Title

Author

Genre

Pages

197-230

DOI

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PDF

Language

Chinese

Key words

Xunzi 荀子, mind-body theory, desire, ego, inner sageliness and outer kingliness

Abstract

Xunzi’s 荀子 ideal personality is a sage king who “completely realizes all ethics and rules;” that is, a model of both the inner sage and outer king. However, a profound criticism of Xunzi’s learning has always been that his sage kings did not have the inner foundation to create rituals and righteousness. Therefore, Xunzi’s thought is considered to be a “foundationless” type of learning.

In this article, I redefine the fundamental issue in Xunzi’s thought as involving the realization of human potential, not just the construction of objective order. Focusing on the core concern of “realizing human potential,” I next analyze three different levels of “human desire:” physiological desire, the desire for social values, and the desire for ethical values. Then, I delve into the natural mechanism of “transforming the nature and becoming human” to demonstrate the inner foundation of the way of co-governing the body and the state. Finally, from the perspective of the realization of “self-worth,” I clarify the basis for Xunzi’s combination of self-cultivation and governance, and explain why the (first) sage was able to create rituals and righteousness.

The conclusion of this article is that “the desire to realize oneself and experiential feedback” ensures that Xunzi’s learning indeed has a foundation. The (first) sage possessed sufficient theoretical and practical foundations to create rituals and righteousness, and become a sage king who could “completely realize all ethics and rules.”