How Is “Transforming Nature to Raise Falsehood” Possible?—On the Practical Orientation of Xunzi’s Theory of Human Nature and Concept of Education

本文以《荀子》中的《性恶》与《劝学》两篇为核心文本，系统考察了荀子人性论与教育思想的内在关联。荀子以“性恶论”为理论基础，通过“化性起伪”的哲学建构，揭示了人性改造的必要性；同时以“劝学”思想为实践路径，提出积善成德的教育方法论。二者构成完整的理论体系：性恶论为教育实践提供本体论依据，劝学思想则为性恶论确立实践方案。这种理论互证关系既避免了性恶论导致的道德困境，又使教化思想获得哲学根基，体现了荀子思想中理论理性与实践理性的辩证统一，对理解儒家心性哲学的发展具有重要意义。This paper takes the two texts of “Theory of Sexual Evil” and “Persuasion” in Xunzi as the core texts, and systematically examines the intrinsic correlation between Xunzi’s theory of human nature and educational thought. Xunzi takes “The Theory of Sexual Evil” as the theoretical foundation, and reveals the necessity of human nature transformation through the philosophical construction of “transforming Nature and raising falsehoods”; at the same time, Xunzi takes the idea of “Persuasion” as the practical path, and puts forward the educational methodology of accumulating goodness to become virtue. The educational methodology of accumulating goodness and virtue. The two constitute a complete theoretical system: the theory of sexual evil provides an ontological basis for educational practice, while the idea of persuasion establishes a practical programme for the theory of sexual evil. This relationship of theoretical interdependence not only avoids the moral dilemma caused by the theory of sexual evil, but also enables the idea of education to obtain a philosophical foundation, reflecting the dialectical unity of theoretical and practical rationality in Xunzi’s thought, which is of great significance to the understanding of the development of the Confucian philosophy of mind and nature.