Confucian values on the ground of the goodness of human nature.
Specifically, goodness lies in individuals’ feelings and inclinations such
as ‘‘compassion,’’ ‘‘being ashamed of evil deeds,’’ ‘‘declining compli-
ments,’’ and ‘‘distinguishing between right and wrong,’’ all of which
are intrinsic to human beings and are ‘‘picked up by human nature
without necessary learning’’ and ‘‘understood without necessary
pondering’’ (Yang, 1960 : 258–259). All these are the fundamental
bases for human beings to be considered human. Consequently, it is
necessary to do nothing but extend the inborn existing qualities to
external objects.
The other group, represented by Mohists, in contrast, argued for
the reconstruction of social order on the basis of the observed
evilness of human nature. It was argued that people only give con-
sideration to their own and their relatives’ belongings. Such selfish
feelings and desires are bound to create extreme chaos in society. For
instance, some ‘‘steal into others’ gardens to filch the peaches and
plums of others’’; some boldly rob others of their property and even
murder others for that purpose; to top it all, some rulers ‘‘never
hesitate to go on punitive expeditions to satisfy their desires to enjoy
all the benefits under the sun.’’ Thus it seems all people in the world
‘‘harm each other by evil-minded means’’ (Zhang, 1937 ). According
to this school of thought, conscience and morality are merely orna-
ments that have little effect on people’s behavior; people and society
therefore have to be managed strictly by means of legal systems and
regulations.
Although the Legalist school of thought was not fully established at
the time (Hanfei, the ultimate master of the Legalist school, emerged
a little after Xunzi), Xunzi became the great thinker who epitomized
the thoughts of various schools of the pre-Qin times, although he
steadfastly claimed to be within the classic tradition of Confucius
and refuted other schools of thought (Xunzi, Book 6)^1 especially in
his earlier writings. Xunzi picked and chose from the opinions of both
groups by incorporating what he considered reasonable and useful,
but rejected their extreme positions. According to Xunzi, too much
emphasis on the self-consciousness of human nature was too idealistic
and would be hard to apply in social practices; conversely, too much
dependence on legal restriction would result in excessive utilitarianism,
which would lead to indifference in human relationships. Xunzi would
like to take a moderate two-stranded approach, on one hand insisting
Bridging Confucianism and Legalism 53