Editing Xunzi (philosopher) (section)

===Human nature – ''xing''===
The best known and most cited section of the ''Xunzi'' is chapter 23, "Human Nature is Evil". [[Human nature]], known as ''xing'' ({{lang|zh-Hant|性}}), was a topic which Confucius commented on somewhat ambiguously, leaving much room for later philosophers to expand upon.{{sfn|Knoblock|1982–1983|p=85}} Xunzi does not appear to know about [[Shang Yang]],{{sfn|Graham|2015|p=268}} but can be compared with him. While Shang Yang believed that people were selfish,{{sfn|Pines|2023|loc=}} Xunzi believed that humanity's inborn tendencies were evil and that ethical norms had been invented to rectify people. His variety of Confucianism therefore has a darker, more pessimistic flavor than the optimistic Confucianism of [[Mencius]], who tended to view humans as innately [[Good and evil|good]]. Like most Confucians, however, he believed that people could be refined through education and ritual.{{sfn|Robins|2007|loc=§2 "The Way of the Sage Kings"}}{{sfn|Manson|1987}}
{{Blockquote||text=<poem><!--{{lang|zh|}}-->Now, since human nature is evil, it must await the instructions of a teacher and the model before it can be put aright, and it must obtain ritual principles and a sense of moral right before it can become orderly.</poem>
|source={{transliteration|zh|[[Xunzi (book)|Xunzi]]}}, chapter 23b: "Human Nature is Evil"{{sfn|''Xunzi'' in Knoblock|1994|p=151}}
}}Both Mencius and Xunzi believed in human nature and both believed it was possible to become better, but some people refused it.{{sfn|Goldin|2018}} Mencius saw Xing as more related to an ideal state and Xunzi saw it more as a starting state.{{sfn|Goldin|2018}}

Even though Mencius had already died when the book was written, the chapter is written like a conversation between the two philosophers. Xunzi's ideas about becoming a good person were more complex than Mencius's. He believed that people needed to change their nature, not just give up on it. Some people thought Xunzi's ideas were strange, but new discoveries suggest that it might have actually been Mencius who had unusual ideas about human nature.{{sfn|Goldin|2018}}

The chapter is called "Human Nature is Evil," but that's not the whole story. Xunzi thought that people could improve themselves by learning good habits and manners, which he called "artifice." (偽) He believed that people needed to transform their nature to become good. This could be done by learning from a teacher and following rituals and morals.{{sfn|Goldin|2018}}

Even though some people doubt if the chapter is real, it's an important part of Xunzi's philosophy. People still talk about it today and think about the differences between Xunzi and Mencius's ideas about human nature and how to become a better person.{{sfn|Goldin|2018}}

Xunzi only stated that the "heart" can observe reason, that is, it can distinguish between right and wrong, good and evil,<ref>"Exposing the Hidden Chapter": "Therefore, the human heart is like a bowl of water. If it is level and not stirred, then the muddy sediment will settle at the bottom and the clear water will rise to the top. Then one can see the eyebrows and observe reason. If a gentle breeze passes over it, the muddy sediment will be stirred up from the bottom, and the clear water will become turbulent at the top, and then one cannot obtain the correct form of the big picture. The heart is also like this. Therefore, take it away with reason and nourish it with clarity. Nothing can incline it, and it can be used to determine right from wrong and resolve doubts."</ref> but it is not the source of value. So where does the standard come from? According to Xunzi's theory of evil human nature, morality will ultimately become a tool of external value used to maintain social stability and appeal to authoritarianism. Mencius' theory of good human nature, on the other hand, states that humans are inherently good and we have an internal value foundation (the Four Beginnings).