Chinese philosophy originates in the Spring and Autumn period and Warring States period, during a period known as the "Hundred Schools of Thought", which was characterized by significant intellectual and cultural developments. Although much of Chinese philosophy begun in the Warring States period, elements of Chinese philosophy have existed for several thousand years. Some can be found in the I Ching, an ancient compendium of divination, which dates back to at least 672 BCE.
Gongsun Long, courtesy name Zibing, was a Chinese philosopher, writer, and member of the School of Names, also known as the Logicians, of ancient Chinese philosophy. Gongsun ran a school and received patronage from rulers, advocating peaceful means of resolving disputes amid the martial culture of the Warring States period. His collected works comprise the Gongsun Longzi (公孫龍子) anthology. Comparatively few details are known about his life, and much of his work has been lost—only six of the fourteen essays he originally authored are still extant.
Fajia, or the School of fa, often translated as Legalism, is a school of mainly Warring States period classical Chinese philosophy. Often interpreted in the West along realist lines, its members works contributed variously to the formation of the bureaucratic Chinese empire, and early elements of Daoism. The later Han takes Guan Zhong as forefather of the Fajia. Its more Legalistic figures include ministers Li Kui and Shang Yang, and more Daoistic figures Shen Buhai and philosopher Shen Dao, with the late Han Feizi drawing on both. Later centuries took Xun Kuang as a teacher of Han Fei and Li Si. Succeeding emperors and reformers often followed the templates set by Han Fei, Shen Buhai and Shang Yang, but the Qin to Tang were more characterized by their traditions.
Shen Buhai was a Chinese statesman, reformer and diplomat. The Shiji records that he served as Chancellor of the Han state under Marquis Zhao of Han for fifteen years, from 351 or 354 BC to his natural death in office in around 337 BC. A contemporary of syncretist Shi Jiao and Shang Yang, he was born in the State of Zheng, and was likely a minor official there. After Han conquered Zheng in 375 BC, he rose up in the ranks of the Han officialdom, dividing up its territories and reforming it's administration and military defenses.
Shen Dao was a mid Warring states period Chinese philosopher and writer. Early remembered modernly for his influence on the Han Feizi with regards the concept of shi, most of his work would appear to have concerned the concept of fa commonly shared by others that the Han Confucian archivists classified as "Legalist". In his time, Shen Dao was more concerned with having laws, and argues the value of bad laws over no laws. His remaining fragments are the most substantial of any Jixia Academy scholar.
Han Fei, also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince of the state of Han.
The Han Feizi is an ancient Chinese text attributed to the Legalist political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition, elucidating theories of state power, and synthesizing the methodologies of his predecessors. Its 55 chapters, most of which date to the Warring States period mid-3rd century BCE, are the only such text to survive fully intact. The Han Feizi is believed to contain the first commentaries on the Dao De Jing. Traditionally associated with the Qin dynasty, succeeding emperors and reformers were still influenced by Shen Buhai and the Han Feizi, with Shang Yang's current again coming to prominence in the time of Emperor Wu.
Wu wei is a polymorphic, ancient Chinese concept expressesing an ideal practice of "inaction", "inexertion" or "effortless action", as a state of personal harmony and free-flowing, spontaneous creative manifestation. Often centering on the behavior of the emperor, it most commonly refers to an ideal form of government. Wu wei emerged in the Spring and Autumn period, with early literary examples in the Classic of Poetry. It would become an important concept in the Confucian Analects, integrally connected to the Confucian ethic of practical morality as a state of spirit or being connecting intention and action. It would go on to become a central concept in "Legalist" statecraft and Daoism, including the political laissez-faire of the early Daoistic Han dynasty.
Zichan (c.581-522) was a Chinese statesman during the late Spring and Autumn period. From 543 until his death in 522 BCE, he served as the chief minister of the State of Zheng. Also known as Gongsun Qiao (traditional Chinese: 公孫僑; simplified Chinese: 公孙侨, he is better known by his courtesy name Zichan.
The White Horse Dialogue in Chinese philosophy is a debate between two unnamed speakers on a proposition often translated as 'a white horse is not a horse'. It appears in the Warring States period text Gongsun Longzi attributed to Gongsun Long, grouped under the philosophical School of Names in later taxonomies.
The Huainanzi is an ancient Chinese text consisting of a collection of essays resulting from a series of scholarly debates held at the court of Liu An, Prince of Huainan before 139 BCE. Compiled as a handbook for an enlightened sovereign and his court, the work attempts to define the conditions for a perfect socio-political order, derived mainly from a perfect ruler. Including Chinese folk theories of yin and yang and Wu Xing, the Huainanzi draws on Taoist, Legalist, Confucian, and Mohist concepts, but subverts the latter three in favor of a less active ruler, as prominent in the early Han dynasty before the Emperor Wu. The work is notable as a primary evidence of Zhuangzi influence in the Han.
The Guanzi is an anonymously written, foundational Chinese political and philosophical text. Compiled in the early Han dynasty, earlier versions potentially date back to the late Warring states period. At over 135,000 characters, it is one of the longest early Chinese philosophical texts. It covers broad subject matter, notably including price regulation of commodities via the concept of "light and heavy" (轻重). Despite its later dating, it is arguably one of the most representative texts of the concepts of political economy that developed during the Spring and Autumn period. Ming dynasty agricultural scientist Xu Guangqi still frequently cited the Guanzi and the Xunzi.
Sima Tan was a Chinese astrologist, astronomer, and historian during the Western Han dynasty. His work Records of the Grand Historian was completed by his son Sima Qian, who is considered the founder of Chinese historiography.
The rectification of names is originally a doctrine of feudal Confucian designations and relationships, behaving accordingly to ensure social harmony. Without such accordance society would essentially crumble and "undertakings would not be completed." Mencius extended the doctrine to include questions of political legitimacy.
Deng Xi was a Chinese philosopher and rhetorician associated with the School of Names. Once a senior official of the Zheng state, and a contemporary of Confucius, he is regarded as China's earliest known lawyer, with clever use of words and language in lawsuits. The Zuo Zhuan and Annals of Lü Buwei critically credit Deng with the authorship of a penal code, the earliest known statute in Chinese criminology entitled the "Bamboo Law". This was developed to take the place of the harsh, more Confucian criminal code developed by the Zheng statesman Zichan.
Huang–Lao was the most influential Chinese school of thought in the early Han dynasty, having its origins in a broader political-philosophical drive looking for solutions to strengthen the feudal order as depicted in Zhou politics. Not systematically explained by historiographer Sima Qian, it is generally interpreted as a school of Syncretism, developing into a major religion, the beginnings of religious Taoism.
State consequentialism is a modern minority theoretical interpretation of Mohist consequentialist ethics in Sinology, often intersecting with Chinese Legalism. Sinologist Fraser of the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy interprets Mohist consequentialism, dating back to the 5th century BC, as the "world's earliest form of consequentialism, a remarkably sophisticated version based on a plurality of intrinsic goods taken as constitutive of human welfare". An ancient Chinese State consequentialist might evaluate the moral worth of an action based on how it contributes to the basic goods of a more particular entity: a state, with social order, material wealth, and population growth valued by both Mohists and "Legalists" like Shang Yang. The term has also been applied to the political philosophy of the Confucian philosopher Xunzi.
Fa is a concept in Chinese philosophy that concerns aspects of ethics, logic, and law. It can be accurately translated as 'law' in some contexts, but as a 'model' or 'standard' for behavior in most ancient texts, namely the Mozi, with prominent examples including the performance of carpentry. Although theoretically earlier, Fa comes to prominence in the Mohist school of thought. An administrative use of fa (models) is prominently elaborated in Legalism, but figures in the school of names also used fa (models) for litigation. Given it's broadness, use of the term fa even included medical models (theories).
Gongsun Hong was a senior official in the Western Han dynasty under Emperor Wu. Together with the more famous Confucian scholar Dong Zhongshu, Gongsun was one of the earliest proponents of Confucianism, setting in motion its emergence under the Han court. The ideals and decrees both promoted would come to be seen as values-in-themselves, becoming the "basic elements, or even hallmarks" of Confucianism, although not necessarily officially during his lifetime. While first proposed and more ardently promoted by Dong, the national academy and Imperial examination, then considered radical, did not come into existence until they were supported by the more successful Gongsun. Their establishment set a precedent that would last into the twentieth century.
