Xunzi

Xunzi, in his book Xunzi, argued that people are "evil by nature." Hence, one only has moral standards with the education of kings and saints as well as one's own studies. Rites and laws are emphasized in his book. Xunzi opposed the one-sidedness and subjectivity of people's cognitive skills, instead, he argued that a person could unblock one's view to attain the level of "ultimate understanding" of life with proper training.

Dong Zhongshu

Dong Zhongshu is best known for his suggestion to emperor Han Wudi to "pay supreme tribute to Confucianism while banning all other schools of thoughts," which put Confucianism in a dominant and orthodox position as a result of political influences. Dong proposed to rule the country by virtues, and provided a set of suggestions on politics and society. Dong's philosophical structure is the reflection of the time. After the Han Empire was built, the power of the emperor so strong that Confucianism had to be carried out with the help of the monarch. Therefore, the key point of realizing Confucianism is to work out a feasible way for the kings to implement the "policy of benevolence." On the one hand, Dong apotheosized the power of the emperor, and deemed him "son of heaven;" on the other, the emperor was under checks and balances from heaven. The emperor was warned not to implement tyranny; otherwise he would be punished by heaven.

Han Yu

Han Yu is a famous writer in the Tang Dynasty (618-907), and a leader of Classical Prose Movement (championed by Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and others in the 7th century against the florid and symmetrical style). In a social atmosphere where the Great Vehicle Buddhism was prevailing, Han fervently advocated the resumption of Confucius tradition, and rejected Buddhist thoughts. Han's thoughts and works pointed out a general direction for the development of Confucianism in the following Song and Ming dynasties.

Li Ao

Li Ao, a thinker and writer of the Tang Dynasty, is a disciple and nephew-in-law of Han Yu. More important, he is also an important member in revitalizing Confucianism and rejecting Buddhism, and his philosophical thoughts are even more glaring than Han's. In his book, he argued that people are "good by nature, but bad by desire." As long as one behaves morally, dispels desires and lust, then he could resume the good nature of human being, and become a saint. Li takes an important position in history, and greatly influenced Confucian theories in its development.

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