XI. The Union of Nature and Conscious Activity: The Great Unification of the Natural and the Humanly Made

11.1 Nature (Xing) and Conscious Activity (Wei)

Thus it is said: nature (xing) is the original, raw material; conscious activity (wei, the cultivated exercise of li and yi) is the abundant flourishing of pattern and reason. Without nature, conscious activity would have nothing to work upon; without conscious activity, nature could not beautify itself. When nature and conscious activity are united, only then is the name of "sage" accomplished, and the achievement of unifying all under Heaven brought to completion.

— Xunzi, "Discourse on Ritual Propriety," Passage 26

"Thus it is said: nature (xing) is the original material, the plain and unadorned foundation; conscious activity (wei — the cultivated practice of li and yi) is the abundant flourishing of ornamented pattern. Without 'nature,' 'conscious activity' would have nothing upon which to act — just as, without raw material, even the most skilled craftsman could produce nothing. Without 'conscious activity,' 'nature' cannot beautify itself — just as raw material, however present, remains forever a rough piece of wood or an unworked stone without the craftsman's labor upon it."

This passage forms the summation of Master Xun's entire system of thought. Let us examine it closely:

Xing (性, "nature"): a person's natural disposition, their original material. Master Xun, in another chapter (the "Human Nature Is Bad" chapter), discusses his understanding of "nature" in detail: human nature includes basic desires such as the desire to eat when hungry, to be clothed when cold, and to rest when weary, along with natural inclinations such as seeking benefit and avoiding harm, envy, and greed. These inclinations are not, in themselves, "bad" — they are the basic condition of being human — but if left unguided, they lead to contention and disorder.

Wei (伪, "conscious activity"): deliberate human effort, cultural creation. Here, wei does not mean "falsehood" or "pretense." In the pre-Qin context, wei means "that which is humanly made" — whatever is not natural, but arises through human thought and effort, is wei. Li is the most important instance of wei — it does not exist ready-made in nature but is a creation of human wisdom.

11.2 The Metaphor of Heaven and Earth

Master Xun goes on to use a grand cosmological metaphor to explain the relation between "nature" and "conscious activity":

Thus it is said: when Heaven and Earth unite, the myriad things are born; when yin and yang meet, transformation arises; when nature and conscious activity unite, all under Heaven is governed.

"When Heaven and Earth unite in harmony, the myriad things are born. When yin and yang meet, transformation begins. When nature and conscious activity unite, all under Heaven is governed."

These three parallel clauses form an analogical chain running from cosmos to human affairs:

This analogy is exquisitely crafted. It implies that, just as Heaven and Earth must unite for the myriad things to be born, and just as yin and yang must meet for transformation to arise, so too must a person's inborn nature and their humanly cultivated culture (li) unite in order to bring about a well-governed society.

A profound philosophical insight lies here: "nature" and "conscious activity" are not opposites, but complements — just like Heaven and Earth, yin and yang. Without Heaven, Earth would have no meaning; without Earth, Heaven would have no meaning. Without yin, there would be no transformation for yang; without yang, no transformation for yin. In just the same way, without "nature," there is no foundation for "conscious activity"; without "conscious activity," there is no perfection of "nature."

This idea resonates deeply with the cosmology of the "Great Treatise." The core notion of the "Great Treatise" is precisely the opposition of complements — Heaven and Earth, yin and yang, the firm and the yielding, motion and stillness — these opposing pairs do not negate one another, but rather bring one another to completion. The famous saying of the "Great Treatise," "one yin and one yang — this is called the Dao," in which yin and yang alternate one after another, is the most concentrated expression of this complementary way of thinking. Master Xun's "the union of nature and conscious activity" applies this same complementary thinking to the theory of human nature and to social theory.

11.3 Heaven Can Give Birth to Things, But Cannot Distinguish Them

Heaven can give birth to things, but cannot distinguish them; Earth can bear human beings, but cannot govern them. All the beings born within the cosmos, among the multitude of living things and of humankind, must await the sage before they can be properly ordered.

"Heaven can give birth to the myriad things, yet cannot distinguish among them. Earth can bear the whole of humanity, yet cannot govern them. Among the multitude of beings within the cosmos, and among the members of humankind, only the sage can bring order and arrangement."

This statement is of great importance. It clearly points to the limits of nature (Heaven and Earth): nature can produce the myriad things, but it cannot organize them; nature can bring forth humanity, but it cannot govern humanity.

This means that relying on nature ("nature," xing) alone is insufficient. The order of human society does not arise automatically — it requires the sage (a person possessed of the highest wisdom) to create li, to carry out fen (distinguishing and arranging).

This is also the most fundamental point of divergence between Master Xun and the Daoists. Daoism (Laozi and Zhuangzi in particular) tends to hold that the order of nature is self-sufficient — that human intervention can only disrupt it. Master Xun explicitly denies this: however great the order of nature may be, it is insufficient for the governance of human society. Human society requires an order that transcends nature — and this is li.

But note well: Master Xun does not say that li can exist apart from nature. Quite the contrary — as discussed earlier, li takes the order of Heaven and Earth as its model ("Heaven and Earth are joined in harmony," "establishing the exalted as the utmost standard"). Li is not a force set against nature, but rather the extension and perfection, within human society, of natural order. Nature provides the model and the raw material ("nature"); on this foundation, the sage creates li ("conscious activity") — and only when the two are united can all under Heaven be well governed.

11.4 Citing the Book of Songs as Evidence

At the close of this passage, Master Xun cites the Book of Songs:

The Book of Songs says: "He soothed and pacified the hundred spirits, extending even to the rivers and the lofty mountains." This is what is meant.

"The Book of Songs says: 'soothing and pacifying the hundred spirits, extending even to the rivers and the lofty mountains.'"

This line comes from "Shi Mai" in the "Hymns of Zhou" section of the Book of Songs, describing the scene of the Zhou king making a circuit of the realm, sacrificing to the mountains, rivers, and hundred spirits. Here, the human act of governance (sacrifice, pacification) extends into the natural world — rivers and mountains, too, are drawn within the scope of human order. This resonates precisely with Master Xun's thought of "the union of nature and conscious activity": human cultural activity does not stand opposed to nature, but rather blends with it. Through li (here, in the form of sacrificial ritual), humanity establishes a harmonious relationship with the natural world.