Man's nature is endowed with feelings which impel it toward the good. That is why I call it good...All men have the feelings of sympathy, shame and dislike, reverence and respect, and recognition of right and wrong. These feelings give rise to the virtues of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, and wisdom. (as quoted in Herrlee G. Creel, Chinese Thought From Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung, p. 88)
Mencius' view that human beings are by nature good would become the predominant view among Confucians, and as Confucianism became the official state ideology in following centuries, his view became widely accepted among the Chinese people. However, there was at least one prominent Confucian philosopher who rejected this optimistic view of human nature. His name was Xunzi and he was born a few years before the death of Mencius. Xunzi claimed:
The nature of man is evil; whatever is good in him is the result of acquired training. Men are born with the love of gain; if this natural tendency is followed they are contentious and greedy, utterly lacking in courtesy and consideration for others. They are filled from birth with envy and hatred of others; if these passions are given rein they are violent and villainous, wholly devoid of integrity and good faith. At birth man is endowed with the desires of the ear and eye, the love of sound and color; if he acts as they dictate he is licentious and disorderly, and has no regard for li [the Confucian code of correct behavior] or justice or moderation. (as quoted in Herrlee G. Creel, Chinese Thought From Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung, p. 120).
In short, Xunzi's view of human nature comes rather close to the view expressed by the Apostle Paul in the New Testament: "There is no one righteous, not even one...there is no one who does good, not even one" (Romans 3:10, 12).
However, even though Xunzi's view of human nature is closer to that of Christianity than to that of most Confucian philosophers, his solution to the problem of innate human evil is quite decidedly Confucian. Note the little phrase near the beginning of the above quotation--"whatever is good in [man] is the result of acquired training." In other words, Xunzi believed that human beings could become good through education--by studying the teachings of the ancient sages. In this, he was quite within the mainstream of Confucianism. Indeed, the notion that education is linked to morality continues to be held by many Chinese. When speaking of someone demonstrating a lack of good manners or otherwise exhibiting bad behavior, Chinese people will say: Ta mei shou jiaoyu, meaning, roughly, "He or she isn't educated."
The problem with this, from a Christian perspective, is that education is not a sufficient solution to the problem of human evil. Even highly educated people are capable of wrongdoing. Human beings cannot make themselves good through self-cultivation. In the final analysis, the only way to overcome mankind's bent toward evil is the grace of God extended through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. Only by faith in the one who died to pay the penalty for all human evil can we overcome our innate wickedness. Thus, though Xunzi had a more realistic view of human nature than his fellow Confucians, he still failed to appreciate the depth of human depravity or how radical the solution to human evil needed to be.
As it is, a larger percentage of Chinese today hold to Mencius' view of human nature than to Xunzi's. Thus, the challenge remains for those who yearn to see the Chinese people embrace the Christian faith. Perhaps what is needed is no so much philosophical argumentation than an appeal to experience. After all, the English writer G. K. Chesterton, a Catholic, once said that the doctrine of Original Sin was the only Christian teaching that could be proved empirically.