Xunzi (c. 310-220 BCE): The Realist of Confucianism?
Xunzi argued that while people are naturally selfish, civilisation can be built through ritual, law, and discipline. Rituals, from mourning to music, were not empty gestures but tools for reshaping human desires, teaching restraint, and harmonising society. Unlike the Legalists who ruled through fear, Xunzi believed culture and tradition could bend human nature like wood shaped by steam — disciplined, refined, and made fit for order.
