The Research On Xunzi’s Thought About Rite And Law And Emperor-people Relations

Xunzi is a master of Confucianism after Confucius and Mencius in pre-Qin period. His thoughts is the Inheritance and development of the thinkers of the pre-Qin period, especially Confucianism and Legalism. Through the sublation of Confucian rites and the law of the Legalists, Xunzi formed the thoughts that rites as the core and law as the supplement who integrated of etiquette and the law into his thoughts on the basis of Confucian rites. The thoughts of the emperor-people relations belongs to the thought of rules and etiquette that was expounded around the thought. He formed a theory about respecting emperor and loving the people. And it can’t be ignored that emperor-people relations have great effects on the rites and law.Cultural ceremony developed from the primitive culture of sacrifices. After the transformation from the rulers of Shang and Zhou, the theory of ruling the country with etiquette is the core of statecraft. But in the Spring and Autumn, because of the "rites collapsed and music disappeared" of social reality, the Confucianism represented by Confucius and Mencius began to reform wantonly and gave a new interpretation on the ritual culture of the Western Zhou Dynasty that they gave a new concept to the etiquette and moralized it. The law originated with the tribal war of primitive society. During the Xia, Shang and Zhou, the Legalists formed a independent theory of law to serve the monarch, that the law is independent from the culture of rite. Xunzi aware of that Confucian ritual had become unrealistic and been biased toward moral. They are dependent on individual morality deeply, while ignoring the role of external coercion. In the same, the effect in national political practice from the Legalism is obvious. The law was assimilated into the etiquette by Xunzi that the etiquette has institutional connotation, and law was restrained by it. The theory that human nature is evil was the theoretical premise, while the sage-king was the origin, of the thought of etiquette and law of Xunzi as a political system for governance simultaneously. But they had different status in Xunzi’s hearts. The etiquette is the guiding principle of law, but the law is complementary tools only. After transformation of Xunzi, the etiquette’s binding was stronger. His tries about fusing the etiquette and the law has had a profound and lasting influence on the Confucian strategy of running a state about Internal Confucianism and external law.The thoughts of emperor-people relations originates from the Xia, Shang and Zhou. In this period, the monarch who has the apotheosis of rights also recognized the importance of the people simultaneously. In pre-Qin period, the thoughts of emperor-people relations was based on the people. Especially in the Spring and Autumn, the thinkers saw the mutual restraint between the people and the king further because of the frequent replacement of the states and the fierce annexing warfare between them. The thoughts of emperor-people relations of Xunzi fully aware of the respective roles of the king and the people. He believes that the king is the source of the etiquette and the Law, that is the example of the people. So respecting emperor is necessary on the understanding that he must have etiquette and moral. People is the rule of object., and the role played by the people can not be ignored. The metaphor that the king is like a boat and the people are like water was used to describe the importance of the people. The people is the fundamental of prosperity and stable power of monarch. The monarch depends on the people, so loving people is necessary. This is not a contradiction that the thoughts of respecting emperor and loving people all present in Xunzi’s thoughts simultaneously. During the political practice, we should respect the monarch because of the monarch’s appropriate talent. In the aspects of stabilizing the monarchy, loving people is fundamental because the common aspiration is the basis.All of the Thoughts of rite and law and the theory of emperor-people relations is Essence of Xunzi’s Thoughts. The relationship between the monarch and the people is settled by etiquette and law, while the Monarch and the people is the subject to run the rite and law, that they are closely linked.