Xun Zi (Xunzi, Hsun Tzu, Hsun-tse, Hsun K'uang, Xun Kuang), c. 325 BC - 238 BC. Early Confucian scholar who led the Chinese philosophical tradition in a rationalistic direction. He argued that human nature is originally bad, and for that reason is often placed in opposition to Mencius, who argued that it is originally good.