Listen to this articlerénxīn 人心
Human Heart / Human Desires
对外物的知觉欲求。“人心”与“道心”对举，见于古文《尚书》、《荀子》等典籍。宋儒特别重视“人心”与“道心”的概念，对其含义进行了解释和发挥。宋儒认为，心的知觉活动包含两类内容：其一，由耳目等身体官能所生发的对外物的欲求，称为“人心”。其二，依循于道德原则的知觉意识，称为“道心”。“人心”源自形体所禀受之气带来的私欲。“人心”的私欲容易过度而造成危害，因此应发挥“道心”的功用，以克服过度的欲望。
The “human heart” here refers to human awareness of outside attractions and desires for such attractions. It is in contrast with consciousness of moral principles, and was used in classics such as the “Old Text” version of The Book of History, and Xunzi. Confucian scholars in the Song Dynasty attached great importance to both concepts, and had interpretations and expositions about them. It was believed that the conscious mind, or heart involved two aspects. The first is the human desires for the outside world that were aroused by sensory organs such as eyes and ears, which is called renxin, or the “human heart.” The second is the consciousness of moral principles, which is called daoxin, or the “moral mind.” “Human desires” is brought about by the bodily senses and it is selfish. Therefore, the role of the consciousness of moral principles needs to be allowed full play so that excessive human desires which will lead to harm can be held in check.
引例 Citations：
◎人心惟危，道心惟微，惟精惟一，允执厥中。（《尚书·大禹谟》）
（人心危险，道心隐微，用心应精审专一，诚实秉持中正之道。）
The human heart is beset by danger, while the moral mind is subtle and elusive. Concentration of mind is required for sticking to the path of justice and uprightness. (The Book of History)
◎心之虚灵知觉，一而已矣。而以为有人心、道心之异者，则以其或生于形气之私，或原于性命之正，而所以为知觉者不同，是以或危殆而不安，或微妙而难见（xiàn）耳。（朱熹《中庸章句序》）
（心的知觉意识，其实是同一个东西罢了。但“人心”和“道心”被认为有分别，是由于“人心”源自形体所禀受之气带来的私欲，“道心”源自天命之性中的正理，因此认为两种知觉有所不同，“人心”危险而不安定，“道心”隐微而不轻易显现。）
Consciousness and senses from the heart are ultimately the same thing. A distinction, however, may be made between the “human heart” and the “moral mind.” This is because the former refers to selfish desires brought about by the bodily senses, whereas the latter comes from heavenly principles of justice. Human desires are dangerous and lead to uncertainty. Consciousness of moral principles is elusive and rarely exhibits itself. (Zhu Xi: Preface to Annotations on The Doctrine of the Mean)
