XUNZI ("Master Xun") was, after Confucius and Mencius (Mengzi), the third great Ru or "Confucian" of the classical period of Chinese thought. Despite conflicting and fragmentary evidence regarding his exact dates, Xunzi appears to have lived from approximately 310 to 220 BCE, through the climax of the Warring States period of Chinese history. This was a time of social turmoil and terrible interstate warfare, culminating in 221 BCE with the annexation of all the original "central states" of China by the western state of Qin. Xunzi rose to a position of intellectual and cultural eminence during his own lifetime, three times serving as head libationer among the assembled scholars in the state of Qi, traveling widely to different states, and even briefly holding a significant administrative post in the state of Chu.

Xunzi saw himself as defending the true Confucian heritage from threats both internal and external to the tradition. He...