Good and Evil in Confucianism

One sees little reference to evil in Confucian writings. Of course, the word "evil" has over-tones in a Christian society. One dictionary definition, e.g., calls it "a cosmic evil force." In Confucianism,
another definition is better: "something that brings sorrow, distress, or calamity."

Here is what I have found in "Learning to Be a Sage, Conversations of Master Chu" translated by Daniel Gardner (isbn 0-520-06525-5):

p. 165, #6.15
"...concentrate your mental energy, and whatever is obscure to you and whatever evil thoughts you might have will disappear...."

p.165 & 166, #6.18
"...Man's nature is in all instances good; it's simply because man has let go of his mind that he falls into evil."
And also this: 
"Never can what has been allotted to man by the yin and yang psychophysical stuff [chi] and the five agents contain evil. It's  simply because man himself does not move toward the good that he becomes evil."
And also this: 
"...it's important that in those places where good and evil have become mixed students disentangle them; they mustn't let the shoots of goodness that grow in even the smallest patch of evil be cut down."

Notice how main stream Confucianism holds to belief in the innate goodness of humanity.

One rarely sees evil mentioned in Confucian writings. I did a google search on "good + evil + Confucianism" and found this web page:

http://www.onelittleangel.com/wisdom/quotes/religion_net.asp?mc=16

You will have to use the "find in this page" tool of your web browser to find the occurrences of "evil" on the page. There are more than one.

That web page has this quote from Wang Yangming:
"In the original substance of the mind there is no distinction of good and evil. When the will becomes active, however, such distinction exists. The faculty of innate knowledge is to know good and evil. The investigation of things is to do good and to remove evil."

"The investigation of things" is a major topic in itself, but is too much to add to this article.

Finally, I'll mention the best book I've seen on the topic of evil: "People of the Lie, the Hope for Healing Human Evil" by M. Scott Peck.  There are a number of books on the topic of evil referenced by Peck. I will warn you that Peck's book crumbles into confused mysticism at the end. It's a good book with no suggestions for a solution.

Scott Peck once tried to do an exorcism. Yes, he tried to drive out demons. No, he is not Catholic. The problem of evil seemed to drive him "around the bend."

Confucianism is rational and balanced. Confucianism is thoughtful, deep, and considers many topics also of interest to Christians.