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Xunzi

Historical Figure
Pronunciation

Understanding ARPABET Pronunciation

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The pronunciation guide uses the ARPABET phonetic system—the same system used in speech recognition and text-to-speech applications.

Vowel Examples:
AE1 = cat, bat
EH1 = bed, head
IY1 = see, me
OW1 = go, boat
UW1 = boot, do
Stress Numbers:
0 = no stress (unstressed)
1 = primary stress (loud)
2 = secondary stress (medium)
Example:
AH0 TH IY1 N AH0
= a-THEE-na (Athena)

The stressed syllable (marked with 1) is pronounced louder and clearer than others.

Quick Definition

Chinese Confucian philosopher who argued that human nature is inherently selfish and must be refined through ritual and education.

Detailed Definition
Xunzi’s view of moral cultivation through discipline shaped poetic traditions that valorize self-mastery, social order, and the transformative power of art and ritual to elevate base nature into virtue.
Example
Example in poetry:
Xunzi, Confucian, believes in ritual: "Xunzi said human nature is bad—goodness comes from culture, ritual, teachers"; A didactic poem: "Without rites, chaos; with them, harmony—Xunzi’s order"; A metaphor: "People are crooked wood—Xunzi, needing steaming and pressing straight"; A contrast: "Unlike Mencius, he distrusted innate goodness—Xunzi, realist of morality"
Additional Notes
Xunzi argued human nature is inherently selfish and must be refined through ritual and education; his corrective pessimism influenced Confucian poetry that values discipline, propriety, and social harmony, where the poet’s role is not to express raw emotion but to cultivate moral order through disciplined form and ethical restraint.
Also Known As
Xun Kuang Hsün Tzu
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