Xunzi Quotes
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. The quotes below are attributed to Xunzi, organized by topic.
Browse Xunzi by topic
Xunzi on Death
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“Learning proceeds until death and only then does it stop. ... Its purpose cannot be given up for even a moment. To pursue it is to be human, to give it up to be a beast.”
An Exhortation to Learning | Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy (2001), p. 258
Xunzi on Knowledge
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“Learning should never cease.”
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“If you do not climb a high mountain, you will not comprehend the highness of the heavens.”
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“The person attempting to travel two roads at once will get nowhere.”
Quoted in: Errick A. Ford (2010) Iron Sharpens Iron: Wisdom of the Ages, p. 48 -
“Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops.”
As translated by Eric L. Hutton in Xunzi: The Complete Text (2024), Ch. 8 :The Achievements of the Ru | Variant translations: | Not having learned it is not as good as having learned it; having learned it is not as good as having seen it carried out; having seen it is not as good as understanding it; understanding it is not as good as doing it. The development of scholarship is to the extreme of d -
“As translated by Eric L. Hutton in Xunzi: The Complete Text (2024), Ch. 8 :The Achievements of the Ru”
Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops. -
“See also derivatives at "Quote Origin: Tell Me and I Forget; Teach Me and I May Remember; Involve Me and I Learn" at the Quote Investigator”
Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops.
Xunzi on Nature
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“Human nature is evil; goodness is the result of conscious activity.”
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“Heaven does not stop the winter because men dislike the cold.”
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“Human nature is evil, and goodness is caused by intentional activity.”
Quoted in: Fayek S. Hourani (2012) Daily Bread for Your Mind and Soul, p. 336 -
“A questioner asks: If human nature is evil, then where do ritual and rightness come from? I reply: ritual and rightness are always created by the conscious activity of the sages.”
Human nature is evil | Sources of Chinese Tradition (1999), vol. 1, p. 180 -
“The straightening board was created because of warped wood, and the plumb line came into being because of things that are not straight. Rulers are established and ritual and rightness are illuminated because the nature is evil.”
Human nature is evil | Sources of Chinese Tradition (1999), vol. 1, p. 182
Xunzi on Truth
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“In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth.”
Quoted in: Joan Klostermann-Ketels (2011) HumaniTrees, p. 96
Xunzi on Virtue
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“Without ritual no person can develop, no enterprise can be completed, and no state can be at peace.”
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Attributed to Xunzi:
“The gentleman knows that what is incomplete and unrefined cannot be called beauty.”
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“Not having learned it is not as good as having learned it; having learned it is not as good as having seen it carried out; having seen it is not as good as understanding it; understanding it is not as good as doing it. The development of scholarship is to the extreme of doing it, and that is its end and goal. He who carries it out, knows it thoroughly. As translated in The Works of Hsüntze (1928) by Homer H. Dubs”
Not having heard of it is not as good as having heard of it. Having heard of it is not as good as having seen it. Having seen it is not as good as knowing it. Knowing it is not as good as putting it into practice. Learning arrives at putting it into practice and then stops.