Toonkast Forum 6

Confucian State and Society of Li: A Study on the Political Thought of Xun Zi. 
Masayuki Sato

This study aims to elucidate the systematic and comprehensive way in which Xun Zi synthesized the two preeminent intellectual discourses (i.e. ethical discourse and analytical discourse) during the Warring States period, with particular focus on the concept of li. In spite of the unanimous evaluation of Xun Zi's thought as the synthesizer of preceding pre-Qin thought, scholars have tended to pay attention to the "essence" or "peculiarity" of his thought rather than tracing how Xun Zi integrated various concepts and arguments. In this study the term "integration" will be adopted as a keyword in our inquiry into the general characteristics of Xun Zi's thought. Thus, the term "integration" in this study represents his creative efforts at formulating systematic thought rather than denoting an amalgamation of preceding ideas and arguments.