Xunzi Daily Lesson 371 丨 Suppress the evil of human nature and guide people to good

One lesson a day to read the classics, this is the Erya Book Garden. Today we begin the study of "Xunzi Daily Lesson" No. 371 on "Sexual Evil". Welcome to leave a message to communicate.

Mencius: Human nature is good.

A: Not really. All the so-called good people in the ancient and modern world are righteous and peaceful; the so-called evil ones are dangerous and chaotic; and the distinction between good and evil is also good and evil. Honesty in the nature of man to cure evil with righteousness? Then there are evil uses of the Holy King, evil use of rituals and righteousness? Although there is a holy king's righteousness, will it be added to the orthodox hehei haraya? Not now, human nature is evil. Therefore, the saints of the ancients regarded the evil nature of man, thinking that it was dangerous and not righteous, and that it was rebellious and not governed, so they established the power of the king to come to it, to make it clear and righteous, to rule it with the law, to punish it with severe punishment, and to make the whole world rule and conform to the good. It is the reign of the Holy King and the transformation of righteousness. Now we should try to remove the power of the king, the transformation of rudeness and righteousness, the rule of the law, the prohibition of punishment, and the dependence on the harmony of the people of the world. If it is, then the strong and the weak will take it, the multitude will be violent and widowed, and the world will be in turmoil and die. From this point of view, however, human nature is evil, and its good is false. (Xunzi Sexual Evil Chapter 23, 10)

Mencius said: Human nature is good. Xunzi thinks this is not right, Xunzi thinks:

The so-called goodness in ancient and modern times refers to righteousness, rationality, peace, and order; the so-called evil refers to partiality, sinisterness, rebellion, and disorder. This is the difference between good and evil. Is human nature inherently righteous, rational, peaceful, and orderly? So what else should the Holy King do, and what should he do with righteousness? Even with the Holy King and the Liturgy, what can be added to the righteous rule? In fact, this is not the case, human nature is originally evil. The ancient saints believed that human nature was originally evil, evil and sinister but not righteous, rebellious and disorderly, so they established the power of the monarch to rule them, showed their etiquette and indoctrination, formulated the rule of law to govern them, increased punishments and restrained them, and made the world stable and orderly, in line with the standards of goodness. This is the king's governance and the indoctrination of propriety.

If we abandon the power of the monarch, without the indoctrination of etiquette, the abandonment of the management of the rule of law, and the restraint of punishment, and stand on the side to watch the interactions of the people of the world; the result must be that the strong will infringe on and plunder the weak, the many will suppress the few, and the world will soon rebel and harm each other. From this point of view, the inherent evil of human nature is obvious, and those good deeds are man-made.

Xun Zi here is to pull the endorsement of the saint, believing that the saint has long discovered the inherent evil of human nature, so he formulated a ritual to guide people to do good things and not to do bad things. The purpose of formulating the lictical and legal system is mainly to suppress the evil of human nature and guide people to the discovery of goodness.

We have finished studying the Analects, Mencius, University, Zhongyong, Tao Te Ching, Congxun Zhaiyu, Chenghuaiyuan Language, Zeng Guofan Teachings, and Vocal Enlightenment word by word. "Xunzi Daily Lesson" and "Zhuzi Reading Method" were officially launched.

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