"the ruler is a boat; people are the water. the water can carry the boat; the water can capsize the boat. . a man may be the descendant of kings, lords, or nobles, but if he does not observe the norms of ritual and proper behavior he must be relegated to the status of a commoner. similarly, he may be a descendant of commoners, but if he accumulates learning of the texts, corrects his behavior, and observes the norms of ritual and proper behavior—then he must be elevated to the ranks of high ministers, lords, and nobles."xunzi, chinese philosopher, circa 250 b. c.e. according to the passage, xunzi was advocating an approach to governance that most clearly reflected the principles of ) daoism(b) legalism(c) confucianism(d) buddhism

A Daoism

Explanation:

Daoism is a broader term which Confucianism limits. Daoism explains that human life is a only a part of the bigger cycle of life and that we should adopt good behaviours to achieve a better life. Zhaungzi was a great contributor to early daoism. He is credited with thirty three chapters of a book written, hoever, he could not complete.

Confucianism is social and ethical philosophy than a religion.  It is a system of thought and behaviour. It was built to establish social values and traditios.

Buddhism was introduced by Buddha and has four basic principles of giving injury, being injured, punishment of injuring, causes of injury.

Legalism was a belief that human beings are more inclined to do wrong than right because they are motivated entirely by self-interest. it was abandoned in favor of Confucianism.

the answer is

this answer to this question is c. allegory

why?

stories with allegories have a hidden symbolic meaning with a theme. the hidden meaning can be political, or other real life problems.