Zhang Jitao | Xunzi community view

Guangming Daily (2017-05-15 14th edition)

Xun Zi was one of the culminations of pre-Qin Confucianism, and was the first thinker in Chinese history to systematically explain how society was possible, and his explicit distinction between groups, groups, and first-class expositions pioneered the traditional view of community. The "group" in "Xunzi" has the dual meaning of community and group, and the concept of group and one at the core of its community concept is essentially to regard the "group" as a community with organic integration of structure and function. From the perspective of structural functionalism, the internal logic of its community view can be seen at a glance. Structural functionalism emphasizes that each part of the social system plays a role in the whole, revealing the functional existence of the social system from the four dimensions of adapting to the environment, achieving goals, social integration, and maintenance mode, and Xunzi's community concept has an inherent fit with this paradigm.

The group wins and adapts to nature. Man is not as strong as an ox, nor is he as good as a horse, but a cow and a horse are used, so why not?" A: People can be a group, they can't be a group... Harmony is one, one is multi-force, many forces are strong, and strong is victorious" ("The King's System"). Xun Zi believes that the victory of man over all things is due to its social nature, and it is difficult for individuals to exist outside the community. However, many animals in nature also travel in pairs, which seems to contradict Xunzi's assertion that "he cannot be a group". In fact, his so-called "multi-force" refers not to biological significance, but to social and cultural significance, and it is precisely because of the conscience and conscience to continuously innovate the social division of labor system and create complex and exquisite social structures and cultural structures through groups that human beings can expand social relations, expand the scope of activities, "control the destiny of heaven and use it" ("Heavenly Theory"), and finally stand out in the competition with all things. Xun Zi not only affirmed the meaning of the group from the positive side, but also demonstrated the consequences of the group from the negative side, "If you do not treat each other away from the group, you are poor, and if you do not have a group to fight, the poor, the suffering, the contender, the disaster, and the salvation of the plague, then if you clearly divide the group and make the group" ("Rich Country").

Kings can group together and achieve goals together. Xun Zi believes that it is human nature to enjoy and work hard and avoid harm, so how to overcome the weakness of human nature and make loose individuals form a community of interests with the ability to act in unison has risen to a political issue. First of all, Xunzi inherited Confucius's ethical concept of "the father and son of the king and the subject", and put the relationship between the king and the subject above the relationship between the father and the son, "the king, the good group also." When the crowd is right, all things are suitable" (The King's System). Under the command of the Ming Emperor of the Good Group, "the love of millions of people, the love of one person is also" ("No Goo"), and vice versa. Second, Xunzi clarified the possible approach of Junnengqun, namely the "Shangxian Enabling" (Junzi). "Clear division of duties, order of undertakings, skill and skill" ("The Way of the King"), "At the end of the years, its success is served by the king, when it is possible, if it is not right, it is abolished" ("Wang Ba"), "Virtue must be called the throne, the position must be called Lu, and Lu must be called use" ("Rich Country"). It can be seen that in the group dwelling and a blueprint drawn by Xun Zi, the model of the sage and sage phase derived from the Confucian idea of the inner and outer kings is the political guarantee for achieving the concentricity of the upper and lower levels, the group dwelling and the oneness.

Long Li re-enforces the law and integrates society. Xun Zi affirmed the heterogeneity of people and the natural rationality of inequality from both sides, "The division is not biased, the strength is not one, and the multitude is not made." There is a difference between heaven and earth and up and down, and the Ming King is established and the state is under the system. Husbands and wives cannot do things with each other, and two unworthy people cannot do each other, but the number of days is also. If the power is in harmony, and the desires and evils are the same, and things cannot be squandered, they will be disputed; if they are in contention, they will be chaotic, and chaos will be poor" (The King's System). "If there is a distinction between the noble and the lowly, it will be ordered to do what is done and not flowed; if there is a distinction between relatives and alienation, it will be implemented without disobedience; and if the elder and the young are orderly, the cause will be complete and rested" ("Gentleman"). Xun Zi believed that the distinction between the masses depended on etiquette and law, "the scripture of governance, the ritual and punishment, and the gentleman to cultivate the peace of the people" (ChengXiang). "Treat those who are good with courtesy, and those who are not good are punished" (The King's System). Xun Zi advocated taking etiquette as the guideline, taking the law as discipline, and realizing social integration through the coercive force of external norms.

Hypocrisy, maintenance patterns. Xunzi not only revealed the evil side of human nature, but also acknowledged the possibility that Confucius was "polite and polite, and then a gentleman" and Mencius "everyone can be Yao Shun", and then put forward the proposition that "Tu's person can be Yu" ("Sexual Evil"). "Therefore the saints are false in nature, and false in nature arise in liturgy and righteousness" (Sexual Evil). Sexual hypocrisy is a process of shaping the shared values of the community through indoctrination, and Xunzi regards righteousness as the highest value criterion for social survival and the rise and fall of chaos. "How can people be a group? KEY: Points. How can it be done? Righteousness"; "The righteous one, the beginning of the rule" ("The King"), "The victor of righteousness is the ruler of the world, and the righteous of the Rick is the chaotic world" (Rough Outline). At the same time, Xunzi greatly admired the indoctrination function of music, believing that music can achieve personal inner harmony and assimilate the concepts and behaviors of the community, "music contract, etiquette is different", "so music is clear and clear, etiquette is practiced and practiced, ears and eyes are smart, flesh and blood are peaceful, customs are changed, the world is peaceful, and beauty and goodness are happy" ("Music Theory").

In summary, Xunzi's view of community has the following characteristics:

Systematic content. Xunzi's view of community encompasses four subsystems of economy, politics, society and culture and their functions. Unlike Confucius and Mencius, who focused on moral preaching, Xunzi put forward the idea of maintaining social harmony and stability from multiple levels such as material and spiritual, system and norms, human nature and desire, "Born with desires, but if you can't want them, you can't ask for nothing", "those who are polite, nurture also." The sorghum is fragrant with five flavors, so the mouth is also nourished" (Treatise on Etiquette).

The differential order of the structure. On the one hand, Xunzi regarded the social division of labor and social stratification as the premise of "human energy group", "kings, subjects, fathers, sons, brothers, brothers." Peasants and peasants, scholars, workers, merchants and merchants" (The Royal System). Like Confucius and Mencius, he advocated the use of etiquette to regulate various roles and solidify the inequality of status; on the other hand, Xunzi did not approve of the hereditary replacement of the status of the ruling clique, hoping to achieve social stability through the elite cycle of selecting the meritocracy. The superior sages made them three dukes, the second sages made them princes, and the lower sages made them scholars, which is why they are manifested" (The Way of kings).

The ideality of the goal. Xun Zi's group dwelling and the first is a "well-off" social form that is divided into etiquette and righteousness, and he hopes that people of different statuses can perform their duties and take their places. He attaches too much importance to the stable power of society, and regards the etiquette system as the foundation of the country's long-term peace and stability. Li Long thinks it is the extreme, and the world can not profit or lose... He who does not follow the world rules, and those who do not obey are chaotic; those who follow it are safe and those who do not follow are in danger; those who follow it exist and those who do not obey perish" (Treatise on Etiquette). He ignores the conflicts that give rise to social change, especially the conflicts of interest between social groups, which give the idea of group and one utopian.

Unlike Confucius and Mencius, who rarely directly discussed groups, Xunzi's understanding of the category of groups has developed from taking the family as the core to taking the society as the core, which also means that the integration of society must naturally move from the rule of etiquette to the rule of etiquette, so Xunzi's community concept has the progressive nature of the times. However, because Xunzi's community concept contained the assumption that "human nature is evil", it was marginalized within Confucianism for a long time since the Han Dynasty, and its idea of "raising people" was fiercely criticized by Song Confucianism. Until after the Qing Dynasty, Xunzi's thought was valued by The Confucians because of the need to reflect on the science of science. In modern times, with the introduction of Western studies, Yan Fu borrowed Xunzi's view of community when translating Western sociological ideas. He wrote in the preface to the translation of the "Qunxue Dialect": "Xun Qing said: 'The people's livelihood has a group', and the group is also a group, and humanity cannot be outside. "What is group learning?" Use the laws of science to detect the changes of the people, to clarify the past, to measure the direction of the coming... The group of scholars will take the cause of meiji chaos, prosperity and decline, and control the affairs of the three (righteousness, utilization, and welfare) to their own ears", which provides a new perspective for the study of Xunxue in later generations.

All in all, XunZi's pioneering concept of community not only integrates the essence of Confucianism and other ideas, but also constructs the earliest social system theory in Chinese history in a small and meaningful way, and comprehensively expounds its vision of the structure and function of social systems and their subsystems under the seemingly simple group-division-righteousness main line. Unfortunately, Xunzi did not pay attention to the distinction between Confucius and Mencius's concept of benevolence and righteousness in the process of transforming the concept of righteousness into the concept of etiquette and righteousness, and often compared it with each other, "the first king was evil and chaotic, so the system of etiquette and righteousness was divided" and "The reason why the wenli of the zhifu liyi was nourished..." ("The Theory of Etiquette"). Although both etiquette and righteousness are tools of social control, there are essential differences in function: Confucian etiquette is a set of social norms that are compulsorily binding on all people, and belong to the hard control of social integration; righteousness is a set of value symbols, which belong to the soft control of the maintenance model category, and the neglect of etiquette and righteousness reflects the limitations and inadequacies of the era of Xunzi community thought.

(Author: Zhang Jitao Unit: School of Political Science and Public Administration, Hubei University)