Xunzi in the Light of the Guodian Manuscripts

Abstract

This article discusses the several previously unknown Confucian texts discovered in 1993 in a Warring States tomb at Guodian, near Jingmen, Hubei Province. I believe that these works should be understood as doctrinal material deriving from a single tradition of Confucianism and datable to around 300 B.C. Of the surviving literature from the same period, they are closer to the Xunzi than to any other text, and anticipate several characteristic themes in Xunzi's philosophy. These are: the notion of human nature (xing 性),and the controversy over whether the source of morality is internar or “external”; the role of learning (xue 學)and habitual practice (xi 習) in moral development; the content and origin of ritual (li 禮), by which human beings accord with the Way; the conception of the ruler as the mind (xin 心) of the state; and the psychological utility of music (yue 樂) in inculcating proper values.It is especially important for scholars to take note of these connections with Xunzi, in view of the emerging trend to associate the Guodian manuscripts with Zisi, the famous grandson of Confucius, whom Xunzi bitterly criticized.

Human Nature and Moral Cultivation in the Guodian 郭店 Text of the Xing Zi Ming Chu 性自命出 (Nature Derives from Mandate)

“…It allows us to reexamine the concept of xing, including the controversy over whether human nature is good (morally desirable) or bad, the role of human emotions/feelings in moral cultivation, the internalism and externalism of morality, and the importance of learning and habitual practice (also see Goldin 2005).…”

The Problem of Moral Spontaneity in the Guodian Corpus

“…Paul Goldin has pointed out the strong parallels between the treatment of music in the Guodian corpus and in the Xunzi, and has argued that this, along with other externalist elements present in the text, identifies the Guodian corpus as an antecedent to Xunzi (Goldin 2000). There are, however, important disanalogies between the Guodian corpus and the Xunzi.…”

“…8,Guo 2000, Yang 2000, and Csikszentmihalyi 2004 For more on Gaozi and his potential school-affiliation, seeShun 1997: 123-126; for Gaozi and his potential relationship to the Guodian corpus, seeGoldin 2000, Tao 2001, and Scarpari 2002 …”