關於「心」與「身」的關係，荀子的看法似簡單明白。〈天論篇〉說：「心居中虛，以治五官，夫是之謂天君。」〈解蔽篇〉云：「心者，形之君也，而神明之主也，出令而無所受令。」這兩句話就清楚的告示我們，對荀子而言，「心」與「身」的關係是：心是主宰身體者。但若我們注意到：在荀子，「身」字並不只指形體的「身體」，它還有其他的意指，如〈勸學篇〉、〈脩身篇〉所謂的「美身」。「美身」的「身」就不指形體的「身體」而是「人的生命」──有形體的部份，但重點不在那。由這角度來看，「心」與「身」是含「治者與被治者」的關係，但不只是此，還有美化、修飾之的意思。而更重要的是，若從〈非相篇〉與〈王制篇〉荀子提出的「人禽之辨」來看，經深入的了解與剖析，我們會發現：「心」與「身」的關係，在荀子，另有豐富而深層的關係與意涵：「心」以「身」為媒介，透過對它的「治」與「美化」，把人之所以為人而不是動物的特色，即能群、有義、有辨等，表現出來，甚而可以讓人「行德」的能力充分表現出來而成為「道德至極」的「聖人」。這是本文論證、探討的重點。 The relationship between mind and body in Xunzi , according to the Chapter of Tien, is like the relation between “the ruler and the ruled”. But, it is very clear that the word “body” for man in Xunzi does not only mean our “physical body,” more importantly, it also points to “the whole life of human.” From this point of view to inquiry into the relationship in question, we find that, through the difference of human from animal, there is another more crucial relationship between mind and body for Xunzi , i.e., by taking body as a means, human mind can cultivate human life, makes it become a moral life, and thereby becomes an authentic human being, really different from animal. This actualizes human’s moral ability, at the same time, makes humanpossible become a sage——Xunzi’s ideal of human life.
