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 THE SECULAR FOUNDATION OF RULERSHIP :

THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF HAN FEIZI (ca. 280-233 B.C.)

AND HIS PREDECESSORS

Soon-ja Yang

A DISSERTATION

in

East Asian Languages and Civilizations

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Presented to the Faculties of the University of Pennsylvania in Partial
Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Doctor of Philosophy

2010
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Paul R. Goldin
Supervisor of Dissertation
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Nancy SMatzman Steinhardt

Graduate Group Chairperson

Dissertation Committee

Paul R. Goldin, Ph.D., Chair

Professor of Chinese Thought

Victor H. Mair, Ph.D.

Professor of Chinese Languages and Literature

Yuri Pines, Ph.D.

Professor of Chinese History and Intellectual History
 UMI Number: 3414191

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 11

ABSTRACT

THE SECULAR FOUNDATION OF RULERSHIP :

THE POLITICAL THOUGHT OF HAN FEIZI (ca. 280-233 B.C.) AND HIS

PREDECESSORS

By: Soon-ja Yang

Advisor: Paul Rakita Goldin

This dissertation examines the popular view of four thinkers in Chinese Warring States

period: Shen Dao, Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Han Feizi. They have been classified as

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Fajia :&M. Specifically, Han Feizi has been known as a synthesizer of his predecessors

on the basis of their three major tenets, Shang Yang's fa v£ (written penal laws to

regulate the people), Shen Buhai's shu tfj (techniques to manipulate ministers), and Shen
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Dao's shi f& (power or authority). The first half part of this dissertation deals with three

forerunners of Han Feizi in order to explore whether shi, shu, and fa are the major tenets

of Shen Dao, Shen Buhai, and Shang Yang respectively by analyzing overlooked sources
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such as fragments of their work. My examination shows that the conventional view has

no solid textual basis. Shen Dao stresses the idea offa rather than shi; Shen Buhai

discusses^a instead of shu. In addition, I analyze Shang Yang's theory of fa from the

perspective of the relationship between law and utilitarianism, in which agriculture and

war are the main tools to accelerate the interests of a state. In other words, fa is the most

critical issue in the view of these three thinkers; it means a standard of rewards and

punishments, which thus can be rendered as "laws." The second part of this dissertation

discusses Han Feizi's own thought and interprets him from a different perspective, not as

a synthesizer of the Fajia group. His main concern is how a ruler controls powerful
 Ill

ministers and strengthens his authority by means offa along with // if (ritual propriety).

In the process, the term fa in Han Feizi's work is used in two connotations: "laws" and

"administrative regulations." That is, Han Feizi adopts the term^a in the same way as his

predecessors on the one hand, but expands it into a wide-ranging concept of sociopolitical

regulation on the other. Han Feizi shares a concern with his predecessors, which is the

establishment of a ruler-centered government by means offa, but exposes himself to

vibrant intellectual environments of the Warring States period.

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 iv

Table of Contents

I. Introduction 1

II. Shen Dao's fSglJ Thought 10

1. Shen Dao and His Work 10
2. Historical and Contemporary Readings of Shen Dao 12
3. Main Arguments of the Shenzi '\%-f fragments 18
(1) Fa & (Law) 18
(2) Justification of Fa (Law) 25
(3) Fa (Law) and Authority 34

III. Shang Yang's j§i$ft Thought 44

1. Shang Yang and His Work 44
2. Historical and Contemporary Readings of Shang Yang 48
3. Main Argument of the Shangjunshu M If Hr 51

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( l ) F a f t (Law) 51
(2) Utilitarianism 64
(3) Shi §& (Power or Authority) and Shu Wi (Rule)
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IV. Shen Buhai's $ ^ ^ Thought 80

1. Shen Buhai and His Work 80
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2. Historical and Contemporary Readings of Shen Buhai 81
3. Arguments of the Shenzi $ rf Fragments 88
(1) Ming% (Name) 90
(2) Fa & (Law) 99
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(3) Shu gfc (Rule) 105

V. Han Feizi's £f ^ Thought 113

1. Han Feizi and His Work 113
2. Main Argument of the Hanfeizi 119
2-1. Fa & 119
(1) Fa as Law 121
(2) Fa as Administrative Regulation 129
(3) Relationship between Fa (Administrative Regulation) and f£f Shu (Method) 140
(4) Justification of Fa 146
2-2. Li M (Ritual Propriety) 158
(1) Criticism of Virtues 160
(2) Reconstruction of Virtues 167
(3) Relationship between Li W. and Fa vi 176

VI. Conclusion 187

Bibliography 193
Index 207
 1

I. Introduction
The Warring States period (480/403-221 B.C.) witnessed constant battles among

states after the collapse of the Zhou royal household. Thinkers during this period

proposed their ideas in order to bring a halt to the political instability and maintain peace

among states or create a unified empire. They were categorized first by a later Han

historian, Sima Tan n]l§i£ (d. 110 B.C.). A small treatise from his hand, "Essential

Points" (Yaozhi Hfit), has been preserved in the final chapter of the Shift ^Llfi of his son,

Sima Qian W] |§j|f (145-90 B.C.). It was written in order to prove the superiority of

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Daoism among the doctrines of the day: Daojia vi.M, Yinyangjia PHH§I^, Ruzhe M ^ ,
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Mozhe H # , Mingjia 4n M- and Fajia *liM~

In my thesis, I shall analyze the ideas of the so-called Fajia, in particular, Shen
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Dao '\MM (born about 360 B.C.), Shang Yang \%Wk (390-338 B.C.), Shen Buhai *¥^W

(d.337 B.C.?), and Han Feizi (ca. 280-233 B.C.). They distrusted the ultimate
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sociopolitical norm of li Wt to the extent that they suggested a new term for sociopolitical

rule, fa £fe even though they did not completely negate the roles played by //. This is part

of the reason they have been called as Fajia, whose conventional translation is

"Legalists."

There have been interpretations of the four thinkers from ancient to contemporary

times. When Sima Tan divided the former philosophers into six groups, he did not

mention any particular personal names save Mozi, and classified knowledge with

reference to its intellectual content without seeking to group persons or texts. Here are his

remarks about Fajia:

 2

The Fajia are strict and of slight kindness. But their rectification of the division between
sovereign and minister, superior and inferior must not be altered.

His auto-commentary:

The Fajia do not differentiate intimatefromdistant, do not distinguish noble and lowly,
and make a single judgment before the law. Thus the kindness of treating one's intimate as
intimate and honoring the honorable is cut off. It is a calculus that could be practiced for a
time, but could not be employed for a long time. Thus I said "strict and of slight kindness."
But if one were to honor the ruler and abase the ministers, and clarify official functions so
that none oversteps [his allotted task], then even numerous people could not change it.

2
til.

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The universal application of/a is explicitly proposed in the theories of Shen Dao, Shang
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Yang and Han Feizi, and probably in Shen Buhai as well, which will be discussed later.

However, the popular description of Fajia, "strict and of slight kindness," is appropriate
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to explain Shang Yang and Han Feizi in the sense that they argue for light rewards and

harsh punishments, but is misleading for Shen Dao or Shen Buhai. For this reason, H. G.
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Creel holds that Shen Buhai is not a legalist. And, "honoring the ruler and abasing the

ministers" is intensely argued by Han Feizi, but is not emphasized in the theories of the

other three thinkers, which will also be discussed later.

The four thinkers appeared under the category of Fajia in later periods. Ban

Gu ffiH, the author of the Honshu HtH, subdivided the Warring States thinkers into ten

schools. The authors which the Han catalogue mentions as belonging to Fajia are the

following: Li Kuai $ f l , Shang Yang &Wk, Shen Buhai ^^fW , Chuzi fit?, Shen Dao

3
H.G. Creel, Shen Pu-hai: A Chinese Political Philosopher of the Fourth Century B.C. (Chicago and
London: University of Chicago Press, 1974), 162.
'KJlJ, Han Feizi, and You Dizi $?lt^f. However, the Catalogue of the History of the Sui

Dynasty mentioned only three of these authors under the heading of the Fajia: Shen Dao,

Han Feizi, and Shang Yang (not Shen Buhai). But, another important name is added to

the group, that is, Guanzi if-f^d. 645 B.C.) who in the Han Catalogue figured under the

Daoist authors. In the Great Catalogue of the Imperial Library compiled under Qianlong

f£P§, he is registered as a Daoist as well. In this catalogue, we see Deng Xizi WtJf ~f

listed as belonging to Fajia, whereas in the Han Catalogue he is listed as one of the

Mingjia. It is very significant that both Guanzi and Deng Xizi were classified by the Han

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Catalogue as belonging respectively to the Daojia and Mingjia. From these examples, we

can see that there was no consistent categorization of Fajia.

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Despite the inconsistent categorization of Fajia by historical records, some
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contemporary scholars argue that there are three groups in the Fajia and Han Feizi is the

synthesizer of them. In his A History of Chinese Philosophy, Fung Yu-lan writes that the

Fajia group was divided into three groups, one of which laid stress on shi ^ , which may
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be translated as 'power' or 'authority'; the second laid emphasis on the concept of fa £fe;

and third stressed shu #f, that is, 'statecraft,' or the art of conducting affairs and handling

men.4 He adds that the man who coordinated the three groups, and at the same time drew

on the doctrines of the Laozi and of Xunzi to found his own philosophic school, was Han

Feizi. Benjamin Schwartz's reference to Fajia is basically in line with Fung Yu-lan's, in

spite of their differences on other issues. He treats Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Shen

4
Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, vol. 1. Tr. by Derk Bodde (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1952), 318.
 4

Dao as critical theoreticians of Fajia and presents Han Feizi as the grand synthesizer of

Legalism.5

Based on the ShijTs biography of Han Feizi, Chen Qitian regards Han Feizi as the

synthesizer not only of the Fajia group, but also of a variety of Warring States ideas. Still

he claims that the primary idea of Han Feizi is to establish a ruler-centered government

with three political tools of/a, shu and shi. In addition, Kimura Eiichi also considers

Shang Yang, Shen Buhai and Shen Dao as major Legalist thinkers who influenced Han

Feizi.6 Other studies on the Fajia share the view that Han Feizi was mainly influenced by

three theories. 7

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The appraisal of Han Feizi as synthesizer of three Fajia groups in part derived from
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Han Fei's own reference to Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Shen Dao in his work. In the

chapter "Dingfa" > E S , Han Feizi says that Shang Yang is preeminently a theorist of fa,
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while Shen Buhai is a proponent of shu.

Now Shen Buhai spoke about the need of shu #J and Gongsun Yang [Shang Yang] insisted
on the use of/a']£;.Shu is the means whereby to give official positions according to
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capacities, hold actual services according to official titles, exercise the power over life and
death, and examine the abilities of all of the officials. It is what the lord of men should grip.
Fa includes mandates and ordinances that are manifest in the official bureaux. Penalties
should be certainly definite in the mind of the people; rewards should be due to the careful
adherents of/a; and punishments should be inflicted on the offenders against orders. It is
what the ministers take as model. If the ruler has no shu, delusion will come in the above; if
the ministers do not use fa, disorder will appear among in the below. Thus, neither can be
dispensed with: both are implements of emperors and kings.
^w»@ftj, m&mk%>m°flf#,affifost, mzmnn, mm*.zm, m

5
Benjamin Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of
Harvard University Press, 1984), 320.
6
Chen Qitian W&L3i, Zhongguofajiagailun ^WfeMWfib (Shanghai: Shanghai shudian, 1992), 68-69;
Kimura Eiichi T M ^ — , Hoka shiso no kenkyu fkUM.M<DWi% (Tokyo : Ozorasha, 1998).
7
Wang Xiaobo 3iSil2£, Xian Qin fajia sixiang shilun 9u^i¥£.WS-W.!£.tfo (Taibei: Lianjing chuban shiye
gongsi, 1991); Wang, ZanyuanSIRM, Zhongguo fajia zhexue ^H&fes^laip (Taibei: Dongdatushu
gongsi, 1989). Huang Gongwei Jt4M§, Fajia zhexue tixi zhiguifkMIS^WtJfclaM (Taibei: Taiwan
shangwu yinshuguan, 1983).
 5

s, m » « ^ # t i i > fcE.zmm&o mmmmte±, &mmmii&T, $&£

Han Fei sees Shang Yang's thought as centered onfa but Shen Buhai's on shu, and

declares both of them indispensable for government. According to the above passage,

Shang Yang's^a refers to "penal laws" exercised by legal officals in order to regulate the

people while Shen Buhai's shu means "techniques for controlling administrators."

In the same chpapter, Han Feizi goes on to criticize the weakness of their theories.

Shen Buhai failed to win hegemony for the state of Han I t because he neglected to unify

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the law, leaving the old statutes of Jin # (of which Han was a succession state) to stand

side by side with the new ones of Han itself. Shang Yang, on the other hand, failed to win

hegemony for the st;ate of Qin iH because of lack of method in controlling ministers. The
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effect of Qin conquests had been to strengthen not the ruler but his ministers, who were

enfiefed in the new lands. Han Fei perceives that the doctrines of Shen Buhai and Shang

Yang are not antagonistic, but complementary. So, Han Fei concludes that a ruler should
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use both^a and shu to govern his state.

In addition, Han Fei introduces another thinker, Shen Dao, in the chapter "Nanshi"

Wfe (A Critiuque of Shi).

Shenzi fjl^p said, "The flying dragon rides on the clouds and the rising serpent wanders in
the mists. But when the clouds disperse and the mists clear up, the dragon and the serpent
become the same as the earthworm and the large-winged black ant because they have lost
what they ride. If the worth are subjected by the unworthy, it is because their power is weak
and their position is low. If the unworthy can be subjected by the worthy, it is because the
power of the latter is strong and their position is high. When Yao was a commoner, he
could not govern even three people; Jie, being the Son of Heaven, could bring chaos to the
whole world. From this I know that positions with authority [or power] (shiwei tMi) are
sufficient to rely on, and that worthiness and wisdom are not worth yearning after."
« f 0 : immmm, m&mm, ummm, m&&mmmm&, m&%ffim&o
SAMSON*, i'j*e&M; *nmmmfi!'g%, wmm&#&o ^%m
 6

For Shen Dao, it is a political position or status which draws obedifence from the people

and exerts an influcen on them. Just as clouds are a necessary condition for the flying

dragon to realize itself as a flying dragon, so a position with authority is a necessary

condition for a man to rule the people. Other superior qualities in intellectual or moral are

not able to give a ruler political control over the people.

On the surface, Han Fei's reference to the three thinkers in the chapters of "Dingfa"

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and "Nanshi" seems to corroborate the claim that he is a synthesizer of Fajia. And, three

concepts :fa as "penal laws," shu as " techniques for controlling bureaucracy," and shi as
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"power or authority" may be proposed as central concepts in order to understand Han

Feizi's theory, as has been argued.

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Yet, it is still controversial who should be categorized under Fajia and moreover

what Fajia is. Therefore, we can say that the conventional classification of Fajia was
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made in the Han period and has been used in pejorative overtones afterward in Chinese

intellectual history. J. J. L. Duyvendak, who translated the entire chapters of Shangjunshu

and proposed an explanation of Shang Yang's theory, wrote "Fajia was not a real school

in the sense that it claimed a founder, but it merely represents the outcome of various

currents of thought which in their practical application stressed the importance of the

Law." 8

J. J. L. Duyvendak, The book ofLord Shang: a classic of the Chinese school of law (Chicago : University
of Chicago Press, 1963), 70. As Kidder Smith has noted, in addition, the biographies of the so-called four
Legalists are not closely linked in the Shiji. Instead Sima Qian has separated them: Lord Shang gets chapter
68 to himself, and Sima Qian places Shen Buhai and Han Fei with Laozi and Zhuangzi in chapter 63. Shen
 7

More importantly, the term^a, which has been proposed as the major tenet of the

Fajia, is complicated enough to translate in a word. The Chinese character is usually

translated as "law." Roughly and generally speaking, we tend to think of "law" as a

system of definite injunction to do certain things, and to refrain from doing others, with

definite penalties that will be inflicted by political authority for failure to comply. As has

been suggested by H. G. Creel, however, the connotation of/a does not exactly

correspond to the general sense of law, but possesses different senses such as

"regulation," "example," "model," and "to imitate" and so on in some Classical Chinese

texts.9

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In summary, it is hard to define Fajia as Legalists and to identify who should be

categorized as the group of Fajia because the term^a has various meanings and the Fajia
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thinkers have different and sometimes conflicting ideas. Therefore, we need to reconsider

the popular view of the four thinkers: Shen Dao as a theorist of shi, Shang Yang as a

theorist of fa, Shen Buhai as a theorist ofshu, and Han Feizi as a synthesizer of three
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doctrines: fa, shu and shi. This interpretation is too simplistic to prevent us from catching

their own ideas.

I think that the conventional view is caused by the fact that scholars have too much

depended on the references of "Dingfa" and "Nanshi" in the Hanfeizi without considering

other sources. In cases of Shen Dao and Shen Buhai, their writings are no longer extant

except in collected fragments. The fragments have been examined and some parts of

Dao, in turn, goes into chapter 74 with other members of the supposed Jixia Academy, the most prominent
of which today are Mencius and Xunzi. These last three are thereby associated with men never considered
Fajia. Kidder Smith, "Sima Tan and the Invention of Daoism, "Legalism," et cetera," Journal of Asian
Studies 62.1 (2003), 141-2.
9
H. G. Creel, Shen Pu-hai, 92-120.
 8

them are accepted enough to show their ideas. Regarding Shen Dao's work,

P.M. Thompson looked into and analyzed every known Shenzi fragment and argued that

the authenticity of the received text of the Qunshu zhiyao ffiii:-/a l c (Essentials on

government from the Assemblage of Books) has been generally recognized.10 Some

scholars rely for their information about Shen Dao on the Shenzi of Shoushange congshu

^f LU HHilH, but the edition contains spurious passages rejected by Cai Rukun H $ c M

in his Shenzi jishuo M^Mtfo- Therefore, I will use P.M.Thompson's work as my main

text for Shen Dao. And, in Appendix C to his work, entitled The Shen Pu-hai

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Fragments, H. G. Creel attempted to include both every alleged direct quotation of Shen

Buhai and every alleged quotation of the Shenzitf?-f~.After subjecting all of this material
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to various tests, Creel expressed the opinion that 79 percent probably represents sayings
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of Shen Buhai in something close to the original form. Their works are worth examining

in order to reveal the ideas of Shen Buhai and Shen Dao.

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In addition, the received texts: the Shangjunshu and the Hanfeizi display more

complex and sophisticated ideas. The former discusses different issues centering on the

term/a, for instance, how to extend the influence of the sovereignty on the people and

how to enhance the wealth and strength of a state. In addition, it also deals with how to

control officials and suggests mutual responsibility among them. The Hanfeizi shows

more complex ideas than the synthesis of/a, shu, shi. The work contains a lot of

historical episodes as well as criticisms of other philosophical groups such as

Confucianism and Mohism and comments on the Laozi.

10
P. M. Thompson, The Shen Tzu fragments (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979).
 9

In my thesis, I will start by asking whether shi, shu, and fa are the major tenets of

Shen Dao, Shen Buhai, and Shang Yang respectively in the first three chapters. For this

purpose I will conduct a direct and close examination of works of each thinker and will

provide the main arguments of their work. And in the last chapter, I will analyze the

Hanfeizi in order to find his main argument. My examination of their works will reveal

their own ideas and provide a more exact relationship among them.

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 10

II. Shen Dao's 'RU Thought

1. Shen Dao and His Work

Shen Dao was one of the leading philosophers of the Jixia HIT group at Linzi Em

fm during the reign of King Xuan of Qi ^ jJEEEfreg, 319-301 B.C.E) and was a native of

Zhao M according to the Shiji ^.IS. 1 1 Like many of the other figures who gathered at

Jixia, he is difficult to fit correctly into the traditional classifications of ancient Chinese

philosophy.

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Moreover, the fact that his writings are no longer extant except in collected
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fragments makes it difficult to identify his exact philosophical position. There have been

doubts as to the authenticity of the Shenzi from which the present fragments derive. Sima
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Qian addresses in the Shiji that Shen Dao wrote twelve discourses and less than a

hundred years later, and the Shenzi was among the books collated and recopied by Liu
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Xiang §ll |R] (79-8 B.C.). The text in 42 pian is also listed under Fajia ^feM. in the Hanshu

WkiSt. n According to Thompson, the Shenzi was still available in public or private

libraries until the fall of the Tang dynasty, but is different from the edition of the
IT

Honshu. When the Song libraries were, however, being established at the end of the

tenth century, no copy of the Shenzi could be found. It is in the early 19th century after the
11
Shiji vol.7 (Beijing: Zhonghua shujiu, 1999), 2347. Other sources associate Shen Dao with different
places:(l) Xu Shen #='R (A.D.E 30-124) writes that Shen Dao is from Qi Pf in his commentary on the
single citation from the Shenzi in the Huainanzi M^^f; (2) Ying Shao USSK mentions that Shen Dao is a
noble man of Han $$ in his Fengsu Tongyi Sf#iMft; (3)The Zhongxingguan shumu ^ K & t l f @
attributes the five pian fragments to Shen Dao of Liyang Wfik. See P. M. Thompson, The Shen Tzu
fragments (New York: Oxford University Press, 1979), 128.
12
Early Chinese Texts: A Bibliographical Guide, 400.
13
See P.M.Thompson, 401. However, T.H.Barret raises objections to this argument in his article "On the
Transmission of the Shen Tzu and of the Yang sheng Yao chi," Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society (1980),
168-71.
 11

recovery of Wei Zheng's fttlfc (580-643 A.D.) Qunshu zhiyao f ^ U ^ a l l {Essentials on

government from the Assemblage of Books) that scholars again started to have an interest

in Shen Dao. The Qunshu zhiyao contains seven pian of the Shenzi, which makes the text

the most important single source for the indirect tradition of the Shenzi. There was the

first attempt to compile a redaction of the fragments of the Shenzi in Ming times or earlier,

which combined the seven pian of the Qunshu zhiyao with fifteen extracts from the

Shenzi preserved in the Yilin Mffi of Ma Cong J § $ | (complied before 787).

A much more ambitious collection of fragments appeared in the 16th century. This

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is in a work entitled Shenzi neiwaipian 'R-f1 F*3 ^blt and was first published in 1579 by

Shen Maoshang '\MM1m., who believed himself to be a descendant of Shen Dao. However,
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in his Shenzi shuzheng tR-piittl:, Fang Guoyu 7f Slay in 1934 systematically identified
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the actual sources of most of the spurious material introduced by Shen Maoshang. Fang

Guoyu's study is conclusive and Shen Maoshang has no supporters.

After Shen Maoshang's attempt, there have been several works to compile the
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fragments of the Shenzi. The Shenzi compiled by Qian Xizuo H ^ f F (1801-1844 A.D.)

was published in 1844 with the title Shoushange congshu ^ l l l HHitllr, which includes

not only the additional material from the direct tradition of the Qunshu zhiyao but also

fragments newly discovered by Yan Kejun I t oJi<J (1762-1843 A.D.). In addition, it

contains the sixteen spurious passages which originated with Shen Maoshang, and was

therefore less satisfactory than the redaction from which it had borrowed so much.

Nevertheless, it is with the Shoushange congshu that the corpus of genuine fragments of

the Shenzi is virtually complete.

 12

After analyzing every known Shenzi fragment, Paul Thompson concluded that the

authenticity and authority of the received text of the Qunshu zhiyao have been generally

recognized, so that it is immediately acceptable that the seven incomplete chapters of the

Shenzi in it should be looked on as authentic. He divides the fragments into 121 items in

mediaeval sources and appends 5 items cited only in ancient sources.14 In this chapter, I

shall use Thompson's The Shen tzu Fragments since the Shenzi in the Shoushange

congshu includes spurious passages refuted by many scholars and thus, his work seems to

the most reliable source for research on Shen Dao.

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2. Historical and Contemporary Readings of Shen Dao

Scholars have interpreted Shen Dao's ideas on the basis of different school
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affiliations, for instance, a Daoist, a Legalist, a Huang-Laoist, a Daofaist and so on. In
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particular, the categorization of Huang-Lao If^; has been popular to describe his

philosophy, but we hardly have any historical evidence that the Huang-Lao school even
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existed in Shen Dao's time. What is worse is that scholars cannot find a common ground

to define Huang-Laoists. In what follows, I shall first introduce different interpretations

of Shen Dao's ideas and argue that the school affiliations including a Huag-Laoist do not

explain much about them by discussing what his primary interest is.

Classical Chinese texts have portrayed Shen Dao as holding different ideas.

According to his contemporaries, Shen Dao is described as being a Daoist in certain

14
For more information about the authenticity of the Shenzi, see Thompson's and Michael Loewe, ed.,
Early Chinese Texts : A Biblical Guide (Berkeley: University of California, Berkeley, 1993), 399-404. Liao
Mingchun M4=i# finds out that one of Shanghai bowuguan Chujian is similar to Shenzi Fragment 95 (H
Wk^t-^M, Wi'JA 1 , 0 : " ^ H ^ W f t ^ ^ l s p F B ^ . " ) . "Chu zhushu 'Cao Mo zhi chen' yu Shenzi
yiwen" ^ t T # <( WZM} H « ' R ^ » ikX in Lin Qingzhang faUM and Li Xueqin $ * i i , Xin
chutu wenxianyuxian Qin sixiang, §f i&±.~XWM%M&MM.& (Taibei: Taiwan shufang, 2007), 139-49.
 13

sources and is called as a Legalist or a Huang-Laoist in others. In the Xunzi, Shen Dao

seems to be a proponent of fa £fe : He is preoccupied with^a, but is not aware of the

importance of the worthy 15; He esteems fa, but in fact he does have no fa}6 Shen Dao,

more generally, is associated with the view in the Hanfeizi that he emphasizes the notion

of shi §$, which makes him one of the founding legalist thinkers.17 In "Shenshi" \MM

chapter of the Liishi chunqiu, Shen Dao is described as a legalist, who claims the

importance of/a, shi, and fen jfr.l% This reference to Shen Dao seems to summarize those

of Xunzi and Han Feizi. Therefore, it is fair to say that the three texts describe Shen Dao

W
as an advocate of the so-called Legalist ideas. However, in "Tianxia" ^ T chapter of the

Zhuangzi, Shen Dao comes to be regarded as one of the Daoists, who deny the need of
IE
knowledge, but value inert passivity.
EV
It is not until the early Han that Shen Dao was classified as a particular school.

Sima Qian reports that Shen Dao "studied the technique of Huang-Lao Dao-De."19 Ban

Gu SE@ reads Shen Dao as a proponent of Fajia in the Honshu along with other thinkers.
PR

His classification of them is based on a division made by Liu Xin and Ban Gu subdivided

15
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{6
^:Mm,"mmmmm, T*&m#ft, ±H'jJSigfc±, T I » « I § , g a M t * . mm
z, wmmmmmm, ^mm^fr; ®mwz^&, ntzj&m, &^mmm^-. &mu
aim."
17
Considering the conventional interpretation that Han Feizi is influenced by the notion of Shen Dao's shi,
it is very interesting that Han Feizi mentions the name of Shen Dao only in "Nanshi" H ^ chapter.
18
Chen Qiyou M.^M states that the content of this chapter is Legalist, specifically related to Shen Dao's
thought. See his Liishi chunqiu xinjiaoshi S R # $ C 0 f t & ^ (Shanghai: Xuelin chubanshe,1984), 1121.
i9
s%7,2347. '"Kiy, MA. fflff. m?, & A . mm, MA. wmn^mmzm, ®%*mm%
 14

them into ten schools. Ban Gu's categorization of Shen Dao has been perpetuated by

bibliographers until the eighteenth century when the editors of the Siku quanshu

MM^kla remove Shen Dao from the Legalists to the Eclectics (Zajia $$.M). They

explain this change by saying that the fragmentary Shenzi known to them represents a

transition from Daoism to Legalism. The position of the Siku quanshu editors is clearly

preferable to efforts both earlier and later to force Shen Dao into one or other of the

traditional schools, or to treat him as if he were two entirely different philosophers.21 In

conclusion, the traditional texts attribute Shen Dao to the views of Daoism, Huang-

W
Laoism or Legalism. Also, he is regarded as a transition from Daoism to Legalism. These

traditional views have influenced modern scholars' understanding of Shen Dao in one

way or another.
IE
Among contemporary scholars Shen Dao has been interpreted in more complex
EV

ways as there have been new excavations and research on ancient Chinese law and the

so-called Huang-Lao school. The modern readings of Shen Dao, however, are not
PR

completely different from the positions of ancient scholars.

First of all, there is a legalist understanding of Shen Dao. For instance, in the

chapter "Criticism of Jixia Huang-Lao School, " Guo Moruo examines the descriptions

of Jixia academy by Sima Qian and categorizes the Jixia scholars into Confucian,

Yinyangist and Daoist. Using the statements of the "Tianxia" chapter of the Zhuangzi, he

continues to sub-categorize the Daoists as three groups: the school of Song Jian 9K$\ and

Yin Wen ^3t, of Tian Pian fflUf and Shen Dao, and of HuanYuan MM and Lao Dan

20
The authors which the Han catalogue mentions as belonging to Fajia are the following- Li Kui ^ t l ,
Shang Yang MWk, Chuzi ^f, Shen Dao \%3\, Han Fei § t # and You Dizi W^rf.
21
P.M.Thompson, 3-4.
 15

3£M-22 He states that the idea of Jixia Huang-Lao school is basically concerned with the

technique of Huang-Lao, which is called Daoism in the Han dynasty: The Huang-Lao

teaching appeared and developed in the state of Qi, the main tenet of which is the

metaphysical dao. He additionally addresses that Shen Dao develops Daoism into

Legalism and the current Shenzi fragments contain the idea of Legalism rather than

Huang-Lao. Therefore, his legalist idea comes out of Daosim. In other words, Guo

Moruo regards Shen Dao as a legalist, but the legalist ideas are influenced by Daoism,

which is equal to the Huang-Lao School of Jiixia academy in the Warring States period.24

W
In addition to Guo Moruo, Gao Yinxiu and Zhang Zhihua also state that the main idea of

Shen Dao is associated with Fajia rather than Daojia. Although Shen Dao, together with
IE
Lao-Zhuang, values Nature so that their starting points are similar, their conclusions are

not. While Laozi and Zhuangzi advocate non-action, renunciation of knowledge and
EV
PR

22
Guo Moruo MW^, Shipipan shu + f t t # J i r (Beijing: Dongfang chubanshe,1996), 159. He believes that
the sequence of reference of the "Tianxia" chapter reflects that of the development of Daoism. And, he
clams that Confucianism and Mohism are affected by Daoism and adds that Yinyangjia, Mingjia and Fajia
directly come out of the Daoism.
23
According to him, Han Fei is influenced by Shen Dao, but changes his ideas in a negative way by
combining them with the ideas of Shen Buhai and Guanyin H ^ \
24
Liu Bin SlJM is very similar in his view of Shen Dao to Guo Moruo despite a more emphasis on the
legalists aspect of Shen Dao. See his "Shenzi fazhi sixiang gaishu " tt^S$!lSSHit^, Guanzi xuekan if
I^PT1J(1998): 29-33. Wang Weixuan zEjgKllE also considers Shen Dao as one of the legalists in his "Lun
Shen Dao de faltt sixiang" t f t ' R S I f t J & ^ S i l , Qilu xuekan ^ # ^ f f j 4(1996): 62-65. They both examine
the ideas of Shen Dao from Marxist perspective of history: Shen Dao puts the interests of rulers before
those of the people. Their ideas are quite similar to that of Guo Moruo in that he, like most Chinese writers
in the field of Chinese legal history, considers the evolution of Chinese law and the penal system in light of
the Marxist historical viewpoint. Following the primitive stage there was class struggle in each of the
subsequent stages of human society, which is illustrated in Chinese history. Xia, Shang and Western Zhou
dynasties represent the period of slave law and its system of punishment, which are collapsed in the period
of the Spring and Autumn; It was during the Warring States period that feudal law and its system of
punishment were established.
 16

return to simplicity, Shen Dao claims humans should use discrimination {bian PM)

although he supports following the dao.25

Wu Guang, on the other hand, takes Shen Dao as a Daoist. He thinks that it is not

necessary to invent new terminology to describe different Classical thinkers and

additional terms such as Dao- Fa Jia M:-&^- will cause confusion rather than clarity when

it comes to understanding of the Warring States thinkers. In his view, Shen Dao has the

view both of Daojia and ofFajia, and his philosophy is different from that of Lao-

Zhuang. Moreover, Shen Dao's legal philosophy departs from those of Shang Yang and

W
Han Feizi in the sense that his view of law is based on Daojia.26 According to Wu Guang,

the basic ideas of Shen Dao are related to Daoism, but also have the features ofFajia.
IE
However, a more interesting understanding of Shen Dao comes from a debate as to
EV
whether Shen Dao is a Huang-Lao or not. For example, Kanaya Osamu regards Shen Dao

as a Dao-Fajia,27 which he regards as one of the Jixia schools. He argues that one must

distinguish the Li Kui- Shang Yang- Han Fei line of Legalism associated with Qin M and
PR

the San Jin E £ # area from the Dao-Fajia of the Jixia academy and the state of Qi. The

latter includes the works of Shen Dao, Shen Buhai, parts of the Guanzi and four contested

25
Gao Yinxiu iSifg^f and Zhang Zhihua 3M,"&^, "Shen Dao Fazhi sixiang jianlun" \%3\feP\&t$MWi,
Jinyangxuekan If P§#f!j(1988): 87-93. In addition, there are other scholars who classify Shen Dao as a
Legalist: Kimura Eiichi T f c t ^ — , Hoka shiso no kenkyu tkM&M(DWt% (Tokyo : Ozorasha, 1998);
Kano Naoki ^FSFIllh Chugoku tetsugakushi ^ U t T ^ i (Tokyo: Iwanami Shoten, 1953); Liu Zehua SJ
;
MW,Xian Qin zhengzhi sixiangshi 5k^fl&V'p-8.$l3fe (Tianjin : Nankai daxue chubanshe, 1984).
26
Wu Guang ^kjh, Huanglao zhi xue tonglun ^ ^ ^ . ^ J f i f r a (Hangzhou: Zhejiang renmin chubanshe,
1985), 84-88.
27
His earlier article about Shen Dao does not state that Shen Dao is a Dao-Fajia, but claims that Shen
Dao's main idea is shi §fy and is more related to Daoism than Legalism. Also, he does not accept the
authenticity of the current Shenzi fragments. See, "Shin To no shiso ni tsuite" tXPJtfX&Si t o l ^ T ,
Shukan Toyogaku 27(1962): 1-22. However, he uses another term, Dao-Fajia to describe Shen Dao's
thoughts since the so-called Huang-Lao Boshu was excavated.
 17

chapters of the Han Feizi: "Zhudao," "Yangquan," "Jielao," and " Yulao."28 The latter

contains the idea of Dao-Fa, which grounds objective law in a natural Dao. The Dao-

Fajia of the Jixia academy reemerged in the early Han as Huang-Lao thought. 29

Benjamin Schwartz also classifies Shen Dao holding Huang-Lao teachings,30claiming

that we can find a vision which does seem to fuse Daoist and Legalist themes. 31

Moreover, Tang Lan notes that several fragments attributed to Shen Dao are similar or

identical to passages in the Huang-Lao Boshu (Silk Manuscripts of Huang-Lao). He then

suggests that Shen Dao cites the Boshu.32

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However, several scholars do not agree with the statement that Shen Dao is a Huang-

Lao because his view of law is not similar to that of Huang-Lao. They consider that one
IE
EV

"Senshin ni okeru hoshiso no hatten"7fc^rf^$5H" <5¥£&M(DM.T$, 8. More specifically, Kanaya Osamu

identifies four different schools or philosophies of law: (1) weak legalism heavily influenced by
Confucianism (the "Mumin" chapter of Guanzi); (2) Daoist natural law ("Xinshu shang," " Shuyan,"
PR

"Junchen shang," and "Junchen xia," "Banfa" chapters of Guanzi; the four sections of Han Feizi and the
Huang-Lao Boshu); (3) positive law of Han Feizi and parts of the Guanzi ("Renfa," and "Mingga"); and
(4) the penal law of Li Kui and Shang Yang.
29
Kanaya Osamu sates that Huang-Lao is one of the Daoist ideas, which advocates political skills based on
Daoist thought. He additionally mentions the politics of Wuwei qingjing MWM^ as its specific content in
his chapter 2 and 3 of Shin Kan shiso shi kenkyu ^MMM$.^% (Kyoto: Heirakuji Shoten, 1992).
30
The World of Thought in Ancient China, 242-250.
31
Ibid., 247. Compared to Kanaya Osamu, Benjamin Schwartz claims that the Shenzi fragments deserve
more attention.
32
Tang Lan JSStJ claims that the Boshu must be earlier and therefore must be a work of the early fourth
century B.C.E because Shen Dao is associated with the Jixia academy during the reign of the Qi rulers Wei
and Xuan, see his "Mawangdui chutu Lao Zi yiben juanqian guyishu de yanjiu" ^ i i i h i j i h ^ T Z j ^ ^ M
"£19cllM#f 5t, Kaoguxuebao 1(1975), 11. Jiang Longhai £Lfi#i agrees with Tang Lan in that Shen Dao
is a Huang-Lao, pointing out similarities between the Huang-Lao Boshu and Shen Dao. Moreover, he
distinguishes Huang-Lao from Daoism. See his "Shen Dao ying shi Huang-Lao sixiangjia" iM3\M^.M^l
$.MM, Beijing daxue xuebao 1(1989): 110-116. There are also other scholars who label Shen Dao as a
Huang-Laoist. Ding Yuanming TIM^M, Huanglaoxue lungang Jt^^lmfjffl (Jinan: Shandong daxue
chubanshe, 1997); Chen Ligui l ^ M S , Zhanguo shiqi huanglao sixiang WM^M(ftH^SS
(Taibei: Lianjing chuban shiye gongsi, 1991); Pan Zhigeng # ^ 1 $ , "Shen Dao xuepai guishu wenti
zaibian " W&^WMM fflMUffi, Hebeixuakan 27.1(2007): 60-63.