Two Senses of “Wei 偽”: A New Interpretation of Xunzi’s Theory of Human Nature

Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 11 (2):187-200 (2012)
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Abstract

In contrast to the traditional and ordinary interpretation of Xunzi’s theory of human nature, which considers Xunzi’s theory as claiming that human nature is bad or evil, this article aims at, first, arguing that the interpretation is wrong or at least incomplete and, second, constructing a new interpretation that, according to Xunzi’s text, there are some factors in human nature that are able to promote good behaviors. I shall demonstrate that some major paragraphs in Xunzi’s text were misinterpreted and misarranged, analyze that the word wei in the chapter of “Zhengming” has two different but related senses, one of which designates some of the potential capacities of human nature, and argue that the 23 words in the chapter of “Rongru” should not be deleted as redundant, as was done by the two famous philologists in Qing dynasdy, Wang Niansun and Wang Xianqian.

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Citations of this work

Is Backsliding Possible on Xunzi's View?Winnie Sung - 2024 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 24 (3):1-25.
Mencius and Xunzi on Xing.Winnie Sung - 2016 - Philosophy Compass 11 (11):632-641.
Is Backsliding Possible on Xunzi’s View?Winnie Sung - 2024 - Dao: A Journal of Comparative Philosophy 23 (3):397-421.

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References found in this work

The world of thought in ancient China.Benjamin Isadore Schwartz - 1985 - Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.
A short history of Chinese philosophy.Youlan Feng - 1948 - New York,: Macmillan Co.. Edited by Derk Bodde.
Human nature, ritual, and history: studies in Xunzi and Chinese philosophy.Antonio S. Cua - 2005 - Washington, D.C.: The Catholic University of America Press.
A Short History of Chinese Philosophy.Homer H. Dubs - 1951 - Journal of the American Oriental Society 71 (1):90.

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