Origin Of Junzi

1) Through the Revealing World Religions text I was able to learn the origin of the junzi. In Confucianism, the true personality followers should aspire to imitate is the sheng, which translates to sage. Because this is hard to obtain, Confucius created junzi. Junzi, translated as gentleman, is more easily obtainable by individuals. Junzi is second only to the sheng (or sage) as defined by Zhu Xi in in the BBC documentary Genius of the Ancient World.
The qualities of such a person are plentiful. Junzi operates more through action than words. The western ideas associated with gentleman are seen with this person, a junzi is obedient, wise, and loyal. Another idea discussed in Revealing World Religions is the lack of emphasis on social class/financial
tier. A junzi can live in poverty for instance and as opposed to seeking financial order disciplines their own manners.
The core of becoming Junzi is ren which Confucius describes as “One should see nothing improper, hear nothing improper, say nothing improper, do nothing improper,” (Analects 12:1). Ren is always close to man and once found will never leave. To become Junzi, one must exercise superior ethics and moral beliefs while achieving inner peace through virtue. Any person who is willing to improve himself and execute righteous behavior can become a junzi.
2) Mencius holds the strong assertion that individuals are innately good.
Mencius believes that bad moral character is cultivated by one’s surroundings - or society. Societies lack of positive influence is what creates those who are ill willed. In terms of his beliefs, he stated, “He who exerts his mind to the utmost knows his nature,” (Chinese Cultural Traditions and Modernization). He also holds the belief that the best way to learn is by finding the lost mind, aka becoming mentally aware of one’s environment and inner nature.
Xunzi’s primary contrast to Mencius is human nature at birth. Xunzi holds the belief that individuals at birth have natural tendencies to act wayward. This is to say act poorly or away from what is right or proper. His beliefs specifically mention individuals unjust love for profit and beauty which can make one subject to jealous or hateful emotion. Additionally, indulging in jealousy, hate, and lust for profits and beauty can lead to the creation of disorder and criminality in society.
In my opinion, I believe that Xunzi’s philosophy is closer to the truth. Take for instance the Menendez brothers, given every material possession one could want, yet still motivated by evil. Although society may worsen what poor behavior is already there, the keyword is already there. I don’t believe that society creates wayward tendencies, but rather individuals are born with
them.