A Comparative Study Of The Thoughts Of Mencius And Xunzi's Enlightenment From The Perspective Of Human Nature

Enlightenment is the basic feature of Confucian ideology.The different human nature of Mencius and Xunzi reflects the inherent tension and harmony of this feature.A comparative study of Mencius and Xunzi's enlightenment thoughts has five parts:The first part is a related overview of human nature and enlightenment.The theory of human nature is a question of what is human nature.Enlightenment is based on the theory of human nature,guided by the content of goodness,and through the infiltration and immersion of micro-intentional and subtle influences,the activities of human ideological cultivation and moral behavior change.The Confucian enlightenment thoughts are characterized by the harmony of natural and social,and the integration of morality and politics.As a representative of the construction of Confucian enlightenment ideology,Mencius and Xunzi opened up two different paths of enlightenment based on their respective human nature theories,and the goal of harmony with the perfection of personality and social order.The second part is based on the perspective of human nature:Mencius pays attention to the social aspect of human beings different from animals.It is a priori that moral qualities such as benevolence,righteousness,courtesy and wisdom are inherently rooted in the heart,and the desire of the eyes and ears can be called "fate".It can't be called"humanity",so the human nature is good,so the enlighten is possible;Xunzi pays attention to the natural side of the person's "nothing but natural",and thinks that feeling,desire,knowledge,and ability are human nature.The external experience reveals that feeling and desire is inevitably born with a disorder.Knowledge and ability do not have value attribute.From this point of view,the human nature is evil,and thus the enlightenment of the party is necessary.Mencius and Xunzi admit that the good and evil coexist in the real society,Mencius believes that the evil is caused by the loss of conscience,and Xunzi believes that good is the result of"man-made".By acknowledging the good or the good of the"know of the quality" and "the ability to do",both of them recognize that mortal people are sanctified.The third part is from the perspective of moral cultivation:Mencius starts from the theory of original goodness of human nature,emphasizes the self-discipline of human beings,starts from the heart,and follows the inner path of "preservation of goodness",through "seeking for the lost goodness","wisdom of desire","put the mind that can be thought before the appetite",and "raise a good spirit'",so that the goodness can be expanded and cultivated;Xunzi think The theory of original evil of human nature,emphasizes the role of external law,and requires continuous study of the"teacher and law",focusing on the influence of environment and customs,"learning accumulation" is good,and it has opened up the path of external "change humanity by man-made".Although the methods and methods are different,Mencius and Xunzi's purpose is to suppress evil and promote good,and in the process of moral cultivation,he emphasizes moral practice and implements internal cultivation in action.The fourth part is from the perspective of political rationality:Mencius further internalized Confucius's benevolence,and the political education of benevolent politics was carried out by human nature.He believed that reassuring the people,raising the people,and educating the people are the foundation of politics,and that the people can achieve good governance;Xunzi think the rule of the ritual law turns the ritual into a specific standard of behavior and hierarchy,emphasizes the "prospering etiquette and respecting law",plays the role of ritual and music enlightenment,and emphasizes that the system can regulate the behavior of the people.On the political rationale,Mencius and Xunzi emphasized the importance of getting the people's heart,and asked the monarch to "justify himself"and"cultivate himself'.The fifth part is the enlightenment of the historical significance and the value of the times.Mencius and Xunzi elucidated their own ideology of enlightenment from the basis of different human ethics,and constructed the basic theoretical framework of Confucian enlightenment ideology,which has far-reaching influence on the practice of later political and religious education.The theory of original goodness of human nature is of great significance to the formation of the social psychology of the Chinese nation.The ideal political model constructed by Mencius has also become the force that restrains the behavior of future rulers and prevents social governance from extending to evil.Xunzi's extroverted ethics path opened up a new path for Confucian enlightenment ideology,but emphasized the transition to external compulsory means such as ritual law,which made it easier for scholars to focus on the "politics" and "power".For the present era,we should also seek wisdom from Mencius and Xunzi's cultivating ideas in the aspects of personal cultivation,"informal and polite"personal cultivation,internal morality and external norms,moral education,and state governance combined with the rule of law.