Quiz: Xunzi

When was Xunzi born?
- About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China.
- About 490 BC, Abdera, Greece.
- 341 BC, Samos, Greece.
- About 204, probably Lycopolis, Egypt.
Answer
About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China. — Born: About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China..
When did Xunzi die?
- About 235 BC.
- 270 BC, Athens.
- 323 BC, Corinth, Greece, in the same year as Alexander the Great.
- About 286 BC.
Answer
About 235 BC. — Died: About 235 BC..
What is Xunzi known for?
- The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course.
- The poem On Nature, which reasons that what is cannot come from what is not, so change and plurality are illusion.
- Living in a tub, carrying a lantern in daylight looking for an honest man, and telling Alexander to stand out of his sunlight. The stories are later, not records.
- Suspension of judgment: since things are undecidable, the wise withhold assent and gain tranquility.
Answer
The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course. — Known for: The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course..
Which school of thought was Xunzi part of?
- Confucianism, its realist wing.
- Academic skepticism, with Stoic leanings in ethics.
- Sophist, a traveling teacher of rhetoric and argument.
- Daoism, its skeptical and literary wing.
Answer
Confucianism, its realist wing. — School: Confucianism, its realist wing..
True or false: Chinese Confucian thinker who answered Mencius by teaching that human nature is bad and must be shaped by ritual and teachers.
- True
- False
Answer
True — From the entry's summary.

When was Xunzi born?
- About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China.
- About 490 BC, Abdera, Greece.
- 341 BC, Samos, Greece.
- About 204, probably Lycopolis, Egypt.
Answer
About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China. — Born: About 310 BC, in the state of Zhao, China..
When did Xunzi die?
- About 235 BC.
- 270 BC, Athens.
- 323 BC, Corinth, Greece, in the same year as Alexander the Great.
- About 286 BC.
Answer
About 235 BC. — Died: About 235 BC..
What is Xunzi known for?
- The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course.
- The poem On Nature, which reasons that what is cannot come from what is not, so change and plurality are illusion.
- Living in a tub, carrying a lantern in daylight looking for an honest man, and telling Alexander to stand out of his sunlight. The stories are later, not records.
- Suspension of judgment: since things are undecidable, the wise withhold assent and gain tranquility.
Answer
The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course. — Known for: The claim that human nature is bad, that ritual reshapes it, and that Heaven is just nature running its course..
Which school of thought was Xunzi part of?
- Confucianism, its realist wing.
- Academic skepticism, with Stoic leanings in ethics.
- Sophist, a traveling teacher of rhetoric and argument.
- Daoism, its skeptical and literary wing.
Answer
Confucianism, its realist wing. — School: Confucianism, its realist wing..
True or false: Chinese Confucian thinker who answered Mencius by teaching that human nature is bad and must be shaped by ritual and teachers.
- True
- False
Answer
True — From the entry's summary.