Xunzi

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Xunzi ("Master Xun", Chinese  荀子 , Pinyin Xúnzǐ , Japanese Junshi , Cor. Sunja * around 300 BC; † around 239 BC), also Hsün-Tse or in Wade-Giles -transcription Hsün- Tzu was a Chinese philosopher in the late Warring States period . His teachings are attributed to Confucianism . At the same time, Xunzi is also the name of his work.

Life

There are various contradicting statements about the life of Xunzi, including the year of his birth and death. But it can be said roughly as follows:

Xunzi was born into an old family from Jin ( 晉 , Jìn ) in Zhao ( 趙 , Zhào ), one of the three states after the partition of Jin. His birth name was Xun Kuang (荀況). The capital of Jin today is Handan ( 邯鄲 , Hándān ) in the province of Hebei ( 河北 , Héběi ). Around 248 he received the post of Jijiu ( 祭酒 , Jìjiǔ ) in Qi ( 齊 , Qí ) , which is a major official who is responsible for education. However, he fell out of favor due to a slander and in 238 became governor of Lanling ( 蘭陵 , Lánlíng ), today's Zaozhuang ( 棗莊 , Záozhuāng ), where his grave is also located.

Act

The Confucian teachings of the Xunzi, along with Daoism and Buddhism, had a decisive influence on the government in the Han Dynasty ( 汉 , hàn ). The introduction of a permanent canon of books as required reading can be traced back to Xunzi.

Interestingly, the popularity of the Xunzi was always contrary to that of the Mengzi ( 孟子 , Mèngzǐ , Latinized Menzius or Mencius ). After the Han dynasty, Menzius became more popular, while at the end of the 19th century the star of Xunzi rose again due to its rationalism at the expense of Menzius.

plant

The writings of Xunzi were later summarized under the title Xunzi in 32 chapters ( 編 , biān ) in 20 volumes ( 巻 , juǎn ). It is undisputed that most of the part comes from Xunzi himself and only a little was added by students. While older philosophers wrote their works in dialogue form , most of the chapters of Xunzi are written in the form of an article, i.e. without a dialogue partner.

Teaching

Man is inherently evil

The best known is certainly that Xunzi, in contrast to Mengzi , who taught that man is naturally good ( 性善 , xìngshàn ), held the view that man is naturally evil ( 性惡 , xìng'è ). However, this contrast is not as great as it seems at first glance, because both Menzius and Xunzi took the view that learning ( 學 , xué ) is necessary to bring out the virtues inherent in a person or the inherently evil To turn people to the virtuous. Naturally, Menzius' emphasis is more on humanity and right action ( 仁義 , rényì ), while Xunzi, who doesn't trust human nature , emphasizes morality and right action ( 禮義 , lǐyì ).

Xunzi has two explanations for the fact that despite the evil nature of humans there is not always arbitrariness, restlessness and destruction: On the one hand, people strive for the good precisely because they are naturally bad and perceive this as a defect (XVII, 4v). On the other hand, according to his doctrine, only a virtuous rule lasts in the long term, while a rule that aims only at greed ultimately perishes due to its own folly, so that ultimately the virtuous rule will prevail.

The sky

Contrary to the traditional view that heaven ( 天 , tiān ) as the ruler of the world consciously reacts to the deeds of people and punishes bad behavior or gives a warning in the form of a natural phenomenon (solar eclipse etc.), Xunzi teaches that heaven operates according to fixed rules Nature is: "Heaven has fixed rules, the earth ( 地 , dì ) fixed rules." (XI, 14v) Thus his teachings can be compared with rationalism.

Even more than other Confucians, Xunzi advocates shaping nature for the benefit of man. It would be wrong, however, to see ruthless overexploitation of nature as in the sense of Xunzi, since he too propagates action according to the times of the year, which is also to be understood as sustainable action.

The studies

Like other Chinese philosophers, Xunzi differentiates between the common ( 小人 , xiǎorén ), the noble ( 君子 , jūnzǐ ) and the sacred ( 聖人 , shèngrén ). According to his teaching, every person is born meaner, but can through education by a teacher who has to begin with the study of the classics of the saints, by which the old emperors and Confucius are to be understood - but not through own reflection, than the human After all, nature is bad - to become noble.

Here actually only the saint is creatively active as a teacher of morals and right action in the formation of excellent analogies, while the noble merely reproduces the teachings of the saints, which is sufficient as knowledge.

Criticism of superstition

Xunzi spoke out against belief in supernatural phenomena, spirits and miraculous healings: “If people believe that spirits exist, confirmation will surely come in a moment when they are frightened or confused. In these moments such people take the nonexistent as existing and the existing as nonexistent in order to seek a solution on that basis. Therefore, when a person exposed to moisture is plagued by rheumatism, he [ritually] beats a drum and cooks [as a sacrifice] a piglet. The only result of this is that he wears out a drum and wastes a pig. "

student

His students Li Si ( 李斯 , Lǐ Sī ) and Han Fei ( 韓非 , Hán Fēi ) founded the school of legalism ( 法家 , fǎ jiā ).

Translations

  • Hermann Köster (translator): Hsün-tzu. Steyler Verlag, Kaldenkirchen 1967
  • Homer H. Dubs (translator): The Works of Hsüntze. Arthur Probsthain, London 1927 ( Probsthain's Oriental Series )
  • John Knoblock (translator): Xunzi. A Translation and Study of the Complete Works. 3 Vols. Stanford University Press, Stanford, CA 1988-1994
  • Burton Watson (translator): Xunzi. Basic Writings. Columbia University Press, New York 2003, ISBN 978-0-231-12965-7

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Quoted from the translation by Volker Zotz : Der Konfuzianismus . Wiesbaden: Marix Verlag 2015 ( ISBN 978-3-7374-0975-9 ), p. 123.
personal data
SURNAME Xunzi
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Junshi; Hsün-Tse
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Chinese philosopher of the Warring States Period
DATE OF BIRTH around 298 BC Chr.
DATE OF DEATH around 220 BC Chr.