Xing (性) mainly referred to human nature in ancient times. The concept of xing
has two essential points. First, it refers to the inherent nature of all things, not
as a result of nurture. Second, it refers to the common nature of certain kind
of things, not the nature of individual things of that kind. Similarly, human
nature, too, has two meanings. First, it refers to inherent attributes all people
share, including physical features, desires, and consciousness. Second, it is
the essential and distinct attribute that distinguishes people from birds and
beasts, in other words, human's moral nature. Scholars throughout history held
varied views over the question whether human nature was good or evil. Some
believed it was good. Some thought it was evil. Some held that it was neither
good nor evil. Some held that human nature could be both good and evil in the
same person. Some thought that human nature was good in some people, but
evil in others.