禮導形．形入心．心正身．身心合

The Body-Mind Relationship According to Xunzi’s Theory of Cultivation

荀子作為先秦儒學重要一脈，雖言「性惡」，但由其修養論中身心關係的梳理，可以了解荀卿身為儒者的正當性。荀子的修養論，可說是一身心關係整合的歷程：1. 整全身體．身心齊養：荀子從孟子以心性為修養主體與對象的進路轉而開展血氣心性並重的身體觀，也確立了人性可由身體化導向善的儒家思維。2. 以禮導形．以身體禮：因為性惡之人原初無道德價值根植於心，故須以血氣感官去接受外在禮義，達到「養身」的效果。3. 以身納禮．由身入心：而身心既為一體，則「養身」則是「養心」，透過血氣的身體去實踐禮義，則禮義能夠內化於心。4. 禮入於心．以心正身：當身體行禮義到一定程度，禮義將根植於心，形成「後天的良知」，道德心將可以有效約束欲望的身體，至此身心關係得到翻轉。5. 身心一如．身禮一體：當禮義道德完全根植於心，而身心自然行禮而無礙，可為荀子修養論的最高境界，也即儒家強調的自覺。由此可知荀子有一縝密之身體觀與修養論，絕非法家之強調禮法約束的途徑。

Xunzi 荀子 is regarded as an important pre-Qin Confucian thinker. Although he believes human nature to be morally corrupt, his theory of self-cultivation deals with the body-mind relationship in a manner that reveals him to be a legitimate Confucian, not a Legalist. Self-cultivation, according to Xunzi, is a process of integrating body and mind in which: (1) body and mind are one, and are cultivated together. Xunzi develops Mengzi’s 孟子 approach, focusing on the temperament as subject and object of cultivation, into a view of the body that integrates the blood qi 血氣 of the Huang-Lao 黃老 School and the mind 心性. This allows Xunzi to establish in Confucian thought the possibility of moral education through the body; (2) the body is guided by etiquette, and etiquette is experienced through the body. Having a sinful nature, people are born lacking moral values, and so moral values must be absorbed from etiquette via the body and sensory organs; (3) etiquette is brought through the body into the mind. Because the body and mind are one, to cultivate the body is also to cultivate the mind. Practicing etiquette with the body filled with the blood qi enables it to become embedded in the mind; (4) when the rules of etiquette are embedded in the mind, the mind will then rectify the body: When the body practices etiquette to a certain level, it takes root in the mind and forms an “acquired moral conscience.” This sense of morality can effectively keep the desires of the body under control; having developed to this point, this mind-body relationship is inverted; (5) body and mind are unified, body and ritual form a single whole: When an acquired moral conscience has completely taken root in the mind, the body and mind become naturally moral and unimpeded. This can be regarded as the highest level of Xunzi’s self-cultivation, namely the self-awareness emphasized in Confucianism. The above points demonstrate that Xunzi’s view of the body and theory of self-cultivation are meticulously constructed, and are not a Legalist means of emphasizing propriety.