Xunzi was a follower of Confucius who lived in an inauspicious age. His philosophy reflects his times. “If one’s intensions are cultivated, then one will disregard wealth and nobility. If one’s concern for the Way and yi is great, then one will take kings and dukes lightly. It is simply that one examines oneself on the inside, and thus external goods carry little weight. A saying goes, “The gentleman makes things his servants. The petty man is servant to things.””
On honor, Xunzi opines, “The gentleman can make himself honorable, but he cannot ensure that others will honor him…. And so, the gentleman is ashamed of not being cultivated; he is not ashamed of being maligned. He is ashamed of not being trustworthy; he is not ashamed of not being trusted. He is ashamed of being incapable; he is not ashamed of not being employed. Thus, he is not tempted by good reputation, nor is he intimidated by slander. He follows the Way as he goes, strictly keeping himself correct, and he does not deviate from it for the sake of material goods. Such a one is called the true gentleman. The Odes says, “Warm and respectful of others, virtue alone is his foundation.” This expresses my meaning.”
Xunzi’s treatise is most concerned with living an upright life even in times of strife. Improving oneself through right conduct was of utmost importance. “If I want to go from being lowly to being noble, from being foolish to being wise, from being poor to being rich, is it possible? I say: Only through learning! If one carries out such learning, then one is called a well-bred man. If one is enthusiastic and devoted to it, then one is a gentleman. If one truly comprehends it, then one is a sage. At the best one can become a sage, and at the least one can become a well-bred man or gentleman.”
The correct path to an upright life is through following the traditions and rituals of the past. Rituals are the key to a well ordered world, a functioning state, and a proper gentleman. “And so, if a person puts even one amount of effort into following ritual and yi, he will get back twice as much. If he puts even one amount of effort into following his inborn dispositions and nature, he will lose twice as much…. And so, ritual serves Heaven above and Earth below, it honors forefathers and ancestors, and it exalts lords and teachers. These are the three roots of ritual…. These five kinds of conduct—differentiating noble and lowly, distinguishing exalted and lesser, gathering in harmony and joy without becoming dissolute, treating appropriately junior and senior without leaving anyone out, and enjoying comfort and relaxation without becoming disorderly—these are sufficient to rectify one’s person.”
Next, Xunzi returns to admonishing greed and the covetousness of material possessions. “Anyone who in his intensions thinks little of good order will greatly value material goods. Anyone who greatly values material goods on the outside will be worried on the inside. Anyone whose conduct departs from good order will be endangered on the outside. Anyone who is endangered on the outside will be fearful inside. If one’s heart is worried and fearful, then even if one’s mouth is stuffed with grass-fed and grain-fed meats, one will not know flavor…. Thus one can be confronted with the finest of the myriad things and yet not be able to feel satisfaction…. Thus, one may be confronted with the finest of the myriad things and yet will be full of worry. One may possess all the most beneficial of the myriad things and yet be full of hurt…. Thus, such a one wants to nourish his desires but abandons fulfilling his dispositions…. This is called making oneself a servant to things…. Thus, even while lacking the finest of the myriad things, one can still nourish one’s joy, and even while lacking a position of power and eminence, one can still nourish one’s fame.”
The normative fact that most distanced Xunzi from fellow Confucian disciple, Mencius, was their view of human nature. Xunzi viewed it as essentially evil and, therefore, in need of cultivation and improvement. “People’s nature is bad. Their goodness is a matter of deliberate effort. Now people’s nature is such that they are born with a fondness for profit in them. If they follow along with this, then struggle and contention will arise…. They are born with desires of the eyes and ears, a fondness for beautiful sights and sounds. If they follow along with these, then lasciviousness and chaos will arise, and ritual and yi, proper form and order, will perish therein. Thus, if people follow along with their inborn dispositions and obey their nature, they are sure to come to struggle and contention, turn to disrupting social divisions and order, and end up becoming violent…. If people’s nature is bad, then from what are ritual and yi produced? I answer: In every case ritual and yi are produced from the deliberate effort of the sage; they are not produced from people’s nature…. The sage accumulates reflections and thoughts and practices deliberate efforts and reasoned activities in order to produce ritual and yi and in order to establish proper models and measures.”
Finally, Xunzi quotes his mentor Confucius on the proper conduct of the gentleman, “Confucius said, “When the gentleman has not yet succeeded, then he takes joy in his ideals, and when he has succeeded, then he takes joy in bringing good order to affairs. Thus, he has joy to the end of his life, without a single day of worry. As for the petty man, when he has not yet succeeded, then he worries that he will never succeed, and when he has succeeded, then he fears that he will lose it. Thus, he has to worry to the end of his life, without a single day of joy.””
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