生平

曹魏时期

年幼时父亲病死之后，他由姐夫陈群所养育。由于儿时起就是个博学多才的天才，因而陈群大大地称赞「博学洽闻，意思缜密」。于魏文帝黄初末年出仕中郎，司马懿在见到少年时代的荀顗时，亦感叹「荀令君之子也。近见袁侃，亦曜卿之子也」。

司马懿和司马师父子在魏的专权正要开始时，荀顗因为和司马懿有亲密的关系，因而协助司马师和司马昭篡位。接著由于镇压毌丘俭叛乱有功，获封为万岁亭侯，之后担任司空一职。司马昭死后他出仕于司马炎，并且以身为支持祖父和父亲的功臣，得到了司马炎的高度评价，获升为临淮公，担任侍中和太尉。

但若与其他人的传相互对照的话，清流派名门，荀氏嫡系，「有王佐之风」之称的荀彧之子，却有许多无节劣迹。

西晋时期

在晋朝建立后，他与贾充一起推举司马衷（后来的惠帝）为太子，并进言让贾充的女儿贾南风（之后的贾太后）做太子妃，称贾南风「姿德淑茂」，极力奉承权力中心。获推举为太子妃的贾氏粗暴傲慢，拥有害人滥杀的残忍特质，若以此为由打算废掉武帝的话，实在应该先上表反对。

在颇有人望、聪明的司马攸，获推举为辅佐以愚昧出名的惠帝之人的时候，贾充随即斥退此议，把他远封为齐王。加上以「因藩屏衰退而灭亡的魏为鉴」为由，贾充积极地主导推动大封皇亲诸王于远国，让藩镇握有包括军权等诸多权利的计画，却又因「有吴楚七国之乱的先例」引起强硬反弹，结果就牵扯到后代的「八王之乱」。

这样的荀顗，狡猾地周旋在司马懿，司马师，司马昭和贾充之间，做为各个掌权者的心腹，可说是重视名声和地位的人物。据《晋书·荀顗传》，「顗明三礼，知朝廷大仪，而无质直之操，唯阿意苟合于荀勖、贾充之间」，对这样的人品作出十分严厉的评价。

泰始十年夏四月己未（274年6月19日），荀顗去世 ，虚岁七十，谥号康公，无子，从孙荀序嗣。

评价

• 司马懿：「荀令君之子也。」

• 司马炎：「侍中、司空顗，明允笃诚，思心通远，翼亮先皇，遂辅朕躬，实有佐命弼导之勋。」「侍中、太尉顗，温恭忠允，至行纯备，博古洽闻，耆艾不殆」、「侍中、太尉、行太子太傅、临淮公顗，清纯体道，忠允立朝，历司外内，茂绩既崇，训傅东宫，徽猷弘著，可谓行归于周，有始有卒者矣。」

• 房玄龄：「顗明《三礼》，知朝廷大仪，而无质直之操，唯阿意苟合于荀勖、贾充之间。」「性至孝，总角知名，博学洽闻，理思周密。」「景倩，文若之子，践隆堂而高视，齐逸轨而长骛。孝敬足以承亲，周慎足以事主，刊姬公之旧典，采萧相之遗法。然而援朱均以贰极，煽褒阎而偶震。虽废兴有在，隆替靡常，稽之人事，乃二荀之力也。」（《晋书・列传第九》）「安阳英英，匪懈其职。倾齐附鲁，是为蝥贼。」

• 张鷟：「故荀顗令君之子，珠玉相辉；韦元成丞相之苗，芝兰递茂。」（《羽林将军王畅薨无嫡子取侄男袭爵庶子告不合承》）

• 王应麟：「何曾、荀顗之孝，论者比之曾、闵。夫以孝事君则忠，不忠于魏，又不忠于晋，非孝也。顗之罪，浮于曾。曾之骄奢，祸止及家；顗之奸谀，祸及天下。」（《卷十三考史》）

• 吕思勉：「此外晋初元老，如石苞、郑冲、王祥、荀顗、何曾、陈骞之徒，非乡原之徒，则苟合之士。此等人而可以托孤寄命哉？」（《两晋南北朝史》）

Family background and early life

Xun Yi's ancestral home was in Yingchuan Commandery (颖川郡; around present-day Xuchang, Henan). He was born in the influential Xun family as the sixth son of Xun Yu, a prominent statesman of the late Eastern Han dynasty and an adviser to the warlord Cao Cao. When he was still young, his brother-in-law Chen Qun already regarded him highly. Before he reached adolescence, he was already known for his filial piety, and for being knowledgeable, insightful and meticulous.

Service in Cao Wei

Due to his father's past contributions, Xun Yi was given an appointment as a Palace Gentleman (中郎) in the state of Cao Wei. When Sima Yi was the regent of Wei, he felt that Xun Yi was a rare talent and once remarked, "Lord Prefect Xun's son is comparable to Yaoqing's son Yuan Kan (袁侃)." Xun Yi was later promoted to a Mounted Gentleman (散骑侍郎) and then to a Palace Attendant (侍中).

Xun Yi was a tutor to the third Wei emperor, Cao Fang. He was also commissioned as a Cavalry Commandant (骑都尉) and awarded the title of a Secondary Marquis (关内侯). He studied the Yijing with Zhong Hui and had philosophical debates with Sima Jun on the Confucian values ren and xiao.

When the regent Cao Shuang was in power from 239 to 249, the official He Yan and others wanted to harm Fu Jia, but Xun Yi saved him. After the regent Sima Shi deposed Cao Fang and replaced him with Cao Mao as the emperor of Wei in 254, Xun Yi advised Sima to use the opportunity to announce the new emperor and see how his potential political rivals would react. In the same year, the generals Guanqiu Jian and Wen Qin, who opposed Sima Shi's act of changing the emperor, started a rebellion in Shouchun (寿春; around present-day Shou County, Anhui). Xun Yi assisted Sima Shi in suppressing the rebellion. As a reward for his efforts, he was enfeoffed as the Marquis of Wansui Village (万岁亭侯) and given 400 taxable households to form his marquisate.

Following Sima Shi's death in 255, his younger brother Sima Zhao became the new regent. Xun Yi was promoted to a Master of Writing (尚书). Between 257 and 258, when Sima Zhao was on a campaign to suppress a rebellion by Zhuge Dan, he left Xun Yi behind to guard the imperial capital Luoyang in his absence. In 260, after his maternal nephew Chen Tai died, Xun Yi replaced him as a Supervisor (仆射) and took charge of the Ministry of Personnel. After he took over the ministry, he implemented more stringent practices to ensure that officials were carefully selected and appointed. During the Xianxi era (264-265) in the reign of the last Wei emperor Cao Huan, Xun Yi served as Minister of Works and was promoted from a village marquis to a district marquis.

Xun Yi was known for his filial piety, which he maintained even when he was already in his 60s. When his mother died, he left office to perform filial mourning and displayed such deep sorrow over her death that he earned praise from his contemporaries for his filial piety. Sima Zhao also provided escorts for Xun Yi when he travelled around. In 265, after the Cao Wei state conquered one of its rival states, Shu Han, it wanted to restore the five-tiered nobility hierarchy system so it put Xun Yi in charge of the process. Xun Yi proposed to the Wei imperial court to allow Yang Hu, Ren Kai (任恺), Geng Jun (庚峻), Ying Zhen (应贞) and Kong Hao (孔颢) to assist him, and they collectively drafted a set of rules governing imperial protocol and etiquette. Xun Yi was also promoted from a district marquis to a county marquis under the title "Marquis of Linhuai" (临淮侯).

Service under the Jin dynasty

Xun Yi continued serving under the government of the Jin dynasty, which replaced the state of Cao Wei in 265. After Sima Yan (Emperor Wu) was enthroned as the first Jin emperor, he promoted Xun Yi from a county marquis to a duke under the title "Duke of Linhuai" (临淮公), with 1,800 taxable households in his dukedom. Emperor Wu also appointed Xun Yi as Minister over the Masses. Later, Xun Yi was concurrently appointed as a Palace Attendant and promoted to Grand Marshal (太尉), putting him in charge of military affairs and in command of 100 of the emperor's close guards. Shortly after, Xun Yi was given an additional appointment as acting Grand Tutor to the Crown Prince (太子太傅).

Xun Yi died in 274 during the Taishi era (265–274) of Emperor Wu's reign. Before his death, he had been tasked with arranging the music for two dance pieces, Zhengde (正德) and Dayu (大豫). Emperor Wu held a grand state funeral for Xun Yi and ordered the crown prince Sima Zhong to pay respects at the funeral. He also honoured Xun Yi with the posthumous name "Kang" (康), hence Xun Yi was formally known as "Duke Kang of Linhuai" (临淮康公). Xun Yi's family members were given two million coins to build a house because Xun Yi and his family had no fixed residence when he was still living. In the early Xianning era (275–280) of Emperor Wu's reign, the emperor issued an imperial edict to honour his subjects who had rendered meritorious service. Xun Yi, as one of those subjects named in the edict, was enshrined in the imperial ancestral temple.

Xun Yi was very familiar with the rules of decorum and propriety, having read and known by heart the contents of books such as Etiquette and Ceremonial, Book of Rites and Rites of Zhou. Although his moral character was considered generally good, it was nonetheless tarnished by his obsequious behaviour towards, and association with, Jia Chong and Xun Xu (荀勖). When it was time for the crown prince Sima Zhong to marry, Xun Yi nominated Jia Chong's daughter to be the prince's consort. He was scorned by others for doing that.

Succession

Xun Yi had no son when he died so he had no one to inherit his peerage and dukedom. Sometime in the late 380s, Xun Xu (荀序), a great-great-grandnephew of Xun Yi, inherited the peerage as the "Duke of Linhuai". After Xun Xu's death, Emperor Xiaowu (r. 372–396) designated Xun Xu's son, Xun Heng (荀恒), as the new Duke of Linhuai. The peerage was later passed on to Xun Heng's son, Xun Longfu (荀龙符), and finally abolished in 420 when Liu Yu ended the Jin dynasty and founded the Liu Song dynasty.