The Xunzi () is an ancient Chinese collection of philosophical writings attributed to (Master (zi)) Xun Kuang, a 3rd-century BC philosopher usually associated with the Confucian tradition. The Xunzi emphasizes education and propriety, and asserts that "human nature is detestable". The text is an important source of early theories of ritual, cosmology, and governance. The ideas within the Xunzi are thought to have exerted a strong influence on Legalist thinkers, such as Han Fei, and laid the groundwork for much of Han dynasty political ideology. The text criticizes a wide range of other prominent early Chinese thinkers, including Laozi, Zhuangzi, Mozi, and Mencius.
Some Xunzi chapters are especially significant. The "Discussion of Heaven ( Tiān lùn)" rejects the notion that heaven has a moral will. Instead, Xunzi asserts that heaven operates according to constant principles; thus people should focus on the human, social realm rather than attempting to ascertain the inner-workings of heaven. The "Discussion of Ritual Propriety ()" chapter gives rules of individual and social decorum. "Dispelling Obsessions" teaches that in focusing on only one aspect of a situation, one often loses sight of the larger purpose. "Proper Use of Terms" (): A name becomes proper for a situation through conventional usage, but once this is fixed it is improper to deviate from this norm. "Human Dispositions are Detestable" () rejects Mencius's claim that people have a natural inclination toward goodness. Confucius, who simply said that people are similar by nature, was not clear on the matter. Xunzi holds that man is naturally inclined towards selfishness, and that if this inclination is not curbed, human societies devolve into chaos. He argues that people become good only through conscious efforts and social constructs, emphasizing the difference between natural endowment and cultivated potential.
In the first century AD, Liu Xiang redacted Xunzis extant oeuvre from hundreds of loose fascicles into 32 bundles of bamboo strips. The first commentary on the Xunzi does not appear until 818 AD, when an official named Yang Liang claimed to have corrected errors in the existing bamboo strips and transcribed them on scrolls of silk. Yang's commentary still appears in some modern editions of the text. The text has been continuously in print since the invention of the printing press in the 11th century AD.
Chapters + List of chapters in the Xunzi Title English Chinese 1 Exhortation to Learning 2 Cultivating Oneself 3 Nothing Improper 4 On Honor and Disgrace 5 Against Physiognomy 6 Against the Twelve Masters 7 On Confucius 8 On Achievements of the Ru 9 The Rule of a True King 10 Enriching the State 11 The True King and the Hegemon 12 The Way to Be a Lord 13 The Way to Be a Minister 14 On Attracting Men of Worth 15 A Debate on Military Affairs 16 The Strong State 17 Discourse on Heaven 18 Correct Judgments 19 Discourse on Ritual 20 Discourse on Music 21 Undoing Fixation 22 Correct Naming 23 Human Nature Is Bad 24 The Gentleman 25 Working Songs 26 Fu 27 The Grand Digest 28 The Right-Hand Vessel 29 The Way to Be a Son 30 The Proper Model and Proper Conduct 31 Duke Ai 32 Yao Asked
The essays in the Xunzi are not arranged in chronological order.
"Discourse on Music" Mozi, another philosopher of the Warring States era (pre-unification of China), discouraged the use of music and other forms of culture as being wasteful of resources needed to keep the state healthy and prosperous. Xunzi's chapter on music questions this stance, specifically naming Mozi. Why, poses Xunzi, should music be renounced if created by the sage kings to create order in expression, or if it brings people into unity and harmony and soldiers into order (for example, via war dances)? Or what if it has the ability to reform people? Following a line of Confucian thought, Xunzi argues that music, as defined and ordered by the ancient sage kings, acts like ritual in that it moderates and restrains the person listening and the person performing. It also positively inspires people and is thus an effective means of governing. However, and again agreeing with Confucius, Xunzi does admit that there are types of music which can lead one into licentious behavior, but states that the gentleman knows to be wary of his environment and the sounds he hears.
Music embodies an unchanging harmony, while rites represent unalterable reason. Music unites that which is the same; rites distinguish that which is different; and through the combination of rites and music the human heart is governed... Because he criticized music, one would expect Mozi to have met with some punishment. And yet in his lifetime the enlightened kings had all died and there was no one to correct his errors, so that stupid men continue to study his doctrines and bring jeopardy to themselves.
"Undoing Fixation" Xunzi's chapter on dispelling obsession can be understood via the use of an ode he uses from the Book of Odes:
I pluck and pluck the burr-weed But it does not fill my slanting basket. I sigh for my loved one; I would be in the ranks of Zhou.
Because the mind of the plucker in this ode is divided between her task at hand and the love she has for a man in the ranks of Zhou, she cannot complete the simple task of filling her basket. Xunzi warns against falling into obsession in this chapter. When one is subject to obsession, it means that one is focusing so intently on a certain thing (Xunzi claims that Mozi focused too much on utility, while Zhuangzi focused too heavily on Nature, for example) that one's mind will not be able to absorb any new information outside of the realm of one's obsession. One's true mind is thus divided in the sense of there being a wall too tall to see over in one's head separating the obsession from everything else. Obsession, as argued by Xunzi, is so strong that the ineptitude it causes can lead to one's death without one even knowing it. Examples of people who fell into such obsessions include rulers who neglected their duties at the hands of an obsession (for a particular concubine, for example) and thus fell into discord with their people, and usurpers of the throne who also met their end because of their obsession with gaining power.
Alternately, a sage uses the Way () to refrain from obsession and to keep his mind open. In order to accept the Way, one must first understand it, then approve it, then abide by it. The Way is the path away from obsession because of the nature of its interaction with the mind, which is empty, unified and still, according to Xunzi, when it is in accord with the Way. When it happens that one's mind is empty, one is able to possess much intellect without said intellect interfering with the process of absorbing new information. When it happens that one's mind is unified, one understands differences and the variety of information, but does not allow "one fact to impinge upon that of another." When it happens that one's mind is still, although one may daydream and imagine and have a mind constantly in motion, one does not allow these mental meanderings to distort perceptions. Xunzi is referring to peace of mind rather than an attempt to unlearn what one has learned, as Laozi does, when he refers to the mind as being empty, unified and still. When one accords with the Way one is able to treat the world holistically, while outside of the Way one can only see the world as a collection of unrelated units. With this achieved, learning can be done, and should be done to the point of sufficiency (having the understanding of a sage or king, the former having control over morality and the latter having control over society).
For Xunzi, the mind is the ruler of the body, the emptying of which leads one closer to the Way. His argument is similar to that of Zhuangzi, who says that the emptying of the mind will lead one to be actively spontaneous and in harmony with the way. However, as noted below in the "Human Nature Is Bad" section, Xunzi argues for the use of ancient rites and regulations to hone the self, while Zhuangzi believes that simply emptying the mind, without absorbing such information regarding ritual and regulation, and thus falling into a state of wu-wei ("non-action" or "effortless action") is sufficient to walking the path of the Way.
"Correct Naming"
Employing a technique used by philosophers before him, such as Mozi and Confucius, Xunzi argues for the rectification of names. There are several reasons why Xunzi considered the correct and consistent naming of things was important: so a ruler could adequately command his people in accordance with the Way, without being misunderstood. If misunderstandings were too easily made, then the Way would not effectively be put into action. This appears to be Xunzi's most important reason: "When the ruler's accomplishments are long lasting and his undertakings are brought to completion, this is the height of a good government. All of this is the result of being careful to see that men stick to the names which have been agreed upon." Also, without universally accepted definitions, right and wrong would become blurred (being specific about what constitutes "right" and "wrong" causes morality to be more objective).
To "[distinguish] between things that are the same and those that are different' one must use their senses to understand a thing (via sight, sound, smell, taste, touch) and then compare it to understandings of other things. From these observations, names can be given based on the sameness or difference between things. Individual things will have their own names in this construct as will groups of things (those are musical instruments). The naming of things can become either more or less precise from this point Xunzi also speaks of "things which share the same form but occupy different places and things which have different forms but occupy the same place." The former, such as two flutes, should be distinguished as two separate flutes, although they are of the same form, because they occupy different spaces. However, as one flute is used and becomes damaged or broken over time, it appears to change into something else. But even though it seems to become something different, it is still the same flute and should be regarded as such.
This attention to detail perhaps sounds satirical, but has practical use. Xunzi elaborates on exactly what the name "sage" means, what sort of person it can apply to. Ideally, if all people are able to accurately employ the word "sage" finding a proper teacher (the importance of this is described in the section below), for example, would be easier. Likewise, the idea of being concise and accurate in speaking is made to be a characteristic of the sage and thus antithetical to the sloppy speaking of a fool, who is incapable of learning without the understanding of names.