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Hsun-Tzu The steadfast decline of the Chou Dynasty, signed by the Warring States period, was followed by the fall of the old feudal structure held together by interconnected religious and social rituals. Freedom from the forms of the past expressed skeptic attitudes. A “hundred schools” of thought arose, each wanting to provide a base for social and political life and each wanting to achieve the adherence of rulers and governments. Hsun-Tzu found China in a virtual intellectual and social vortex, which threatened to weaken its spiritual vision and moral solidarity. With that, Hsun-Tzu believed that man was by nature evil. He believed the only way for one to escape this natural depravity was through education and the practice of ritual and custom. Although he thought man could better himself through conscious application, he was still skeptical of man’s "ren," or human kindness (Head, Lecture 4-16-03). While defining the differences between perverse and virtuous people, Hsun-Tzu reminds his reader continuously in his writings with the emphasis that it is possible for people to be perfected through study and the guidance of a teacher. With Confucius schools being dominant in his time, Hsun-Tzu’s views were not