Doctrine of ‘Human Nature is Evil’ – The Fundamental Basis of Xunzi’s Socio-Political Thought

Xunzi 荀子 (third century BCE) was a great Chinese thinker during the Spring and Autumn – Warring States period. He is seen as being represented the last significant figure of Confucian thoughts during the era of Confucius and Mencius. In his works, he critically summarized the intellectual conclusion of pre-Qin scholars and formulated the Confucian and Legalist (Fǎjiā 法家) ideologies to a new paramount, on the basis that Confucianism was as the core. Xunzi’s philosophical doctrine is well-known with idea that “human nature is evil.” The article focuses on analyzing the doctrine of the evil nature to highlight its fundamental role in Xunzi’s political and social thought.