Xunzi (book)
| Author | Xun Kuang (trad.) |
|---|---|
| Original title | 荀子 |
| Country | China |
| Language | Classical Chinese |
| Genre | Philosophy |
|
Publication date
|
c. 3rd century BC |
| Xunzi | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Chinese | 荀子 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Literal meaning | "Master Xun" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Transcriptions | |
|---|---|
| Standard Mandarin | |
| Hanyu Pinyin | Xúnzǐ |
| Gwoyeu Romatzyh | Shyuntzyy |
| Wade–Giles | Hsün2-tzu3 |
| Wu | |
| Romanization | Sin-tzy |
| Yue: Cantonese | |
| Yale Romanization | Sèuhn jí |
| Jyutping | Seon4-tzi2 |
| Southern Min | |
| Tâi-lô | Sûn-tzú |
| Middle Chinese | |
| Middle Chinese | Zwin-tzí |
| Old Chinese | |
| Baxter-Sagart | *s-N-qʷin tsəʔ |
The Xunzi ([ɕy̌n tsɨ̀]; Chinese: 荀子; Wade–Giles: Hsün-tzu) is an ancient Chinese collection of philosophical writings attributed to the 3rd century BC Realist Confucian philosopher Xun Kuang. In the Xunzi, Xun Kuang distinguishes what is born in man and what must be learned through rigorous education. Though Confucian, the Xunzi may also be considered a root canonical writing of the Chinese Legalist "School". Its essays are often critical of competing schools, such as Daoism and Mohism, as well as rival schools within Confucianism. Some of the more significant chapters are
This last view engendered considerable debate over two centuries.
In the first century AD, Liu Xiang redacted Xunzi''s extant oeuvre from hundreds of loose fascicles into 32 bundles (篇) of bamboo strips. In 818 AD, an unknown minor official named Yang Liang fixed many errors in the bamboo strips which had accumulated over the centuries, transcribing them on scrolls (巻) of silk and adding commentary which modern scholars have found helpful. 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.
Please note that the commentary below is based on the Burton Watson translation of the Xunzi as cited. The translated chapter titles below correspond with those above (for example, "Human Dispositions are Detestable" is the "Man's Nature is Evil" chapter).
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.
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