Xunzi - Life

Life

Xunzi was born Xun Kuang (荀況), courtesy name Qing (卿). Some texts recorded his surname as Sun (孫) instead of Xun, either because the two surnames were homophones in antiquity or because Xun was a naming taboo at some point in history. Herbert Giles says the name was changed to Sun during the reign of Emperor Xuan of Han (73–48 BC) because Xun was the personal name of the Emperor himself.

The name "Xunzi" is an honorary title that means "Master Xun".

The early years of Xunzi's life are enshrouded in mystery. He was first known at the age of fifty, around 264 BC, when he went to the state of Qi to study and teach at the Jixia Academy. Xunzi was well respected in Qi; the King Xiang of Qi (齊襄王) honoured him as a teacher and a libationer. It was around this time that Xunzi visited the state of Qin and praised its governance, and debated military affairs with Lord Linwu (臨武君) in the court of King Xiaocheng of Zhao (趙孝成王). Later, Xunzi was slandered in the Qi court, and he retreated south to the state of Chu, where Lord Chunshen of Chu (春申君), the prime minister, gave him a position as Magistrate of Lanling (蘭陵令). In 238 BC, Lord Chunshen was assassinated by a court rival and Xun Zi subsequently lost his position. Xunzi remained in Lanling, a region in what is today's southern Shandong province, for the rest of his life and was buried there. The year of his death is unknown.

Of his disciples, the most notable are Li Si (prime minister to the first Qin emperor) and the Han state royal Han Feizi, who developed the quasi-authoritarian aspects of his thought into the doctrine called the School of Law, or Legalism. Because of Li Si and Han Feizi's staunch anti-Confucian stances, Xunzi's reputation as a Confucian philosopher has often come into question.

While Xunzi's doctrines were influential in forming the official state doctrine of the Han Dynasty, during the Tang Dynasty his influence waned compared to that of Mencius.