| Another disciple of Confucius, Xunzi was born in Zhao and traveled less than he or Mencius. He was an extreme rationalist and utilitarian, arguing that men were innately evil and had to study goodness to attain it. His systematic tract, the Xunzi, covers many themes, such as the proper behavior of ministers, military matters, kingly rule, and music. He argued that all men could become junzi but it required much hard work; he was not as kindhearted as Mencius but more authoritarian in his ideas regarding the need to follow a teacher strictly. He laid great stress on ritual, because the sage kings had created it, he argued, to guide men in proper behavior. He railed against sacrifices to the spirits which he deemed irrational. He shared Mencius's ideas on good governance to aid the people and on the importance of education. | 1 |
