Xun Kuang (; Chinese: 荀況; pinyin: Xún Kuàng [ɕy̌n kʰwâŋ]; c. 310 – c. 235
BC, alt. c. 314 – c. 217 BC), also widely known as Xunzi (; Chinese: 荀子; pinyin:
Xúnzǐ; Wade–Giles: Hsün-tzu, "Master Xun"), was a Chinese Confucian philosopher
who lived during the Warring States period and contributed to the Hundred Schools of
Thought. A book known as the Xunzi is traditionally attributed to him. His works survive in an
excellent condition, and were a major influence in forming the official state doctrines of
the Han dynasty, but his influence waned during the Tang dynasty relative to that of Mencius.Xunzi
discusses figures ranging from Confucius, Mencius, and Zhuangzi, to Linguists Mozi,
Hui Shi and Gongsun Long and "Legalists" Shen Buhai and Shen Dao. He mentions Laozi as a
figure for the first time in early Chinese history, and makes use of Taoist terminology,
though rejecting their doctrine.
== Life == Xunzi was born Xun Kuang. Some texts recorded
his surname as Sun (孫) instead of Xun, either because the two surnames were homophones in
antiquity or because Xun was a naming taboo during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han (73–48
BC), whose given name was Xun. Herbert Giles and John Knoblock both consider the naming
taboo theory more likely.Nothing is known of his lineage, and the early years of Xunzi's
life are enshrouded in mystery. Accounts of when he lived conflict; he is said to have
met a King Kuai of Yan during the time of Mencius, while Liu Xiang states that he lived
more than a hundred years after Mencius. The Sima Qian records that he was born in Zhao,
and Anze County has erected a large memorial hall at his supposed birthplace. He is recounted
at the age of fifty as going to the state of Qi to study and teach at the Jixia Academy.
The Shi Ji states that he became a member of the academy during the time of King Xiang
of Qi, discounting the story of his being a teacher of Han Fei, but it's chronology
would give him a lifetime of 137 years. After Qi Xunzi is said to have visited the
state of Qin, possibly from 260 to 265 BC, and praised its governance, and debated military
affairs with Lord Linwu (臨武君) in the court of King Xiaocheng of Zhao. Later, Xunzi
was slandered in the Qi court, and he retreated south to the state of Chu. In 240 Lord Chunshen,
the prime minister, invited him to take a position as Magistrate of Lanling (蘭陵令),
which he initially refused, but Lord Chunshen was assassinated In 238 BC by a court rival
and Xunzi subsequently lost his position. He retired, remained in Lanling, a region
in what is today's southern Shandong province, for the rest of his life and was buried there.
The year of his death is unknown, though if he lived to see the ministership of supposed
student Li Si, as recounted, he would have lived into his nineties, dying shortly after
219 BC.
== Philosophy == Xunzi witnessed the chaos surrounding the
fall of the Zhou dynasty and rise of the Qin state – which upheld "doctrines focusing
on state control, by means of law and penalties ("Chinese Legalism").
Like Shang Yang, Xunzi believed that humanity's inborn tendencies were evil and that ethical
norms had been invented to rectify people. His variety of Confucianism therefore has
a "darker", more pragmatic flavour than the optimistic Confucianism of Mencius, who tended
to view humans as innately good, though like most Confucians he believed that people could
be refined through education and ritual. However, he believed that only an elite could accomplish
this. Adapting Confucianism to the ideas of the Mohists and "Legalists", unlike other
Confucians, Xunzi therefore allowed that penal law could play a legitimate, though secondary,
role in the state.He rejects the Book of Lord Shang and Zhuangzi's claims that the way changes
with the times, saying the way had been invented by the sages. To this end he seems to have
taken up the Mohists' argumentive strategies and conception of models (Fa) (which the "Legalists"
had also taken up), saying "the Ru model themselves after the former kings". Unlike the "Legalists",
he places little emphasis on general rules, advocating the use of particular examples
as models.Ultimately, he refused to admit theories of state and administration apart
from ritual and self-cultivation, arguing for the gentleman, rather than the measurements
promoted by the "Legalists", as the wellspring of objective criterion. His ideal, gentleman
(junzi) king and government, aided by a class of erudites (Ru), are "very close to that
of Mencius", but without the tolerance of feudalism.
== Notes ==
== References == Cua, A.S. (1985). Ethical Argumentation: A
Study in Hsün Tzu's Moral Epistemology. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press. ISBN 0-8248-0942-4.
Knechtges, David R.; Shih, Hsiang-lin (2014). "Xunzi 荀子". In Knechtges, David R.; Chang,
Taiping. Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part Three.
Leiden: Brill. pp. 1757–65. ISBN 978-90-04-27216-3. Loewe, Michael (1993). "Hsün tzu 荀子".
In Loewe, Michael. Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide. Berkeley: Society for
the Study of Early China; Institute of East Asian Studies, University of California Berkeley.
pp. 178–88. ISBN 1-55729-043-1. Munro, Donald J. (2001). The Concept of Man
in Early China. Ann Arbor, MI: University of Michigan. ISBN 978-0892641512.
Schwartz, Benjamin I. (1985). The World of Thought in Ancient China. Cambridge, MA.:
Harvard University Press. ISBN 0-674-96190-0.
== External links == Xun Zi at Curlie
Hsun Tzu historical information and writing excerpts
Article from the Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Full text of the Xunzi (in Chinese) Quotes by Xunzi
“Tell me and I forget; teach me and I may remember; involve me and I will learn”