Xunzi 310 BC – 235 BC
Xunzi was a Chinese Confucian philosopher of the late Warring States period and one of the three great classical Confucian thinkers, alongside Confucius and Mencius. Against Mencius, he argued that human nature is bad, or rather inclined toward selfish desire, and that goodness is the achievement of ritual and education. He was a careful theorist of language, ritual, and the proper organization of the state, and his students Han Feizi and Li Si became the principal architects of Legalism. Xunzi's influence on Chinese thought, although later overshadowed by Mencian orthodoxy, has been immense.
Key facts
- Nationality
- Chinese
- Era
- Ancient
- Movements
- Confucianism
Selected quotes
-
Attributed to Xunzi:
“Human nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.”
-
Attributed to Xunzi:
“Learning should never cease.”
-
Attributed to Xunzi:
“If you do not climb a high mountain, you will not comprehend the highness of the heavens.”
-
Attributed to Xunzi:
“Without ritual no person can develop, no enterprise can be completed, and no state can be at peace.”
-
Attributed to Xunzi:
“The gentleman knows that what is incomplete and unrefined cannot be called beauty.”