Xun Zi
Xunzi, born Xun Kuang, was a late Warring States period Confucian Chinese philosopher, often ranked as the third great Confucian philosopher of antiquity after his predecessors Confucius and Mencius. By his time, Confucianism had suffered considerable criticism from Taoist and Mohist thinkers, and Xunzi is traditionally regarded as a synthesizer of these traditions with earlier Confucian thought. The result was a thorough and cohesive revision of Confucianism, which was crucial to the philosophy's ability to flourish in the Han dynasty and throughout the later history of East Asia.
Trending & Selected Quotes
Trending topics shown first"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 …"
"The learning of the gentleman enters through his ears, fastens to his heart, spreads through his four limbs, and manifests itself in his actions. ... The learning of the petty person enters through hi…"
"The gentleman knows that whatever is imperfect and unrefined does not deserve praise. ... He makes his eyes not want to see what is not right, makes his ears not want to hear what is not right, makes …"
"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."
"One whose intentions and thoughts are cultivated will disregard wealth and nobility. One whose greatest concern is for the Way and righteousness will take lightly kings and dukes. It is simply that wh…"
"In order to properly understand the big picture, everyone should fear becoming mentally clouded and obsessed with one small section of truth."
Works & Publications
No works or publications documented yet.
Timeline
-313
Born
Birth-238
Died
Death
Influenced By
Thinkers whose ideas shaped Xun's philosophy
No known influences documented.
Influenced
Thinkers whose work was shaped by Xun's ideas
No influenced thinkers documented yet.
Source Attribution
Information about Xun Zi is sourced from curated knowledge bases and cross-referenced for accuracy. Influence relationships are scored by thematic overlap and historical plausibility.
Related Thinkers
See all →
Explore Further
Related Quotes
"In both positivism and Heidegger—at least in his later work—speculation is the target of attack. In both ca…"
— Theodor Adorno"How we come to have the world-views we do is an interesting question. No doubt reason plays a part, but hum…"
— John Gray (philosopher)"hilosophy is not a matter for adjustment, as a means, to national requirements, but every nation and indivi…"
— George Trumbull Ladd"Now, justification in this life is given to us according to these three things: first by the laver of regen…"
— Augustine of Hippo"Through a wise and salutary neglect , a generous nature has been suffered to take her own way to perfection…"
— Edmund Burke"“It is plain, of course, that any proof of this depends upon the validity of the doctrine of a priori cogni…"
— George Holmes Howison
