Xunzi was born at the end of the Warring States Period, and Zhao was a great power in the Central Plains at that time. Handan, Linzi, Xianyang and Daliang were called the five major cities at that time. In a sense, the capital Handan is synonymous with Zhao.
On the issue of Xunzi's birthplace, it is clearly recorded in Historical Records, "Ye Zhao history books record the birthplaces of many generals and celebrities. There are two recording methods. One is to directly say which nationality you belong to. People in this country are largely the capital of a country, such as "Monk, Li Renye." "Li" is the capital of Li, and Mencius is from Zouxian County, Shandong Province. "Fan Sui, Ren Wei also." Wei Du is in Daliang, and he is from Kaifeng. "Yi Cheung, Ren Wei also." Zhang Yi is from Kaifeng. Wait a minute. The other is the villagers in this country. For example, "Li Sizhe, Chu Shangcai also." "Yan Ping Zhongying, Lai Zhiyi and Ye Wei also."
According to Records of the Historian, Xunzi said that he was from Zhao and that Zhao was from Handan. When Sima Qian wrote Historical Records, Zhao in the original sense no longer existed. Liu Bang named Liu Ruyi, the son of himself and Mrs Qi, the prince of Zhao and the fief of Handan. At this time, Zhongmou in Henan and Anze in Shanxi were still little known places, especially Anze in Shanxi, which originally belonged to South Korea and later to Zhao. Sima Qian is also a rigorous historian. In Mencius and Biographies of Xun Qing, Xunzi is called Zhao, which means that he is from Handan. It is impossible for him to investigate which country Anze and Zhong are from. During the Spring and Autumn Period, Xun, Fan and Zhao were the three most powerful families in the State of Jin. Xun Shi served as a general of the Bank of China for five consecutive generations. The army of the state of Jin is divided into three lines: left, middle and right. The status of China Bank is above the left and right lines, which is equivalent to Marshal Zhong Jun.. Zhao Yang, also known as Zhao Jianzi, was the ruler of the State of Jin. In 500 BC, he led the troops to attack Weiguo and captured 500 prisoners of war. He left these prisoners of war in Handan and let Wu Zhao, who occupied Handan, take care of them. The next year, he called Wu Zhao from Handan to Jinyang. Zhao Yang killed Wu Zhao because he failed to return 500 prisoners of war in time. Two years later, Zhao Yang sent troops to surround Handan. He asked Yin Xun and Fan Ju to lead their troops to attack Handan with him. But Wu Zhao of Handan is Yin Xun's nephew. He and Zhao Yang have long been at odds over power. Now, Zhao Yang killed his nephew. Can he help Zhao Yang fight Handan again? Yin Xun's son married Fan Jishe's daughter, and they are children's in-laws. Due to many complicated power contradictions and family factors, Yin Xun and Fan Lishe not only did not attack Handan, but joined forces to attack Zhao Yang. In order to win the battle with Zhao in Handan, Zhao Yang united all relatives of Zhao and other forces of the State of Jin to fight Zhao, Fan and Xun in Handan. In BC 10, Zhao Yang surrounded Yin Xun and Fan She who gathered in Chao Ge. As foreign aid was cut off, Chao Ge soon ran out of food and grass. Yin Xun and Fan Jishe led the troops to break through and fled from Chao Ge to Handan. In September of the following year, Zhao Yang led military forces and besieged Handan. At this time, in addition to the original Handan people, there were 500 prisoners of Wei and two families, Fan Jishe. The troops in the Spring and Autumn Period were all domestic soldiers. There are at least tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of people in these two families. So many people are trapped in Handan city, what to eat? What to drink? Burn what? With what? So, two months later, Handan couldn't hold on any longer and had to surrender to Zhao Yang.
Refused to surrender, he led the Xun family to flee from Handan East, and occupied the Berbers, that is, Yicun, which is now southwest of Longyao 10 km. Zhao Yang led the troops to surround the Berbers again and captured them alive. Yin Xun fled to Qi alone and became an ordinary person. The war between Zhao Yang and Wu Zhao in Handan lasted for eight years. This war has two results. First, Zhao Yang firmly occupied Handan, which laid the foundation for Zhao to build its capital in Handan. Second, the elimination of Xun and Fan, and the elimination of Zhao's two powerful political enemies in the State of Jin. Where to go after the defeat of the huge Xun family? The brutal war separated Yin Xun from his family in Handan and Bayern. That is to say, there are many people named Xun in Handan and Bairen. From 492 BC, when Yin Xun led his troops to Handan, it was about 3 1 1 year BC, that is, when Xunzi was born, the interval was 180 years. Sima Qian called Xun's descendants who were lost in Handan during the war period "Zhao people", which was not unreasonable. This should be an important historical evidence that Xunzi is a native of Handan. Xun surname in Handan is rare, and Xun Shixun, assistant minister of Zhongshu in Northern Qi Dynasty, is from Guangping. Xun Shixun was ugly, but his writing style was outstanding, beautiful and elegant, and he was reused by the emperor. He was promoted from a scholar to an assistant minister of Chinese books. Leave a book called Dian Yan. This shows that during the Northern Qi Dynasty, there was a Xun family in Guangping County, China. In the history of Bate Village, Hecun Town, Handan City, there was a big family named Xun. The old people in Bart Village still clearly remember that somewhere in the village is the old house of Xun family. But when the Xun family disappeared, no one can tell. Bart village is located in the mid-level area dozens of miles southwest of Handan city, where Xun's family lives scattered in Handan. It's entirely possible. It's just a long history, so it's hard to elaborate on the source.
In ancient times, grandchildren of many nobles took Sun as their surname, so there were many origins of Sun Shi. According to historical records, Xunzi has two surnames, one is Xun and the other is Sun. How can Xunzi have two surnames? The correct explanation is that Xun's family is an aristocrat in Zhi country, Xun's family has Sun Shi, and Xunzi is a descendant of Xun's family. Coincidentally, there are also many sunzhuang around Handan city, including seven. The seven villages were visited one by one 2. Dongsunzhuang and Xisunzhuang are located in Shangbi Town, 7 kilometers east of Handan City. Sunzhuang, Nanbao Township, 2 kilometers southeast. There is a large Sun family in Dongxiaotun, Handan City. According to folklore, they all immigrated from Hongdong County, Shanxi Province, and had nothing to do with Xunzi. The Sun family in Sunzhuang, southwest of Beizhangzhuang Town, moved from Beizhangzhuang. The ancestors of these two villages were originally a family. In 2004, Sun Chengde, a 72-year-old man from Beizhangzhuang, said that the surnames of this village were very miscellaneous. Sun, Zhao, Han, Yan and Feng are all big families. Yan and Feng are immigrants from Hongtong County, Shanxi Province. Sun, Zhao and Han are all local ancestors. Mr. Sun, a former headmaster of Handan Middle School, is 70 years old and a native of Beizhangzhuang. It is also said that the surname of Sun in Beizhangzhuang is not an immigrant, but a local. Before liberation, there were ancestral graves, and before the Cultural Revolution, people from Sunzhuang in the southwest came to accompany them to visit the graves to worship their ancestors.
Sun, a Zhuang native in southwest Handan, also said that he was an old household in Handan, not an immigrant. What are the origins of these Sun Shi families in the north of Zhangzhuang and southwest of Zhuanghandan? First, they may be descendants of Xun's family headed in 492 BC. Because Xun and Zhao are enemies of life and death and are afraid of Zhao's persecution, they changed their surname to Sun. Second, they may also be descendants of the Xun family. Third, of course, it may also be the descendants of Sun among the 500 prisoners given to Zhao Yang in 500 BC, or other descendants of Sun. In any case, because Xunzi's surname is Sun, the existence of these Sun villages around Handan can also be used as circumstantial evidence that Xunzi is a native of Handan.