of the thoughts of"Zhouyi".Why the opinions on human nature of Mengzi and Xunzi differ so much? This part will exert itself to summarizing the doctrinal differences of the theory of good nature and the theory of bad nature, and with this as the clue to analyze that the different views on individual and universe of Mengzi and Xunzi affected the formation of their opposing theories of human nature. The differences of political measures between Mengzi and Xunzi were the necessary result of the impact on politics of their different theories of human nature.From the above comparison and study, we can see that the theories of Mengzi and Xunxi look contradictive, but the results are the same. They have different ways of cultivation, but the same human value on acceptance and abandonment, namely to become a lofty man of naisheng-waiwang (Sageliness within and kingliness without).The theory of good nature and the theory of bad nature have profound impact on the academic development in the following periods. This part expounds the impact of the theories of good nature and bad nature on the Buddhism thoughts in the Tang Dynasty and the"Xin Xue"in the Ming Dynasty with Beichan-Shenxiu and Wang Yangming respectively as the example. The theories of good nature and bad nature not only cultivate the character of Chinese, but also provide beneficial reference for current socialistic moral construction.