本文試圖闡明《荀子》思想體系中「理」概念的內容、角色以及其思想意義。《荀子》的「理」概念，與「治」、「正」、「平」等概念一起，係指「秩序」以及從此延伸出的某種「合理準則」之意；也以「〜之理」的套語方式呈現出一種普遍合宜的道理。不過《荀子》「理」概念的特色，應該在於「文理」概念的提出以及其與「禮義」概念的互助作用。《荀子》將人間所要實現的秩序性，限定於人類特有的倫理文明的價值，而將之稱為「文理」；並且要求從士人到天下之君，皆應藉著「禮義」來達成人類應該實現的由此界定的倫理價值。

This article aims to elucidate the content and the significance of the concept of li (principle/order/rule) in the thought of Xunzi. Together with other terms such as zhi 治, zheng 正, and ping 平 the term is used as representing “order,” and a sort of “rational standard” for one’s thought, words and behaviors. This article also tries to understand the another dimension in the term: by means of a combination of the term with the term “wen 文” (culture/civilization), Xunzi has proposed an image of the supremacy of human cultural order which should be attained by the virtuous power of rituals, social norm and justice (liyi 禮義). Xunzi has been convinced that the order of human society should be embodied in the full representation of human and cultural significance. Xunzi requested both officer-aspirants and rulers from local to world level to put their moral values into practice through the form of rituals and social norms, because it is in that kind of cultural order that the human moral excellence can be fully manifested in the whole human world.