| Hsun Tzu,an outstanding representative of Confucianism during the Warring States period,epitomized the Pre-Qin philosophers' thought.As Guo Moruo said,“Hsun Tzu is the last master of the scholars in the Pre-Qin dynasty.He not only epitomizes the Confucian thoughts,but also can be treated as a synthesizer of almost all schools of thought in the period of the early Qin Dynasty.” The exploration of “things”,“desires” and their relation is an important part of Hsun Tzu's thoughts.The first part of this stud y analyzes the historical background and the origin of the theory of material desire.Hereinto,it points out that the theory of material desires taking the traditional material desires of Confucianism as its core and referencing relevant theories of other schools such as Legalists and Mohist.Hsun Tzu's theory,aims at explaining the traditional Confucian values from a perspective of utilitarianism in respecting of the social reality in the late period of the Warring States.Secondly,the definitions of “Things”,“Nature” and “Desires” in Hsun Tzu's theory are given.In terms of “Desires”,the characteristics of Hsun Tzu's theory of human nature which believes desires are natural and evil is identified in this study.And desires are divided into different levels as well.This study also examples the form of three kinds of contradictions which are “things bowed to desires”,“desires limited by things” and “consciousness clouded by physics” and analyses causes of these contradictions.Further methods of a balanced material desire are found,after proving that cognition is the key.With the clue of material desires,the research combines Hsun Tzu's view of the Individual and the Universe,theory of human nature,Theory of rite and epistemology.Thirdly,this study evaluates Hsun Tzu's theory of material desires and proposes its contribution of the development and integration of pre-Q in Confucianism and Pre-Qin scholars.The limitations of Hsun Tzu's theory of material desires are also discussed in this research. |
PDF Full Text Request