劉蕺山晚年完成的《人譜》是一部相當具有特色的著作，它在儒家思想內部集中地對人性中包含的負面因素予以了詳細梳理。張灝由此認為宋明儒學已發展成熟了一種「幽暗意識」而類似於西方藉以開出民主精神的「罪惡感」。蕺山對幽暗意識的重視有外部佛教無明觀的刺激，並可能受到了傳教士以及基督宗教罪惡觀的影響，但更多地還是延續了儒學本身的內在發展理路。蕺山的幽暗意識與孟子以來的性善論傳統並無衝突，因為《人譜》參照《太極圖說》，在其立言宗旨中首先確認了一種超越的人極。張灝也同樣強調幽暗意識必須在一種超越意識的統攝下才得以完備。這種由超越層面直貫而來對內聖涵養中「幽暗意識」的正面彰顯與直接透視，最終強化了外王實踐的必要性和重要性。

Liu Zongzhou’s Renpu (On Human Morality) was famous in Confucianism for its detailed description on the dark side of human nature. Chang Hao considered this work an example of full-developed “Dark Consciousness of Human Nature” in Chinese context and this concept in the western context helped the rise of democracy. Liu Zongzhou’s emphasis on evil and faults were evoked by Buddhism and possibly influenced by the theory of Original Sin introduced by missionaries, but the most important factor was the innate logic of Song Ming Neo-Confucianism itself. The Dark Consciousness of Human Nature was not contradictory with the Confucian tradition of good human nature started from Mengzi, since Renpu set up a transcendent aspect as its utmost goal. This transcendent aspect was similar to Chang Hao’s Transcendent Consciousness of Human Nature. With the combination of the two kind of consciousness, inner sageliness and outer kingliness could be reconciled.