society (neng qun), to assemble in groups, communities, and larger
societies. How do humans form society? Through social distinctions.
How could social distinction work? Through ritual and moral prin-
ciples. The very reason that collectives of humans can survive is that,
under the constraint of social norms, an otherwise chaotic collective
acquires a social structure in which individuals and groups enjoy
rights and carry out corresponding obligations.
Humans’ ability to assemble(neng qun)
By the ability to assemble, Xunzi referred to the ability to build a
prosperous and peaceful society in which people perform different
tasks but maintain harmonious relationships. If the ability to assemble
is what differentiates humans from animals, does it mean it is an
inherent part of human nature? The answer is no, because as we see
from his philosophy of human nature, humans differ from animals not
primarily because of their inborn nature, which Xunzi judged to be
evil, but because of their cultivated attributes. Xunzi did acknowledge
that humans have an inherent need or desire to form associations
with others and have the cognitive ability to make and understand
distinctions including that between right and wrong. Yet while these
endowed natural attributes lead to the formation of societies, they
do not lead to stable and functional societies. The latter requires
conscious personal and societal efforts to intervene. The ability to
assemble is therefore a manifestation of human goodness because
what enables humans to form a well-functioning society is human
culture on the basis of rules of proper conduct, which belongs entirely
to the acquired nature of human beings.
In Xunzi’s philosophy, human culture or the culture of any society
does not emerge naturally, but requires the sageness and the noble-
mindedness of the leaders. Indeed, Xunzi uses ability to assemble as
a defining attribute of kingship. To the question of what makes a
lord, Xunzi answered that it is ‘‘one who can assemble’’ (Xunzi, Book
12: 12.6). The human superiority in assembling therefore lies in sage
leaders’ superiority in assembling. Knoblock ( 1998 , vol. II: 5) points
out that ‘‘In Western thought the position of humanity is secure,
having at creation been given dominion over the beasts, but in Chinese
thought there is no such divinely sanctioned superiority. Thus, human-
ity’s present position of superiority is attributable to the sages, who
Bridging Confucianism and Legalism 63