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https://doi.org/10.62836/jissh.v2i2.476
Wang, R. (2025). Shifts in Xunzi’s Status as Reflected in the Stele Inscription of the Five Sages Hall. Journal of Integrated Social Sciences and Humanities, 2(2), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.62836/jissh.v2i2.476
Volume 2, Issue 2, 2025

Shifts in Xunzi’s Status as Reflected in the Stele Inscription of the Five Sages Hall

In the fifth year of the Jingyou era of the Northern Song Dynasty (1038 CE), Kong Daofu constructed the Five Sages Hall (Wuxian Tang) within the Confucius Temple in Qufu. This hall enshrined Mencius, Xunzi, Yang Xiong, Wang Tong, and Han Yu, with an accompanying stele inscription extolling their role in transmitting and promoting Confucian learning. This initiative aimed to reconstruct the Confucian orthodoxy (daotong) in response to the challenges posed by Buddhism and Daoism. Xunzi’s status underwent significant shifts: esteemed during the Han and Tang dynasties for his role in transmitting the classics and his alignment with the needs of imperial unification, his standing progressively declined during the Song dynasty due to Neo-Confucian critiques of his theory of innate evil. The Five Sages Hall exemplifies the inclusivity of early Song Confucianism, while the fluctuation in Xunzi’s status reflects broader shifts within Confucian thought driven by the evolving demands of different historical periods.

Stele Inscription of the Five Sages Hall (Wuxian Tang Ji Bei) Confucian Orthodoxy (Daotong) Xunzi

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Supporting Agencies

  1. Funding: This research received no external funding.