Articles and Chapters

1. Wong, DB, Metaphors for Governance in the Xúnzǐ, in Metaphor and Analogy in Chinese Thought Governance within the Person State and Society (January, 2025), pp. 47-86 [doi].
   (last updated on 2026/01/09)

   Abstract:
   Mèngzǐ and Xúnzǐ offer contrasting views on moral cultivation, with Mèngzǐ using the plant metaphor to symbolize natural growth, while Xúnzǐ employs the craft metaphor to emphasize deliberate shaping. However, the difference between their theories is more complex than simply comparing growing to crafting. Xúnzǐ also uses other metaphors and analogies, such as the leader guiding the people like a parent nurturing a child and the idea of nurturing desires and dispositions. These additional metaphors highlight the role of culture in transforming biologically based dispositions, leading to human flourishing. While Xúnzǐ emphasizes effort in moral cultivation, it is not a forceful overcoming of raw material but rather an understanding and guiding of it to bring out its best qualities. His view incorporates continuous, accumulated effort, but this effort is informed by a sensitivity to the material’s structure. This approach helps refine the common perception of Xúnzǐ’s theory as solely craft-based. By synthesizing Mèngzǐ’s natural growth model with Xúnzǐ’s deliberate cultivation, the lecture argues for a more comprehensive and plausible theory of moral development, enriched by contemporary empirical and scientific perspectives. This synthesis highlights the complementary nature of their ideas in explaining moral development.