Naturalistic Confucianism Hs 252 n Tzu精选.pdfVIP

••• 6 ••• NATURALISTI C CONFUCIANISM : HSÜN TZU MENCIUS and Hsün Tzu (fl. 298-238 B.C.) have generally been con- sidered as representing the two divergent tendencies of idealistic Con- fucianism and naturalistic Confucianism in ancient China. Whether these two tendencies were derived, correspondingly, from the Doctrine of the Mean and the Great Learning is not clear. At any rate, by teaching the doctrine of the original evil nature of man and the necessity for its con- trol through law and rules of propriety ( li), Hsün Tzu stood diametrical- ly opposed to Mencius whose doctrine professed the original goodness of human nature and moral intuition as the source of political and social development. Generally speaking, Hsün Tzu was naturalistic and Men- cius idealistic. In this and other respects, they have been compared with Aristotle and Plato, respectively. Nevertheless, we should not forget that they both believed in the perfectibility of all men, in humanity and right- eousness as supreme virtues, in kingly government, and in education. So far as their main difference concerning human nature goes, neither fol- lowed Confucius strictly. For the sage, all men were alike in nature but become different through practice.1 Hsün Tzu exerted far greater influence up through the Han period (206 B.C.-A.D. 220) than did Mencius. For one thing, both psychology and logic advanced greatly in him, but not in Mencius. His essay on terminology is one of the few Chinese treatises on the subject. In his naturalistic interpretation of Heaven, he came close to Taoism. And in his advocation of control, he contribute