Xun Zi was the culmination of pre-Qin Confucianism and one of the most outstanding thinkers in China's Warring States period.
In Xunzi Thought, the theory of sexual evil was put forward, and social stability and harmony were achieved through the governance plan of "combining etiquette and law". From Xun Zi's point of view, the exposition of Xun Zi's political ethics thought is mainly reflected in its three relationships of discussion of monarchs and subjects, on etiquette and law, and on criminal government.
In the relationship between monarchs and subjects, Xunzi believed that the monarch should be morally determined, and the courtiers should be loyal and love the people. In the relationship between etiquette and law, Xunzi believed that it was necessary to uphold the law of etiquette and attach importance to the important role of etiquette in politics. In the relationship between criminal and political affairs, Xun Zi believed that the emphasis was placed on virtue and the main punishment, and that ritual and punishment should be used separately.
Junchen: On virtue, loyalty and love for the people
Xunzi's thought of political ethics was first embodied in his exposition of the way of kings and subjects, "The monarch is the ruler of the original." Xun Zi believed that the monarch was the source of governing the country, and how the monarch did it, the practice of his subordinates would also follow suit.
Xun Zi said, "King, why not?" Oh, noh group also. Xun Zi believed that the monarch could form a group, and the group meant that the monarch could be good at feeding people, good at governing people, and good at appointing people. Therefore, Xunzi attaches importance to cultivating the monarch's moral cultivation, "smell the self-cultivation, not taste the country", the monarch should cultivate the body and mind, just as Confucius said that his body is upright, and he does not let him do a truth.
As a monarch, his selection and employment should pay more attention to the discussion of morality and the order, "on the merit of the order, the amount of ability and the appointment of officials." Xunzi advocated arranging ranks according to virtue, weighing abilities to confer official positions, so that each person's position matched his own virtues.
In the real world, the selection and appointment of talents with both political integrity and ability is also the criterion for the selection and appointment of leading cadres emphasized by leaders, so that talents can give full play to their talents and exert the greatest value in their own posts.
What is a minister? Xun zi believed that "treat the king with courtesy, be loyal and unremitting". At the same time, Xunzi believes that "the monarch is the origin of the people", and the monarch is the origin of the people, so as a subject, you must love the people.
"The lord is loyal to the king, the lower loves the people tirelessly, and is a meritorious man" is a courtier with outstanding merit. "The upper can honor the king, and the lower can love the people" This is what Xunzi considers to be a courtier of the holy Ming.
Obviously, Xun Zi emphasized that the monarch was good at appointing the subjects of the holy Ming, so that the gentleman could become the king and win the world. In his discussion of being a subject, Xunzi believed that to be a subject must be loyal to the monarch, and he could also love the people, be honest and honest, and behave in a courteous manner. This played a certain positive role in maintaining feudal rule at that time, and even had certain reference value in modern society.
The Xunzi system argues about the relationship between kings and subjects, which comprehensively discusses the conditions that should be met by the politician. And he believes that to govern, there should be an attitude of government, for example, as a monarch, he should be morally subordinate and good at appointing talents; as a courtier, he should be loyal to and love the people and manage the government affairs within his duties.
It can be seen from this that Xunzi's thought on political ethics is first embodied in his exposition of the way of kings and subjects, and talks about some views on how to be a monarch and a subject, focusing on how to achieve the purpose of national governance.
Xun Zi's exposition of the way of kings and subjects is similar to the thought of Confucius and Meng, and also believes that those who serve the government should start from themselves and strengthen their own moral cultivation, so as to provide strong support for the governance of the country.
Etiquette: Long Li to the law, etiquette to rule the country
Xunzi's political and moral thought is also reflected in its ritual and legal relations, Xunzi believes that "long ceremonies to the law of the country is constant", advocating etiquette and the legal system, then the country will have order.
Xunzi believes that "the one who is a liturgist, raises also", and Xunzi believes that there is desire in birth, and this desire is the source of the inherent evil of human nature emphasized by Xunzi. On the basis of the evil nature of human nature, Xunzi greatly admired the status of "etiquette", believing that "etiquette" was the foundation of social governance, and he emphasized the role of "law" at the same time as "long li".
Xun Zi's elaboration of "ritual" focuses more on the external nature of etiquette: "The way of etiquette and righteousness, and then out of resignation, in accordance with the literary reason, and return to governance." Xunzi attaches more importance to "etiquette" as a kind of moral constraint on people' external constraints, through "etiquette" to restrain people's desires, so as to achieve a certain degree of satisfaction, but also to avoid the chaos of social order due to the dissatisfaction of desires.
The idea of rule of law is an important part of Xunzi's political ethics thought, And Xunzi attaches more importance to Longli, and then if Longli cannot solve problems in governing the country, it should be used to maintain it, so as to achieve the purpose of governing the country.
Xun Zi believed that if people did not have the law of etiquette, they would be overwhelmed, so it was necessary to emphasize the important role of the law of etiquette in the governance of the country.
"The husband is the teacher of man, and the law of the king." He spoke of the laws that a monarch who practices the way of kings should follow. It can be seen from this that Xunzi's political ethics thought attaches great importance to the role of etiquette, emphasizing the promotion of etiquette to the law, and using ritual law to achieve the purpose of national governance.
Among the pre-Qin Confucians, Confucius was more advocating the rule of etiquette, but the discussion of the rule of the country by etiquette was more macroscopic, and did not form a systematic view of the rule of etiquette in politics.
On the basis of Confucius, Mencius more agreed with Confucius's views, basically inheriting and not developing to a large extent, but when it came to Xunzi, for the first time, the idea of etiquette was systematically discussed.
Xun Zi not only proposed to rule the country with etiquette, but also attached importance to the role of law in governing the country, put forward the idea of long ritual to law, and combined etiquette and law to apply to the political state.
For contemporary society, the rule of law is similar to ruling the country with ethics and ruling the country according to law, unifying the two and applying them to the governance of the country. This is conducive to giving full play to their respective advantages in order to achieve the goal of better governance of the country.
Criminal administration: Virtue is the main criminal auxiliary, each uses its own place
Xun Zi believed that "the way of taking people, participating in them with courtesy; the method of employing people, forbidding them to wait", selecting people should be tested with etiquette, and appointing people should be limited by rank. Xun Zi advocated that "if the country is rude, it is not right", "the fate of man is in heaven, and the fate of the country is in etiquette", and "the person who is polite, the pole of discernment is also", and the above views all emphasize the important role of virtue in the governance of the country.
But can a country be governed through virtue alone? The answer is not so, he also emphasized that "the ceremonial, the noble and the inferior, the elder and the young have a difference", Xunzi believes that virtue is to be able to distinguish between the inferior and the inferior, and to better restrain the social order.
Not only that, Xunzi also believed that when moral restraint of social relations did not work, it should be sanctioned by using criminal law. This is Xunzi's relatively complete idea of being a moral master and a criminal auxiliary, and he is good at using the respective advantages of moral punishment in the process of serving the government to carry out national governance.
As for which way of ritual punishment is better, Xunzi still attaches more importance to the use of etiquette for the government, after all, in Xunzi thought, criminal law is only an auxiliary means for the government.
"The husband is called Heavenly Virtue, and the king's government is also." Xun Zi believed that people who were not motivated by work should be punished through the criminal law, as well as those who used their talents to confront current affairs, and after completing their duties through etiquette, they should be restrained by the criminal law.
Xun Zi, the thought of the Lord of Virtue, was relatively obvious, "If his deeds are also dangerous and obscene, Pi Gu is enough to call the door of the great gentleman!" This can fully reflect Xunzi's ideological characteristics of political ethics with morality as the mainstay and criminal law as a supplement.
Xun Zi is a thinker who systematically discusses the relationship between the three aspects of ritual and criminal law, and is the master of Confucian thought, who discusses in more detail and comprehensively the application of the three aspects of etiquette and punishment in the government, and puts forward a more clear and positive statement, which is not only very important for the modern and contemporary times of life at that time or in life.
It can be seen from this that Xunzi also attaches great importance to the role of virtue in the relationship between virtue and punishment, and in Xunzi's view, punishment is only used as an auxiliary means, and it is only a means to regulate when virtue and rule cannot achieve its predetermined purpose.
Therefore, Xunzi Zhengde thought basically attaches great importance to the role of etiquette in governing the country, so it can be considered that in Xunzi, the criminal law is only a means to achieve the rule of virtue, and is not a decisive element of governance.
In summary, Xunzi's main contribution to political ethics is mainly in the proposed rule of virtue and the rule of virtue in the country, and for the first time, a systematic and comprehensive exposition and argument has been carried out, which has enriched the content of the pre-Qin Confucian political ethics thought. Even if Xunzi's political ethics thought is viewed according to the current vision, it has a certain forward-looking, so the analysis of its value at present should be more comprehensively discussed.
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