Overview
The translated histories identify Xunzi as an administrator, official, philosopher, and scholar. This record brings together 17 passages from 9 chapters across 6 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.
Names
| Type | English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Xunzi | 孫卿 | Sun Qing |
| Alternate name | Master Sun | ||
| Personal name | Xun Qing | 荀卿 | Xún Qīng |
| Personal | Xun Qing | 荀卿 | Xun Qing |
| Personal name | Xun Qing | 荀卿 | Xun Qing |
| Title | Xunzi | 孫卿 | Sun Qing |
| Alternate | Xunzi | 孫卿 | Sun Qing |
| Alternate name | Xunzi | Xúnzǐ | |
| Personal name | Xunzi | 孫卿 | Sūn Qīng |
| Personal name | Xunzi | 荀卿 | Xún Qīng |
| Alternate name | Xunzi | 荀子 | Xunzi |
| Personal | Xunzi | 荀 | Xun |
Identity
- Historicity
- Historical
- Identification
- Named
- Sex
- Male
- Sex: male
- Sex: male
- Value: maleStrongly inferred · shiji:074:s0075
Roles
- Administrator
- Official
- Philosopher
- Scholar
- Teacher
- Writer
Life and dates
Death
- Place: Lanling / 蘭陵 · Statement: died after writing; buried at Lanling / 而卒。因葬蘭陵。Explicit · shiji:074:s0086, shiji:074:s0087
Age
- Age: 50 · Reckoning: sui · Context: first came to Qi to studyExplicit · shiji:074:s0076
Attested activity
- Source Date: Text: 事荀卿 · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 250Explicit event contextual date · shiji:063:s0056
- Source Date: Text: 以荀卿為蘭陵令 · Western Year: BC 255Explicit event contextual date · shiji:078:s0110
- Source Date: Text: 孔墨荀孟 · Western Year: BC 310Explicit · zhoushu:046:s0015
- Source Date: Text: 孫卿 · Western Year: BC 250Explicit · nanqishu:002:s0165
- Source Date: Text: 孫卿（戰國時） · Western Year: BC 250Explicit · hanshu:025:s0273
- Source Date: Text: 年五十始來游學於齊 · Western Interval: Start: BC 300 · End: BC 230Explicit event contextual date · shiji:074:s0075, shiji:074:s0076
- Source Date: Text: 戰國 · Western Year: BC 280Explicit event contextual date · hanshu:025:s0062
- Source Date: Text: 春申君死而荀卿廢 · Western Year: BC 238Explicit event contextual date · shiji:074:s0084
- Source Date: Text: 荀卿亦雲 · Western Year: AD 588Explicit event contextual date · suishu:077:s0036
- Source Date: Text: 荀卿有言 · Western Year: BC 300Explicit · houhanshu:094:s0013
- Source Date: Text: 莊襄王元年 · Western Year: BC 249Explicit event contextual date · shiji:085:s0052, shiji:085:s0058
- Source Date: Text: 齊襄王時 · Western Interval: Start: BC 283 · End: BC 265Explicit event contextual date · shiji:074:s0081
Career and standing
- Label: senior teacher / 老師Explicit · shiji:074:s0081
- Label: Magistrate of Lanling / 蘭陵令 · Action: appointed · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 春申君相楚八年 · Western Year: BC 255Explicit · shiji:078:s0110
- Explicit · shiji:074:s0083
- Label: Ranked Grandee / 列大夫 · Action: heldExplicit · shiji:074:s0082
- Label: libationer of Ranked Grandees / 祭酒 · Action: served three timesExplicit · shiji:074:s0082
- Status: dismissed · Action: removed from office after Lord Chunshen's death · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 春申君死 · Western Year: BC 238Explicit · shiji:074:s0084
Places and affiliations
- Polity: Chu / 楚 · Relation: servedExplicit · shiji:074:s0083
- Place: Zhao / 趙Explicit · shiji:074:s0075
- Place: Lanling / 蘭陵 · Relation: buried-atExplicit · shiji:074:s0087
- Place: Lanling / 蘭陵 · Relation: posted-toExplicit · shiji:074:s0083
- Place: Lanling / 蘭陵 · Relation: resided-inExplicit · shiji:074:s0084
- Place: Qi / 齊 · Relation: studied-inExplicit · shiji:074:s0076
Works and attributed material
- Work: books / 書 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:085:s0058
- Work: discussion of punishments / 論刑 · Relation: authorExplicit · hanshu:025:s0273
- Work: tens of thousands of words on Confucians, Mohists, and Daoists / 推儒、墨、道德之行事興壞，序列著數萬言 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:074:s0086
- Kind: argument · Role: speaker · Label: reasoned from the conventional account about Yu, Yao, Shun, Tang, and King Wu / 因俗說而論禹湯武 · Provenance: Mode: named-source-report · Speaker Person Id: Xunzi (孫卿)Explicit · hanshu:025:s0289
- Kind: philosophical critique · Role: speaker · Quoted: true · Topic: military power, deception, and benevolent ruleExplicit · hanshu:025:s0062, hanshu:025:s0063, hanshu:025:s0064, hanshu:025:s0065, hanshu:025:s0066, hanshu:025:s0067, hanshu:025:s0068, hanshu:025:s0069, hanshu:025:s0070, hanshu:025:s0071, hanshu:025:s0072, hanshu:025:s0073, hanshu:025:s0074, hanshu:025:s0075, hanshu:025:s0076, hanshu:025:s0077, hanshu:025:s0078, hanshu:025:s0079, hanshu:025:s0080, hanshu:025:s0081, hanshu:025:s0082, hanshu:025:s0083, hanshu:025:s0084
- Kind: quotation · Role: speaker · Provenance: Mode: named-source-report · Speaker Person Id: Xunzi (孫卿)
- Kind: quotation · Role: speaker · Provenance: Mode: named-source-reportExplicit · nanqishu:002:s0165
- Kind: quotation · Role: speaker · Quote: trueExplicit · houhanshu:094:s0013
Events and relationships
- Kind: slander · Role: victim · Action: slandered by men of Qi then left for ChuExplicit · shiji:074:s0083
- Relation: teacher-of · Person Id: Han Fei (韓非)Explicit · shiji:063:s0056
- Relation: teacher-of · Person Id: Li Si (李斯)Explicit · shiji:063:s0056, shiji:074:s0085
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment: clear on the kingly way · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgmentExplicit · hanshu:025:s0062
- Assessment: hated turbid-age governance; criticized shamans, omen-trust, narrow Confucians, and Zhuang Zhou's facetiousness · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)Explicit · shiji:074:s0086
References in the histories
Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.