Xunzi

Xunzi

Lived from 310 BC to about 221 BC during the warring states period And intellectual man who was very involved in the affairs of the time, and consequently saw much strife. He studied at the Jixia academy in Qi, left in 284 because of the war in the area and returned later to become the leader of the academy. Twenty years of his life was devoted to scholarly work. Later served in Lanling as a teacher to notable scholars like Li Si and Han Feizi who developed legalism and also influenced scholars who would shape the Confucian philosophies in the Han dynasty.

Works

Xunzi, unlike many scholars of the time, wrote his works in the form of essays and were not recorded in dialogue form.

Learning

The first step to learning is to be near a teacher, and follow that person and devote one's life to learning. The second is to observe the Confucian rights actively. Through these two steps, learning is a tool to unify oneself. Some steps to learning:

• Hold firm to the inner power => this will bring order to the body => which will help respond to others => which will create a complete man.
• Self cultivate. Be open and serious, be involved in social processes, and reject flattery and accept criticism and act on that criticism.

Learning comes from acting, and acting brings about reactions. If a person does not do the things he/she learns, he/she will not have true knowledge. So a person can be noble, but unless they were to practice daily, they could not be perfect. Perfection comes from taking little steps, achievement means never giving up and will power is the key to never giving up. Knowledge obtained in this way is to be embodied and should not be used to obtain attention.

Politics

Xunzi was a political realist. He taught to dismiss those who are incompetent, promote those who are worthy, punish the evil, transform the ordinary, and anyone that uses talents against the good of the people should put to death.