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Bridging Confucianism and

Legalism: Xunzi’s philosophy

of sage-kingship

yan-qin peng, chao-chuan chen, and

xin-hui yang

K

NOWN AS AN‘‘impure’’ or ‘‘realistic’’ Confucianist, Xunzi

emerged as the great thinker who bridged Confucianism

and Legalism. In this chapter, we first introduce Xunzi’s

philosophy of human badness and the importance of self-cultivation.

We then analyze Xunzi’s philosophy of community, social distinctions,

and a system of ritual and conduct propriety. Third, we analyze Xunzi’s

philosophy of sage-kingship as the role model for self-cultivation,

employing the virtuous and the talented, and building culture. Finally,

we discuss his contributions to leadership theory and practice in China

and in the world.

Historical background: reconstructing order

Xunzi (c. 313–238 BCE) was a renowned thinker at the end of the

Warring States Period and was the teacher of two eminent politicians,

Hanfei (whose Legalistic perspective is featured inChapter 4of this

book) and Li Si. Xunzi’s last name was Xun and his first name Kuang.

However, instead of Xun Kuang, he has been respectfully referred

to as Xunzi, Master Xun, with the suffixzimeaning ‘‘master.’’ Xunzi

is also called Xun Qing, with Qing suggesting the status of a high

official. In the Wade–Giles system, he is also referred to as Hsu ̈n

K’uang, Hsu ̈n Ch’ing, Hsu ̈n Tzu, or Hsu ̈n-tzu.

Xunzi was both erudite and versatile, having studied in the town of

Jixia in the state of Qi. The Scholars’ Palace at Jixia was at that time

the place where scholars of different groups gathered, and it thus

became the center of academic studies. Xunzi was exposed to a variety

of schools of thought, which laid the groundwork for him to combine

the strengths of various schools of thinker. In the year 285 BCE, when

the state of Qi was captured by the state of Yan, Xunzi left Qi for the

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