Chapter 83 Man can conquer nature

The relationship between heaven and man has always been a hot topic in ancient Chinese philosophy, and it is the theoretical basis of many philosophers.Xunzi also put forward his own theory of the relationship between heaven and man, that is, "man will conquer heaven". "Man will conquer the sky" means to grasp the laws of operation of the sky and make use of them.Before saying this, Xunzi said when discussing how the fate of the country and individuals is determined: "The destiny of a man is in the sky, and the destiny of the country is in the rituals." That is to say, the fate of the country is determined by whether the etiquette system can be implemented; Your fate is decided by God.Here, Xunzi, like all Confucians, is also a man of destiny.At the same time, he also regarded benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom as the foundation of governing the country.

So, how should people deal with the destiny given to them by God? There are two attitudes here: one is to worship the sky and hope to bring happiness to oneself, and one is to obey the destiny given to oneself by the sky and praise the sky.In Xunzi's view, this attitude shows that he does not understand that heaven and man have their own functions, and that he is abandoning the rule of man and hoping for something that cannot be realized.Therefore, he advocated holding the sky as if it were a utensil in his own home.To master the sky is to master the destiny.Master the destiny, and then use the destiny, or in other words, do what you should do according to the destiny, perform your own functions, and not give up your human functions and hope for blessings from heaven.

Mozi once criticized the Confucian Mandate of Heaven, arguing that advocating the Mandate of Heaven would make people lazy, because since Heaven has endowed them with such a destiny, their own efforts will be useless.So Mozi advocated the will of heaven, and believed that there is no destiny given by heaven, and heaven only decides whether to give people happiness or disaster according to people's behavior, good or evil.As a Confucian, Xunzi did not deny the destiny of heaven, but he advocated that people should grasp the destiny of heaven and make use of it to do their best.