Chapter 29 Five, a gentleman should be self-improvement

When Xunzi spoke, the contention of a hundred schools of thought was coming to an end. The contention began when Mozi criticized Confucius, which was a matter between the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period.However, the prosperity of the Mohist school was also vigorous, and its death was also sudden, and it failed to really shake the foundation of Confucianism.After Mohism, the main opponent of Confucianism is Taoism.In the early Warring States period, there was Laozi; in the middle period of the Warring States period, there was Zhuangzi.Although Mencius was at the same time as Zhuangzi, he criticized ink but not Taoism.He neither challenged Zhuangzi, nor did he mention Laozi.If there is no Xunzi, the contention is likely to be nothing.

Xunzi wanted to settle the ledger. We know that Xunzi was the third master of pre-Qin Confucianism.As a thinker in the late Warring States period, he very much hoped to make a concluding speech, not to mention that Confucianism also needs to keep pace with the times.The mission of history was handed over to Xunzi. So, what question did Xunzi want to answer? Heaven and humanity. This is exactly what Confucius did not talk about.Zigong said that he had never heard the teacher bring up these two topics.In fact, to be precise, Confucius talked about the mandate of heaven but not the way of heaven, and understood people's hearts but not human nature.Why not?It is worth pondering.

Let’s first look at what destiny is. Mandate of Heaven, including Heaven and Mandate.There are two kinds of life.One is life, the other is fate.The former is expressed as life and death, while the latter is expressed as poor and rich, noble and humble, poor and prosperous.Rich and poor refer to rich or poor; high or low refers to high or low status;The Dao Kangzhuang is called Da, and the desperate is called poor. So, who decides the fate? Life and death, rich and poor, high and low, poor and rich, all depend on God's will, which is called "death and life have fate, wealth and honor depend on heaven".In that case, leave it to fate.Therefore, although Confucius talked about the mandate of heaven, he only cared about fate and not about heaven.

Don't care about heaven, and of course don't talk about heaven. The problem is that if you don't talk about it, others will.What Laozi said, Zhuangzi also said, and he said it clearly and logically.This puts Confucianism at a disadvantage in the contention. In fact, only talking about the what, not the why, cannot satisfy people's curiosity, nor can it fundamentally solve the problem.Therefore, in the late Warring States period, Xunzi spoke of the way of heaven on behalf of Confucianism. Xunzi talked about the way of heaven, is it the same as Taoism? There are differences and differences.

The similarity lies in the fact that they all "talk about the way of humanity with the way of heaven"; the difference lies in the understanding of the way of heaven.The understanding of Taoism is "the way of heaven is inaction"; the understanding of Xunzi is "the way of heaven is self-acting".Xunzi said—— Heaven has permanence, it does not exist for Yao, and does not perish for Jie. The meaning here is very clear: the natural world has its own laws, which do not depend on the collective will of the society or the individual will of a person.Xunzi said that the sky will not have winter because people are afraid of the cold; the earth will not cease to be vast because people are afraid of distance.So, would a gentleman stop acting because of the noise of a villain?Of course not.

From this, Xunzi came to the conclusion—— The sky has its constant way, the earth has its constant, and the gentleman has his constant body. Tao is the law; number is the law; body is the standard.That is to say, the sky has constant laws, the earth has constant laws, the gentleman has constant values, and also has constant moral norms and codes of conduct. Heaven, earth, and man all act for themselves. right!It is self-action, not non-action.This not only took over the ideological weapon of Taoism, but also drew a clear line with Taoism. So, what is the normal body of a gentleman? Self-improvement.

Xunzi said that the difference between a gentleman and a villain is that a gentleman "respects his self", while a villain "admires his heaven".In other words, what a gentleman values ​​most is what belongs to him.He respects his unremitting efforts and never counts on the gifts of nature in vain, so that he can make progress every day.Looking forward to the pie falling from the sky all day long, that is the idea of ​​a villain. Perhaps, this is Xunzi's way of survival: instead of blaming others, it is better to work hard; It's certainly inspiring. So, it later became a kind of national spirit——

Tian Xingjian, a gentleman strives for self-improvement. That's right, if the sky acts for itself, man will act for himself; if the sky is healthy, man will strengthen himself.This is the logical conclusion of Xunzi's thought.After Xunzi, there was "Yizhuan", Dong Zhongshu, and "Heaven and Man", all of which are not accidental. But, that's something for later.

---

Notes: