Xunzi

Xunzi or Hsün-tzu (300?-235? bc), major figure in Chinese philosophy, considered with Confucius and Mencius as one of the great founders of Confucianism. Xunzi was born in the state of Zhao in present-day Shanxi province. He was a member of the famed philosophers' circle, the Chi-hsia group, in the state of Qi until slander forced him to move to the state of Chu, where he became a magistrate in 255 BC.

Xunzi was the first Confucian to produce a book instead of leaving sayings for later compilation. This book of 32 essays, known today as the Xunzi, brought a new intellectual rigor to Confucian debate. Directly contradicting Mencius, Xunzi declared that human nature is fundamentally bad and likely to create chaos unless restrained and modified by li, the patterns of ritual and custom that evolve from the rational faculty of humans. Culture thus holds society together and protects people from their own natures. The most cultivated individuals—the Confucian sages with their highly developed rational faculties—were therefore best adapted to govern, rather than hereditary rulers. The li of society includes a natural hierarchy assigning each member a place and duties.

Though a gifted controversialist, Xunzi deplored argument and advocated a sage-king to restore the pristine li and impose consensus. This authoritarian tendency brought him close to the school of Chinese philosophy called Legalism espoused by his two pupils, Han Fei and Li Si. Neo-Confucians of the 12th century ad rejected Xunzi and declared Mencius the second sage of Confucianism. Despite this criticism, Xunzi was instrumental in systematizing and perpetuating the thought of his predecessors.