荀子

Xunzi is one of the representative figures of pre-Qin Confucianism and is generally known by the honorific name "Xunzi"; reliable public information about his real name, native place, and dates of birth and death is limited, making them difficult to verify. The library holds 24 of his works, with representative titles including Xunzi, Fei Shi Er Zi (Against the Twelve Masters), Quan Xue (Encouraging Learning), Fu Guo (Enriching the State), Li Lun (A Discussion of Rites), Xunzi (Fine Public Domain Edition), Jie Bi (Dispelling Blindness), and Tian Lun (A Discussion of Heaven). In terms of subject matter, these pieces span philosophical argument, discussion of ritual institutions, and prose miscellanies. They offer systematic reflection on human nature, Heaven and the Way, and problems of knowledge, while also displaying a rhetorical style that advances step by step and persuasively employs analogies, often using everyday examples to illuminate abstract ideas. His works circulate widely in the categories of Eastern philosophy and philosophical reading, and have had a lasting influence on later Confucian thought and argumentative prose writing.