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Xun Zi (荀子, or Hsün Tzu c. 310 - 237 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who lived during the Warring States Period. His social and political theories are developed from and influenced by Confucianism. Active during the Hundred Schools of Thought, in the book known as the Xunzi, he developed a systematic doctrine mostly oriented on "realism" and "materialism", as opposed to Mencius' interpretation of Confucius' thought.

He taught that man is innately selfish and evil and that the natural state of human societies is Anarchy, endless wars and chaos. He was one of the first thinkers to recognise that morality is a social institution and debated on the difference between nature and nurture. He said that goodness is attainable only through education and conduct befitting one's status. His unsentimental and authoritarian inclinations were developed by his students Li Si and Han Fei Zi into the doctrine embodied in the School of Law, or LegalismIn Chinese History, Legalism (; pinyin Fji was one of the four main philosophic schools at the end of the Zhou Dynasty. Legalists believed that a ruler should govern his subjects by the following three ideas: 1. f , the law. The law code must be clearly w.

Besides the book written by Han Fei Zi, the Xunzi is the only know book of Chinese antiquity to show an elaborated and constructed doctrine. Each chapter deals with a given topic and often fights against concurrent ideas, as the ones of Daoism, MohismFounded by Mo Zi (whose actual surname was Di, and whose given name was Mo), Mohism , or Moism is a Chinese philosophy that evolved at the same time as Confucianism, Taoism and Legalism ( Hundred Schools of Thought). It disappeared during the Qin dynasty., and even idealist version of Confucianism defended by Mencius.

External link

• Dmoz directory on Xun Zi
• Hsun Tzu historical information and writing excerpts
• Concise overview of Hsun Tzu and a selection of his writings