Xunzi (about 3 13 ~ 238 BC) was honored as "Qing", so it was also called. Sun Qing was renamed in the Han Dynasty, a native of Zhao State (now southern Shaanxi) at the end of the Warring States Period, and a famous thinker in the pre-Qin period.
Xunzi traveled to Qi in his early years. Because of his extensive knowledge, he was the "most teacher" and served as the "wine festival" of Qi State at that time for three times (the length of the school palace). In about 264 BC, at the invitation of King Qin Zhao, he swam westward into the State of Qin, saying that the State of Qin was "simple in folk customs", "awed by all officials" and close to "supreme rule". Later, when he returned to Zhao, he joined the soldiers of Linwu Army in front of Zhao Haoqi and Cheng Xiao. He thought that "the purpose of fighting with soldiers is to care about the people" and that "those who are good at attaching themselves to the people are also good at fighting" (Xun Zi Yi Bing). Later, Xunzi was used by Chu Chunshen as the order of Lanling (now Lanling Town, Cangshui County, Shandong Province). Engaged in teaching and writing in his later years.
Xunzi is knowledgeable and profound in thought. His ideological theory is based on Confucianism, and he also absorbs the strengths of Taoism, Dharma, Fame and Mohism. He claimed to be the successor of Confucius and Zhong Gong, maintained the Confucian tradition, denounced the Confucianism of Zhang Zi, Xia Zi and Zi You as "cheap Confucianism", and strongly criticized Zi Si and Mencius. He gained and lost from Confucius' thoughts, highlighted Confucius' "courtesy" in his political thoughts, and had a tendency to change to legalism. It is not entirely accidental that Han Feizi and Li Si, the representatives of the late Legalists, all came from Xunzi family.
Because Xunzi's thoughts and theories of hundred schools of thought had appeared at the end of the Warring States Period, which enabled him not only to adopt hundred schools of thought's thoughts, but also to criticize and compare them, so Xunzi's thoughts were very rich. It can be said that Xunzi has made great achievements in cosmology, humanity, morality, education, literature, politics, economics and logic.
1, the view of heaven:
Xunzi believes that "heaven" is an objective nature, and "the stars rotate with the sun and the moon."
Hand, four seasons, yin and yang, wind and rain generous, everything has its harmony and health, each has its own upbringing, see its merits but not its things, the husband is called God; Its success is well known, but intangible, so it is called the sky "("Xunzi's theory of heaven "). Nature has the regularity of being independent of human will. "Heaven has been there, not for Yao's survival, not for Jie's death. It is advisable to treat it with good luck, and chaos should be fierce "(Xun Zi Tian Lun). Based on the understanding of the objectivity and regularity of nature, Xunzi put forward the viewpoint of "the separation of heaven and man", holding that "the sky cannot be poor if the foundation is strong and the use is frugal; If you are prepared and move, you will not get sick; If you don't do it by the way, the sky can't be a disaster; ..... So, if you understand the difference between heaven and man, you can say that you are human (Xunzi's Theory of Heaven). On the basis of advocating respect for the laws of nature, Xunzi further put forward the idea of giving full play to people's subjective initiative, "controlling destiny and using it" to control, publicize and conquer nature. Falling from the sky, used to control fate; Wait a minute; Which is to make it in time, which is to make it better; Thinking about things and things is to manage things without losing them; May things live, and may things be made. Therefore, if you think about heaven when you are wrong, you will lose your love for everything (Xunzi's Theory of Heaven). Xunzi's series of materialistic thoughts are unique in the debate of pre-Qin philosophers about the concept of heaven. It holds high the rational spirit and has high theoretical value.
2, epistemology:
Xunzi pointed out: "Anyone who knows is human nature; The reason of knowing things is also "("Xunzi reveals the secret "), that is, the world is knowable and is carried out through human functions. The process of cognition is to contact with external things through the "heavenly officials" (senses), and then the "heavenly kings" (thinking organs) carry out rational processing ("seeking knowledge"), that is, the combination of subject and object. "Mind" (thinking) is an important stage of understanding. "Mind is also the king of form; And the Lord of the gods is also "("Xunzi Jiemu "). It is believed that the one-sidedness and subjectivity of knowledge is a great "cover", and there are many forms of "cover", including: "Desire is cover, evil is cover, end is cover, far is cover, near is cover, knowledge is cover, shallowness is cover, ancient is cover, and today is cover. Everything is different and hides from each other. This mentality is also a public disaster. " (Xunzi Unveiled) If you want to unmask, you must "know". "How can others know? Heart. How to be intimate, saying: empty and quiet. People are born with knowledge, knowing and aspiring, and those with aspirations also hide. But there is a so-called emptiness, and it is not empty by what has been hidden "("Xunzi reveals the secret "). If you achieve "silence", you can achieve "complete enlightenment". In the relationship between "knowledge" and "behavior", Xunzi thinks that "behavior" is higher than "knowledge", and "knowing but not doing, doing and stopping learning" (Xunzi Confucian effect). On the relationship between "name" and "reality", Xunzi emphasized that "reality" is the objective basis of "name" and put forward the viewpoint of "making name mean reality" (Xunzi's name correction).
3, the theory of human nature:
In the aspect of human nature, Xunzi put forward the "theory of evil nature", which is completely opposite to Mencius' "theory of good nature", and believed that human nature is an innate and simple natural attribute. "Anyone who has sex can't learn and do things naturally, and it is called sex in others" (Xunzi's theory of evil nature), which is manifested as "A is full, cold is warm, and fatigue is resting" (Xunzi's theory of evil nature), the "goodness" of human nature is artificial (that is, "false"), and "human nature is evil, and its goodness is also good. "Goodness" is the result of acquired environment and enlightenment learning. "A man of propriety and righteousness is born of a saint. If he can learn and be excellent, he will be an official, and if he succeeds, he will be an official ... If he can learn and be excellent, he will be false" (Xunzi's Theory of Evil Nature). Congenital "sex" and acquired "falsehood" are a pair of contradictions. To solve contradictions, we must change our "nature" by studying and doing things. Sex and falsehood are the unity of opposites. "Without sex, there is no falsehood. Without falsehood, there is no self-beauty." Just because of "sexual error, the name of a saint is also."
(On Xun Gigi Lai). Xunzi's theory of "evil nature" is quite different from Mencius' theory of "good nature", but the purpose of educating and influencing people through the so-called "teaching of the holy king" is the same.
4, the theory of ceremony:
The thought of "courtesy" is the core concept of Xunzi's social and political thought. Xunzi put forward that "ceremony" is a "measuring boundary" formulated by the former king in order to adjust people's desires and avoid war. "Where did the ceremony begin?" Yue: People are born with desires. If they want but can't, they can't want nothing. They can't argue if they want to have no measurement boundary. Struggle is chaos, and chaos is poverty. The late king hated the chaos, so he divided the courtesy and righteousness to nurture people's desires and give them desires. It is also a ceremony to make desires not be limited by things, and things not yield to desires. Xunzi believes that although the content of "ceremony" includes "life", "death", "sacrifice" and "teacher", its essence is nothing more than "nurturing" (that is, "wanting to support others") and "restraining" (that is, "the young and the old are different, and the rich and the poor are named"). Xunzi emphasized that "courtesy" is the highest standard to measure everything, the foundation of governing the country, that is, "the extreme of human nature", and the highest principle of supreme and eternal existence. "Heaven and earth, the sun and the moon are bright, the four seasons are orderly, the stars are in line, the rivers are flowing, everything is prosperous, likes and dislikes are decorated, the mood is suitable, the next one is smooth, the last one is bright, and the change is not chaotic. (On Xun Gigi Lai)
5. Educational concept:
Xunzi attaches importance to the role of education and learning, which is actually a logical extension of his view of heaven and man and his theory of human nature. He believes that learning is very important to people, "learn but not do it", "I think all day, it is better to put what I have learned in an instant" ("Xunzi Persuades Learning"). Education determines a person's acquired growth. "Being a son of a foreign nationality, we are born with the same voice, long but different in customs, and natural in teaching" ("Xunzi's exhortation to learn"). He pointed out that the cultivation of knowledge and virtue is formed through accumulation. "Accumulated soil becomes mountains, and the wind and rain are prosperous; The water drops merged into the ocean and the dragon was born; Accumulate goodness into virtue, the gods are complacent, and the sacred heart is prepared ("Xunzi Persuades to Learn"). Xunzi believed that there was no end to learning, and the latecomers came to the top. "Green is taken from blue, and green is blue; Ice, water for it, but colder than water ",and stressed that the purpose of" learning "is" doing ",so learning numbers has a purpose, and you can't give up if it is meaningful. For it, people are also; Give it up, and the beast will also "("Xunzi's admonition "). Xunzi has always been regarded as a very important figure in the early teaching of Confucian classics. He also knows all the classic works. Ying Shao's "Custom Pass" says: "Be good at poetry, courtesy, righteousness, spring and autumn. Wang Zhong, a Confucian scholar in the Qing Dynasty, wrote A General Theory of Xunqing Zi, arguing that Xunqing's learning originated from Confucius, and made a detailed textual research on Xunzi's "Biography of Classics", which was basically recognized by scholars of Confucian classics. Xunzi was a very important Confucian scholar and scholar in the pre-Qin period. In the early feudal society of China, his position was relatively high. However, since the Song Dynasty, Neo-Confucianism has often promoted Mencius, suppressed Xun, and excluded him from the orthodoxy. However, Xunzi's thoughts and theories still have far-reaching influence. Zhang Heng, Wang Chong, Liu Zongyuan, Wang Fuzhi, Dai Zhen and the modern bourgeois revolutionary democrats were all influenced by him to varying degrees.
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