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What was the proper orientation of life? Philosophers in ancient China expressed diverse and valuable views. In Confucianism, the proper orientation of life was firstly understood as an ideal character, which was called sage or gentleman (Jun Zi) in Confucian's term, meaning a perfect man. Ethically, the proper orientation of life referred to a morality or an ideal, which was precondition for a sage. Anthropologically, the proper orientation of life referred to the most ideal model that epitomized the morality or ideal. It was perceivable that the ideal character was how to behave or which kind of character one chose. In a word, it was the orientation or guideline of life. Confucius had provided basic answer to how to cultivate the ideal character. Meanwhile, Confucianism concerned human nature, which related to not only the goodness or evilness in human nature but the cultivation of individual morality and social fashion. Among the views, Mencius's view that human nature was good and Xun Zi's view that human nature was bad were the most profound. Taoism posed different opinions in the orientation of life. Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu were inclined to see it as an attitude or manner in life. This was another kind of orientation of life, which was called outlook on life.
In Confucianism, there was an ideal that one should possess the sage's virtue and practice the ruler's policy. In Chapter 3, the latter was discussed, or what was mentioned as the Eight Terms (Ba Tiao Mu) in Great Learning: to regulate the family, to maintain the state rightly, and to make all peaceful. The latter was also based on the former, which was mentioned in Great Learning as "to cultivate the morality" (Xiu Shen) and composed of righteousness and sincerity. Great Learning began with: "The great learning teaches to act in accordance with morality (Ming De), to respect citizens, and to maintain the perfectness (Zhi Shan)." Here, Ming De and Zhi Shan referred to an ideal cultivation of morality, which, in human, was an ideal character. Actually, the ideal character was basically established as early as in Confucianism in Pre-Qin Time.
In addition to reason and will, the traditional Confucian ideal character also involved emotion. Normal and commendable emotions often embodied normal and commendable virtues. Then, how could such emotions be cultivated? Confucianism believed that music played a crucial role.
The view on human nature was an indispensable part of the orientation of life. The issue on human nature was discussed as early as in the Spring and Autumn Period: "The heaven creates human and appoints to a ruler manage them, so that human will not lose their nature. (Zuo Zhuan, The 14''' Yea?- of the Reign of Duke Xiang) Besides, there were expressions of "nature of the petty man" and "nature of dandy (Note: It is hard to equate the Western term Dandy with Chinese term Gao Liang. Their similarity, if any, lies in that both refer to a man who is born to a noble family and lives or pursues luxurious life)," which associated with human nature with goodness and evilness:
The petty man provokes other due to their reckless courage and makes trouble due to their greed. (Zuo Zhuan, The 26'h Year of the Reign of Duke Xiang)
It is the nature of dandy that is hard to correct. (Discourses of the States, The Discourse of Jin VII)
Among the views held by the Hundreds of School of Thoughts and scholars, the Confucian theory of human nature was certainly the most important in ancient China. In fact, Confucius, founder of Confucianism, did not discussed human nature in a profound way. In The Analects. there was only one record of Confucius's view on human nature: "Human beings are born with the similar nature, but their habits make them different." (Yang Huo) Confucius's neglect of human nature could also be confirmed by his disciples. Zi Gong said, "1 seldom hear my teacher talking about human nature and Tao."' (Gong Ye Chang) In 1993, there was an article entitled Human Nature Was Predestined among the bamboo slips unearthed in Guodian, Jingmen, Hubei Province. According to scholars, it was a Confucian writing and mainly about human nature. However, in the Confucian theory of human nature, Mencius' doctrine of the goodness of human nature and Xun Zi's doctrine of the evil of human nature were the most representative. They embodied the highest theoretical level at that time and exerted profound influence on the future theory on human nature.
Taoists had rich and distinct outlooks on life although they seldom mentioned ideal character. Both Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu disbelieved and denied civilization, which was embodied in their outlooks on life. Their difference was that Lao Tzu was more experienced and sophisticated while Chuang Tzu was simpler and freer. This was because Lao Tzu lived a secular life but Chuang Tzu lived a monastic life.