field of ideology in China, making Mencius ‘‘the sub-saint’’ since the Tang
and Song dynasties, Xunzi is all the more significant in the ideological
transformation and finalization in China from the end of the Warring States
Period to the Qin and Han dynasties (Ge, 1999 ).
Bridging Confucianism and Legalism
In sharp contrast to orthodox Confucianism the Legalists emphasize
law, tactics and power and attach importance to the exterior control-
ling force of organization and authority. There exists, however, no
unbridgeable gap between the courteous and tender Confucianism
and severe-looking and iron-handed Legalists. It can be argued that
the transition from rituals to law is a natural extension of the social
order reconstruction perspective of the time, when both schools of
thought are seriously concerned with establishing social order (Ge,
1999 ). Indeed, both of the seemingly contradictory perspectives were
industriously pursued by the rulers of pre-Qin times. Xunzi’s injection
of Legalistic thinking into Confucianism both reflects and influences
governance practices of his times and his impact is obvious throughout
the development of Confucianism during the periods of the Han and
Tang dynasties. In particular, the ideological propositions by Confu-
cianists Lu Jia and Jia Yi at the advent of the Han dynasty are virtually
a direct inheritance and continuation of Xunzi. In both Lu’s ( 1986 )
drawing on the Daoistic theory of ‘‘inaction’’ and Jia’s ( 1976 ) develop-
ment of the thoughts of Shen Buhai and Shangyang, we see the continu-
ation of the theoretical synthesis initiated by Xunzi. This trend reaches
perfection and maturity at the hand of Dong Zhong-shu ( 1985 ), who
eulogized Xunzi and mirrored his political writings. It is safe to say the
thoughts of Xunzi on governance and leadership constitute the core
and soul of the Chinese traditional socio-political ideology. It is in
this sense that Tan Si-tong, a modern Chinese thinker at the end of
the Qing dynasty, concludes that ‘‘Theoretical thinking in the past
two thousand years has been dominated by Xunzi’’ (Tan, 1981 : 337).
Significance of Xunzi in modern leadership
and administration
Besides the great importance of Xunzi’s philosophy of leadership
and governance in the history of Chinese philosophy, its relevance
74 Yan-qin Peng, Chao-chuan Chen, and Xin-hui Yang