A Brief Discussion on the Confucian Thought of “Learning to Become a Real Person” and Its Contemporary Value

“为学”与“成人”，是儒家教育的两个不同面向。儒家倡导“学以成人”的为学价值论，其“为学”重在探讨个体学习之“主动性”与“被动性”之间的张力，而“成人”则聚焦“为己”与“为人”的“人己之辨”。儒家“为学”以“成人”作为价值目标，二者之间的关系并非割裂的两个独立面向，而是联系紧密的儒家教育理念的两个不同阶段。儒家人性论肯定了人之“为学”的潜能，而“为学”则为“成人”目标的实现奠定知识与素质基础。进一步的，“成人”还与儒家君子之道关联，是个体“为学”的价值目的所在。此外，儒家“学以成人”的思想缓解了“成才”与“成人”的分歧对立，在今天仍然具有重要的启示意义。“To learn” and “To be a real person” are two different aspects of Confucian education. Confucianism advocates the value theory of “learning to be a real person”, which focuses on the tension between “initiative” and “passivity” of individual learning, while “To be a real person” centers on the “Distinction between Self and Others” between “Learn for oneself” and “Learn for others”. The Confucian concept of “To learn” takes “To be a real person” as its value goal. The relationship between the two is not two separate and independent aspects, but two different stages of the closely connected Confucian educational philosophy. The Confucian theory of human nature affirms the potential of human beings in “learning”, which lays the knowledge and quality foundation for the realization of the goal of “To be a real person”. Further, “To be a real person” is also associated with the Confucian way of the gentleman, and represents the value and purpose of an individual's “To learn”. In addition, the Confucian thought of “learning to be a real person” alleviated the divergence and opposition between “becoming talented” and “becoming a person”, and still holds significant implications today.