Historical Records and Biography of Xun Qing recorded his life. Xunzi began to study in Qi in 50 years, and in the era of King Xiang of Chu, he was the "most teacher" and "the third was to offer wine". Later, he lived a relaxed and comfortable life in Chu. Chun thought it was made in Lanling, but Chun died, was abandoned and lived in Lanling. During this period, he entered Qin, calling Qin the "ultimate ruler". I once went to Zhao and Lin Wujun to discuss military affairs. Finally, he died of old age in Chu. He used to preach and teach. At the end of the Warring States period, two of the most famous thinkers and politicians, Han Fei and Li Si, were his disciples. Because his two disciples are representatives of Legalism, scholars in past dynasties doubted whether Xunzi belonged to Confucian scholars. Xunzi was severely criticized by many scholars because of his disciples in the history of China.
Xunzi was annotated by Yang Xu in the Tang Dynasty. Because Xunzi was criticized by scholars of past dynasties, there were not many commentators. It was not until the prosperity of textual research in Qing Dynasty that the number of annotation collators increased. There are more scholars studying Xunzi in modern times than in ancient times. Among them are Xun Zi Ji by Wang Xianqian in Qing Dynasty, Xun Zi Jie by Liang Qixiong at the end of the Republic of China, Xun Zi Zhu Group by Peking University, Xun Zi Xin Zhu and Xun Zi Zhu by Zhang Shi. The number of modern scholars studying Xunzi has also increased, such as Gao's A Study of Xunzi's Origin, Xia's On Xunzi's Philosophical Thoughts and Li Deyong's Xunzi. Among them, the newer one is Chu Zhaohua's The Way to Distinguish. Tan Sitong, a scholar in the late Qing Dynasty, commented on Xunzi in his book Benevolence, saying, "(China) has studied for two thousand years, and Xunxue is willing to go home." Although this is an attack on Xunzi, on the one hand, it shows Xunzi's position in China's ideological history. Attached to the title of Xunzi: (Xunzi * * * 32) Persuade students to cultivate themselves first, be strict second, be honored and humiliated third, be humiliated fourth, be not twelve children fifth, be Zhong Ni sixth, be effective in Confucianism seventh, be monarchical eighth, be the ninth richest country, be Wang Ba tenth, be the eleventh gentleman's way, be the twelfth minister's way, be the 14th strategist's discussion, be the 15th power, be the 16th. Evil Article 23 Gentleman Article 24 Article 25 Fu Article 26 Outline Article 27 Sitting Article 28 Sub-paragraph Article 29 Law Enforcement Article 30 Mourning Public Duties Article 31 Article 32
Among them, "evil nature", "revealing secrets", "theory of heaven", "Zheng Ming" and "encouraging learning" are more important for understanding Xunzi's ideological content. Fu Pian is often mentioned in the history of China literature and regarded by scholars as one of the sources of China's Fu style.
Xunzi's thought is biased towards experience and personnel, based on social context, attaching importance to social order, opposing mysticism and attaching importance to human efforts. Confucius' central idea is "benevolence", Mencius' central idea is "righteousness", and Xunzi put forward "courtesy" after them, attaching importance to people's behavior norms in society. Confucius was regarded as a saint, but he opposed the philosophy of "Meng Si School" headed by Mencius and Zisi, and thought that Zi Gong and himself were the scholars who inherited Confucius' thoughts. Xunzi believes that people are born to satisfy their desires, and there will be disputes if they are not satisfied. Therefore, he advocates that "evil nature" needs the enlightenment of the holy king and etiquette, and promotes personality by "turning nature into falsehood". In the relationship between heaven and man, Xunzi advocated "the distinction between heaven and man", and thought that heaven has a "vocation" and man has a "distinction between heaven and man", and man can control his own destiny and make use of it. In addition, the place where Xunzi inherited Confucius lies in his emphasis on etiquette and learning from others.