In the theories of Mencius and Xunzi, the theory of human nature is the basis of their respective ideological systems and also the theory of human nature. Xunzi and Mencius came to the opposite conclusion. When we carefully study their exposition on human nature, we find that although the conclusions are different, they are not contrary in logic and basically the same in theoretical mission, as if they were just different. Just like looking at the same hand from the palm of your hand and the back of your hand, the basic structure of Mencius' and Xunzi's humanistic systems is similar. The core of their theory is the systematization of anthropology, and the relationship between man and nature is the basis of all their theories. There are similarities only from their basic concepts of human studies, and they divide people into mind and nature respectively. And construct the theory of human value from the angles of sex, mind and heaven. Mencius and Xunzi both admit that human nature exists objectively and human desires cannot be removed, so they all have naturalistic tendencies. Both Mencius and Xunzi advocate the transformation of human nature, and the basic values of Confucianism embodied in their theories have not changed in essence. Nevertheless, Mencius and Xunzi's theory of human nature is obviously different. Especially from their social and political theories about human nature, we can clearly see their differences. First, the concept connotation of the theory of human nature is inconsistent. The so-called sex in Xunzi's theory refers to the natural nature of human beings, and the sex discussed by Mencius also includes the natural nature of mouth, eyes, ears and nose, but he obviously wants to exclude these natural natures from human nature in his own theory. On the contrary, the benevolence, righteousness, propriety and wisdom that Xunzi tried to exclude from sex is the core connotation of Mencius' theory of human nature. "Mencius said,' People's scholars are inherently good.' He said:' No, it is better to know human nature, regardless of the difference between human nature and falsehood.' "(Xunzi's evil nature) That's because their nature is good." I said: this statement is wrong. This is a saying, we haven't been able to understand human nature, and we haven't figured out the difference between human innate nature and acquired human beings. Mencius put forward the basic connotation of human nature in the article "Dedicated", from which we can see the fundamental difference between him and Xunzi in the concept of human nature: "Mouth is for taste, eyes are for color, ears are for sound." Limbs are for peace, tranquility and life, so a gentleman doesn't mean sex. Benevolence is to father and son, righteousness is to monarch and minister, courtesy is to guest and host, knowledge is to sage, sage is to heaven, life is also sexual, so a gentleman is not life. "This passage means that the mouth is delicious food, the eyes are beautiful, and the ears are pleasant sounds. Therefore, gentlemen do not regard them as natural results. Benevolence is very important to the relationship between father and son, righteousness to the relationship between monarch and minister, courtesy to the relationship between subject and object, wisdom to saints, and saints to heaven. Whether these can be realized has the function of life, but it also has the function of nature, so the gentleman does not regard them as the category of life. Second, the roots of good and evil are different. In Mencius' theory, the theoretical basis of his theory of human nature is the trinity of mind, nature and nature. In other words, human nature is essentially the same as nature-the legitimacy of human nature stems from the identity between heaven and man, so human nature itself is good. Therefore, Mencius believed that innate human nature is good, only because of the change of acquired factors, people lost their nature. Therefore, only by constantly cultivating oneself can people maintain their nature. Xunzi grafted Taoist ontology into the theory of the relationship between man and nature, and advocated "the separation of man and nature", that is, man and nature went their separate ways. Therefore, Xunzi believes that the natural nature represented by human nature, emotion and desire is evil, and only by transforming the evil natural nature can people turn evil into good. " Mencius said: so, if you do it, it will be too much. Today's human nature is inherently inseparable from its simplicity and its capital, and it will be lost. From this perspective, human nature will be evil and clear. The so-called good man is not far from its simplicity and beauty, but also away from its capital and interests. In this way, her husband's capital is simple and beautiful, her mind is good, and her husband can see and hear. That's why it became evil. "I said, this explanation is wrong. Mencius' so-called good nature means that he feels beautiful but not divorced from quality, and feels good but not divorced from natural qualifications. The so-called good nature means that beauty does not deviate from quality, and goodness does not deviate from personality. The relationship between talent and beauty, the relationship between mind and kindness, is just like the eyesight of seeing things can not be separated from the eyes. The ability to listen to sound is inseparable from the ear. Therefore, the beauty of qualification and the goodness of mind are just like the eyesight of eyes and the hearing of ears. If a person's nature is born of his qualities and qualifications, it will definitely lose its beauty and kindness. From this point of view, it is obvious that human nature is evil. (in this paragraph, "the so-called goodness ... so it's too late to listen to all directions" should be ". "Correction in translation. Thirdly, the ways to transform human nature are inconsistent. Mencius' theory of good nature embodies the moral consciousness based on human nature. The relationship between man and nature and the intersection of flesh and blood, Confucianism found the foundation of human existence in the philosophical sense. In other words, people can look at the universe from the innate nature itself, and the ontology of the universe is internalized in the Mencius-style human science system. People are born with moral consciousness and subjective spirit of inner introspection. Therefore, Mencius' theory of good nature, although it also includes external compulsory social transformation, is a self-discipline way to transform human nature from the inside out. Xunzi's theory of evil nature emphasizes both etiquette and law, and advocates transforming human nature from objective aspects such as strengthening social norms. Since human nature is evil, the premise of social stability lies in whether the "sex" of everyone who constitutes society can be effectively governed. Therefore, Xunzi's theory of evil nature, although it also has the internal introspection and consciousness of moralists, is mainly a transformation of heteronomy from the outside to the inside. " Mencius said:' Human nature is good. It's not. All the so-called good people in ancient and modern times have been treated fairly; The so-called villains are all dangerous and rebellious. There are also good and evil. Now, if we sincerely treat evil with humanity, will we use the holy king and courtesy? Although there is a holy king's courtesy, is it right to add the body to talk.an excellent course? Today, human nature is evil. Therefore, the ancient sages thought it was dangerous but not right, and it was rebellion, so they died. Therefore, they set up the monarch's imposing manner to face it, and made it clear that they should reform the etiquette, formulate laws to govern it, ban it with heavy punishment, and let the whole world be governed by the holy king and transformed into etiquette. Now it's time to try to turn the monarch's momentum into rudeness and benevolence. If it is, the strong will take it away from the weak, the public will be furious and depressed, and the chaos in the world will not wait long. However, from this point of view, human nature is evil and its goodness is false. "("Xunzi's theory of evil nature ") Mencius said:" Human nature is good. "I said: this is wrong. All the so-called evil means circuitous and insidious, which violates etiquette and justice. This is the difference between good and evil. Do you really think that human nature conforms to etiquette, justice and social order? So where do you need a wise emperor and courtesy? Even with a wise emperor and etiquette, what can be added to the popularization of etiquette and the stability of social order? Actually, it's not. Human nature is evil. Ancient saints thought that people were evil, insidious, incorrect and against order, so they established the power of the monarch to rule them, clarified the etiquette and righteousness to educate them, established the rule of law to manage them, and increased the punishment to limit them, so that everyone in the world could obey the order. So as to reach the standard of kindness. This is the rule of emperors and the teaching of propriety and righteousness. If we abandon the power of the monarch and the management of the rule of law, and there is no penalty limit, it will be different to stand by and interact with people all over the world. Then if that's the case, those powerful people will invade the weak and take them away from them. If there are more people, there will be fewer bullies, and they will continue to harass. After a while, the situation will appear. From this point of view, it is obvious that human nature is evil, and their good behavior is acquired. Human nature is human nature, and there is no distinction between good and evil in essence. The controversy between Mencius' theory of good nature and Xunzi's theory of evil nature is mainly due to the inconsistency in the conceptual connotation of the two theories. In addition, it must be pointed out that from Mencius' theory of good nature to Xunzi's theory of evil nature, the value orientation of Confucianism has changed greatly, that is, from the moralism and idealism of Confucius and Mencius, the founder of Confucianism, to the pragmatism and utilitarianism of Xunzi, and the tendency of Confucianism to serve the monarchy is more prominent. Xunzi's theory of evil nature took place on the eve of China's reunification, and its presentation also reflected the great changes in China's cultural trend. In addition to social and political factors, some scholars pointed out that the debate between Mencius and Xunzi about the good and evil of human nature also reflected the differences between Zhao and Zou. Mencius was a native of Zou, and there were many Confucian scholars in Zou Lu. Folk customs are influenced by Confucian jujitsu, and there are many good people and deeds. Therefore, Mencius put forward the theory of good nature. Xunzi was from Zhao (or Song-whatever), and Yanzhao was rough and violent, so Xunzi put forward the theory of evil nature. Of course, this statement may not be true. Confucius and Mencius Confucianism belong to the category of aristocratic culture, but Confucius and Mencius Confucianism more or less embodies the nature and democracy of some people, while Xunzi Confucianism is.