Unlike other ancient compilations, his authorship of these texts is generally secure, though it is likely that Western Han dynasty historian Liu Xiang organized them into their present form centuries after Xunzi's death.

[2] Born in the state of Zhao, Xunzi studied at the prestigious Jixia Academy, where he learned about every major philosophical tradition of his time.

[4] Repeated oversimplifications and misunderstandings on Xunzi's teachings, particularly his view on human nature, led to gradual dismissal and condemnation of his thought from the Tang dynasty onwards.

[5] Since the 20th century, a reevaluation of Xunzi's doctrine has taken place in East Asia, leading to recognition of his profound impact and relevance to both his times and present day.

[11][12][b] The Western Han dynasty historian Liu Xiang revised and expanded Sima Qian's initial biography for the preface of the first edition of Xunzi's writings.

[13] Some minor references to Xunzi also exist in Ying Shao's paraphrase of Liu Xiang's preface, as well as brief mentions in the Han Feizi, Zhan Guo Ce and Yantie Lun.

[18] The Eastern Han dynasty historian Ying Shao records that in his youth Xunzi was a "flowering talent" in matters of scholarship and academics.

[20] At the academy, Xunzi would have learned about all the major philosophical schools of his time,[19] and been in the presence of scholars such as Zou Yan, Tian Pian, and Chunyu Kun.

[13] Xunzi would have learned the art of shuo (說), a formal argument of persuasion that philosophical authorities of the time used to advise rulers.

[19] After his academy study, Xunzi unsuccessfully attempted to persuade Lord Mengchang against continuing the extreme policies of Qi, though the historicity of this event is not certain.

[22] Xunzi traveled to the southern state of Chu by 283 BCE,[22] where he probably became acquainted with the nascent forms of the fu poetry style, particularly because of the poet's Qu Yuan residency there.

[25] The Shiji records that King Xiang of Qi had Xunzi sacrifice wine three times, a task that was reserved for the most respected scholar available.

Despite its complete and simultaneous possession of all these numerous attributes, if one weights Qin by the standard of the solid achievements of True Kingship, then the vast degree to which it fails to reach the ideal is manifest.

[22][31] He aimed to convert the state's leaders to follow his philosophy of leadership, a task which proved difficult because of the strong hold that Shang Yang's Legalist sentiments had there.

[33] Xunzi then met with King Zhaoxiang, arguing that Qin's lack of Confucian scholars and educational encouragement would be detrimental to the state's future.

[22] In 240 BCE Lord Chunshen, the prime minister of Chu, invited him to take a position as Magistrate of Lanling (蘭陵令), which he initially refused and then accepted.

[40][41] Now, since human nature is evil, it must await the instructions of a teacher and the model before it can be put aright, and it must obtain ritual principles and a sense of moral right before it can become orderly.

According to Xunzi's theory of evil human nature, morality will ultimately become a tool of external value used to maintain social stability and appeal to authoritarianism.

[48] Music and joy are respectively translated as yue and le, and their connection in Xunzi's time may explain why both words share the same Chinese character: 樂.

When music is played in the private quarters of the home, father and son, elder and younger brother, listen to it together and are united in feelings of close kinship.

[45][50] Ultimately, he refused to admit theories of state and administration apart from ritual and self-cultivation, arguing for the gentleman, rather than the measurements promoted by the Legalists, as the wellspring of objective criterion.

His ideal gentleman (junzi) king and government, aided by a class of learned Confucian scholars, are similar to that of Mencius, but without the tolerance of feudalism since he rejected hereditary titles and believed that an individual's status in the social hierarchy should be determined only by their own merit.