Abstract: The filial piety thought in Xun Zi reflects the Confucian stance of governing the country with rules,and politics preceding ethics,but the tension between ethics and politics in the filial piety thought varies in different chapters of Xun Zi.In chapters before ‘You Zuo Chapter”,it is manifested in the macro political structure.Filial piety is the theme of life for ordinary people,while politics is the theme of life for the noble class including wise monarchs.After the ‘You Zuo Chapter’,this tension has been internalized into ideal personality of a wise monarch in two aspects of ethics and politics.Filial piety is an important constitute of a wise monarch,as well as a symbol of his outmost illustration in ethics and politics.This difference can be attributed to the further development of Xun Zi's thought by his following scholars,which is clearly manifested in the different emphases on filial piety in various chapters of Xun Zi,as well as his different political demands from Confucius and Mencius.However,bridging the division between politics and ethics by combining them into a wise monarch with ideal personality is only a solution in the theoretical sense,and it is not helpful to guide ordinary people to face with the dilemma.Therefore,an individual may sacrifice his life to realize the both aims of ethnics and politics as described in Han Shi Wai Zhuan(Unauthorized Biography on Poetry by HAN Ying),while Xiao Jing(The Book of Filial Piety) constructs legitimacy of politics from the universal ethical affection of filial piety.In this way,the scholars managed to bridge the division caused by the thought of “unification” in Xun Zi and return to the stance of Confucius and Mencius.

Key words: Xun Zi, filial piety, ‘Zi Dao Chapter(on the principles of filial piety)’, ethics, politics