Part of a series on
Chinese legalism
Figures Guan Zhong Marquess Wen of Wei Li Kui Duke Xiao of Qin Shang Yang Shen Buhai Wu Qi Shen Dao Zhang Yi Han Fei Li Si Qin Shi Huang
Han figures Jia Yi Emperor Wen of Han Emperor Wu of Han Chao Cuo Gongsun Hong Zhang Tang Huan Tan Wang Fu Zhuge Liang
Later figures Emperor Wen of Sui Du You Wang Anshi Li Shanchang Zhang Juzheng Xu Guangqi
Relevant texts Guanzi The Book of Lord Shang Shenzi (both books) Han Feizi Wuzi Wei Liaozi Annals of Lü Buwei Huang-Lao
Relevant articles Rectification of names Wu wei Discourses on Salt and Iron Criticize Lin, Criticize Confucius

Shen Dao (c. 350 – c. 275 BC) was a mid Warring states period Chinese philosopher and writer. Noteworthy as a predecessor to both Han Fei and Daoism,^[1] his remaining fragments are the most substantial of any Jixia Academy scholar,^[2] and may have been well known.^[3] Early remembered modernly for his influence on the Han Feizi with regards the concept of shi (勢; 'power', 'potential', circumstantial advantage or authority), most of his work would appear to have concerned the concept of fa (administrative methods and standards) 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. However, he is otherwise more focused on administration, and can historically be compared more with administrator Shen Buhai than the legalistic Shang Yang. Xun Kuang recalls both of them, taking Shen Buhai as more focused on power, and Shen Dao more focused on fa, but neither may have been familiar with Shang Yang. Although discussing reward and punishment, Shen Dao advocates their distribution more through impartial administrative mechanisms or standards (fa) than laws.^[4]

Usually referred to as "Shenzi" (慎子 'Master Shen') for his writings, very little is known of Shen Dao's life. An itinerant philosopher from the state of Zhao, he was probably born about 350 BC, travelling to the city of Linzi (modern Zibo in Shandong) in 300 BC to become a member of the Jixia Academy. He probably left Linzi after its capture by the state of Yan in 285 BC.^[5] Chinese scholars speculate that he may have been familiar with Shen Buhai, as Xun Kuang was later.^[6]

Thompson states that the Shenzi was available until the fall of the Tang dynasty, though not in its original edition.^[7] Shen Dao's own original 42 essays have been lost. With only 7 fragments still extant, he is known largely through short references and the writings of others, notably the Han Feizi and Zhuangzi. A critical reconstruction of the lost Shenzi was made by Paul Thompson, and published in 1979 as The Shen Tzu Fragments.^{[citation needed]}

In 2007, the Shanghai Museum published a collection of texts written on bamboo slips from the state of Chu dating to the Warring States period, including six bamboo slips with sayings of Shenzi.^[8] These are the only known examples of the text of Shenzi that are contemporaneous with its composition.

Xun Kuang considered Shen's style grandiose.^[9]

Although Han Fei would generally be considered authoritarian, figures like Shen Dao were not necessarily always more authoritarian for their time.^[10] Advocating that administrative machinery (fa) be used to impartially determine rewards and punishments,^[11][12] Shen Dao otherwise advocates that the realm be literally modeled off the natural world.^[13]

Making use of the term "Dao" without cosmological or metaphysical reference,^[14] the Shenzi serves as noteworthy precursor to both Daoism and Han Fei. Posthumously, he is also sometimes classified as Taoist.^[15] The Zhuangzi takes his "fundamental" principle as the "equality of all things",^[16] so that Wang Fuzhi speculated that it's chapter on "Seeing Things as Equal" was actually written by Shen Dao.^[17] As opposed to the egoist Yang Zhu, Shen Dao is characterized by the Zhuangzi as impartial and lacking selfishness, his great way embracing all things.^[18]

The Han Feizi's Chapter 40 "Nanshi" also quotes from Shen Dao alongside the Zhuangzi, supporting its discussion with a spear-and-shield parable. Although Han Fei discusses Shen Dao in relation to power, it is a not a naked concept of power, but one based in "relying on circumstances", which fits right in with the Zhuangzi. Both discussions of him even use the same kind of imagery of being "tossed" or "driven" by the wind. Mencius also discusses Shi.^[19] Shen Dao might also have influenced a later chapter of the Shangjunshu, but there is not enough evidence to demonstrate it's discussion came from him.^[20]

Now, to bring together worthiness that cannot forbid anything and shih that forbids everything is a `halberd-and-shield' fallacy. Clearly enough, worthiness and circumstances are incompatible with each other.

Benjamin I. Schwarz characterized Shen Dao's convictions as Daoisticly indifferent, likening him to the 'inert passive clod' described in the last chapters of the Zhuangzi. Speculating that Shen Dao's philosophy similarly involves a ruler free from the turbulence of emotion or moral responsibility, Schwarz takes Shen Dao as seeing the impersonal structure of political authority and human society to be expressions of the spontaneous Dao in human civilization. Shen Dao rejects individual judgment, moral agents, sages, and, like other figures of the fajia, the "subjective intentionality of noble men." By contrast, Han Fei does not completely disregard the role of great men.^[21]

Although the Zhuangzi takes him as rejecting sages and lacking in "standards of conduct",^[22] Shen Dao was otherwise content to leave questions of li (rites) to custom.^[23] Mencius advocated that Emperor Shun would run away with his father if he had committed murder, rather than see him arrested. Like Mencius, Shen Dao still upheld filial piety even if the parents are bad, but instead suggests that parents can be reproached if it might save them from disaster. Not considering Confucian values like filial piety sufficient for governing the state, Shen Dao advocates the ruler encourage faith in rules by acting according to rules, and not abandon the throne to help murderous family members escape.^[24]

Taking his opponents as "beclouded" by particular aspects of the Way, Xun Kuang criticizes Shen Dao in particular as obsessed with the emulation of models (fa) rather than the employment of worthy men, and that he does not necessarily decide on one model as correct. Shen Dao was more concerned that there be laws than with their particulars. Xun Kuang is of the opinion that his laws (or models) lack 'proper foundations', and will not be successful in ordering the state. But Xun Kuang doesn't oppose him just for advocating fa models or laws. Xun Kuang also discusses fa.^[25] Rather than law itself, Xun Kuang opposes litigation and paradoxes, as found in the school of names.^[23]

Graham characterizes Shen as a theoretician of centralized power.^[27] He espouses an impersonal administration in much the same sense as Shen Buhai, and in contrast with Shang Yang emphasizes the use of talent^[28] and the promotion of ministers, saying that order and chaos are "not the product of one man's efforts." He also argued for Wu wei, or the non action of the ruler, along the same lines as Shen Buhai, saying

The Dao of ruler and ministers is that the ministers labour themselves with tasks while the prince has no task; the prince is relaxed and happy while the ministers bear responsibility for tasks. The ministers use all their intelligence and strength to perform his job satisfactorily, in which the ruler takes no part, but merely waits for the job to be finished. As a result, every task is taken care of. The correct way of government is thus.^[29][30]

However he challenges the Confucian and Mohist esteem and appointment of worthies as a basis of order, pointing out that talented ministers existed in every age. Taking it upon himself to attempt a new, analytical solution, Shen advocated fairness as a new virtue. Scholar Sugamoto Hirotsugu attributes the concept of Fen, or social resources, later used by the Guanzi and Xunzi, to Shen, given a "dimensional" difference through Fa (measurement, standards, protocol, administrative method), social relationships ("yin") and division. Shen Dao eschews appointment by interview in favour of a mechanical distribution ("the basis of fairness") with the invariable Fa apportioning every person according to their achievement.^[31]

If one rabbit runs through a town street, and a hundred chase it, it is because its distribution has not been determined... If the distribution has already been determined, even the basest people will not fight for it. The way to control All-under-Heaven and the country lies solely in determining distribution.

The greatest function of Fa ("the principle of objective judgement") is the prevention of selfish deeds and argument. However, doubting its long-term viability Shen did not exclude moral values and accepted (qualified) Confucian Li's supplementation of Fa and social relationships, though he frames Li in terms of (impersonal) rules.^[32]

"The state has the li of high and low rank, but not a li of men of worth and those without talent. There is a li of age an youth, but not of age and cowardice. There is a li of near and distant relatives, but no li of love and hate."

For this reason he is said to "laugh at men of worth" and "reject sages", his order relying not on them but on the Fa.^[33]

Linking Fa to the notion of impartial objectivity associated with universal interest, and reframing the language of the old ritual order to fit a universal, imperial and highly bureaucratized state,^[34] Shen cautions the ruler against relying on his own personal judgment,^[35] contrasting personal opinions with the merit of the objective standard, or fa, as preventing personal judgements or opinions from being exercised. Personal opinions destroy Fa, and Shen Dao's ruler therefore "does not show favoritism toward a single person."^[34]

When an enlightened ruler establishes [gong] ("duke" or "public interest"), [private] desires do not oppose the correct timing [of things], favoritism does not violate the law, nobility does not trump the rules, salary does not exceed [that which is due] one's position, a [single] officer does not occupy multiple offices, and a [single] craftsman does not take up multiple lines of work ... [Such a ruler] neither overworked his heart-mind with knowledge nor exhausted himself with self-interest (si), but, rather, depended on laws and methods for settling matters of order and disorder, rewards and punishments for deciding on matters of right and wrong, and weights and balances for resolving issues of heavy or light ...^[34]

It is said: "When the great lord relies on fa and does not act personally, affairs are judged in accordance with (objective) method (fa)." The benefit of fa is that each person meets his reward or punishment according to his due, and there are no further expectations of the lord. Thus resentment does not arise and superiors and inferiors are in harmony. If the lord of men abandons method (Fa) and governs with his own person, then penalties and rewards, seizures and grants, will all emerge from the lord's mind. If this is the case, then those who receive rewards, even if these are commensurate, will ceaselessly expect more; those who receive punishment, even if these are commensurate, will endlessly expect more lenient treatment... people will be rewarded differently for the same merit and punished differently for the same fault. Resentment arises from this.^{[36][37]: 129 [38]}

Although sinologist Creel (1970:63) believed that Shen had the same sort of administrative idea denoted by Shen Buhai's Xing-Ming, he notes that he does not use the term.^[39]

Shen Dao, as the Han Feizi's figure for shi, was a much later figure than Shang Yang and Shen Buhai. However, Used in many areas of Chinese thought shi probably originated in the military field.^[40] Diplomats relied on concepts of situational advantage and opportunity, as well as secrecy (shu) long before the ascendency of such concepts as sovereignty or law, and were used by kings wishing to free themselves from the aristocrats.^[41] Sun Tzu would go on to incorporate Taoist philosophy of inaction and impartiality, as well as punishment and rewards as systematic measures of organization, recalling Han Fei's concepts of power (shi) and tactics (shu).^[42]

On the shi of The Art of War, relatable to Shen Dao's, Henry Kissinger says: "Chinese statesmanship exhibits a tendency to view the entire strategic landscape as part of a single whole... Strategy and statecraft become means of 'combative coexistence' with opponents. The goal is to maneuver them into weakness while building up one's own shi, or strategic position." Kissinger considers the "maneuvering" approach an ideal, but one that ran in contrast to the conflicts of the Qin dynasty.^[43]

The older works of Jacques Gernet and A.C. Graham in particular took the Legalists as understanding that the power of the state resides in social and political institutions, innovative in their aim to subject the state to them.^[44] Like Shen Buhai, Shen Dao largely focused on statecraft (Fa), and Confucian Xun Kuang discusses him in this capacity, never referencing Shen Dao in relation to power.^[45] Shen Dao is remembered for his theories on shi (lit. "situational advantage", but also "power" or "charisma") because Han Fei references him in this capacity.^[46]

Searching out the causes of disorder, Shen Dao observed splits in the ruler's authority.^[47] Shen Dao's theory on power echoes Shen Buhai, referenced by Xun Kuang as its originator, who says "He who (can become) singular decision-maker can become the sovereign of All under Heaven".^[48][49] Shen Dao's theory may otherwise have been borrowed from the Book of Lord Shang.^[50]

For Shen Dao, "Power" (Shih) refers to the ability to compel compliance requiring no support from its subjects, though it does not preclude this.^[46] (Shih's) merit is that it prevents people from fighting each other; political authority is justified and essential on this basis.^[51] Shen Dao says: "When All under Heaven lacks the single esteemed [person], then there is no way to carry out the principles [of orderly government, li 理].... Hence the Son of Heaven is established for the sake of All under Heaven... All under Heaven is not established for the sake of the Son of Heaven..."^[49]

Talent cannot be displayed without power.^[52] Shen Dao says: "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."^[46] Leadership is not a function of ability or merit, but is given by some a process, such as giving a leader to a group.^[53] "The ruler of a state is enthroned for the sake of the state; the state is not established for the sake of the prince. Officials are installed for the sake of their offices; offices are not established for the sake of officials...^[34][54]

Usually disregarded by the other figures, Shen Dao considers moral capability useful in terms of authority. If the ruler is inferior but his command is practised, it is because he is able to get support from people.^[46] But his ideas otherwise constitute a "direct challenge" to Confucian Virtue.^[55] Virtue is unreliable because people have different capacities. Both morality together with intellectual capability are insufficient to rule, while position of authority is enough to attain influence and subdue the worthy, making virtue "not worth going after."^[56]

• Rubin, Vitali (1974). "Shen Tao and Fa-Chia". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 94 (3): 337–346. doi:10.2307/600068. JSTOR 600068.
• Ching, Julia (1991). Sages and Filial Sons: Mythology and Archaeology in Ancient China. Chinese University Press. ISBN 978-962-201-469-5.
• Cua, Antonio S. (2003). Encyclopedia of Chinese Philosophy. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-135-36755-8.
• Graham, A.C. (1989). Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China. Open Court. ISBN 978-0-8126-9942-5.
• Goldin, Paul R. (2011). "Persistent Misconceptions about Chinese "Legalism"". Journal of Chinese Philosophy. 38 (1): 88–104.
• Goldin, Paul R. (2012). Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei. University of Pennsylvania: Springer. ISBN 978-0-19-760347-5.
• Goldin, Paul R. (2013), "Han Fei and the Han Feizi", Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei (PDF), Springer, ISBN 978-9-400-74318-2 – via the University of Pennsylvania
• Hansen, Chad (1992). A Daoist Theory of Chinese Thought. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-535076-0.
• Hansen, Chad (2020). "Daoism". In Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.). Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2020 ed.). Retrieved 19 February 2024.
• Harris, Eirik Lang (2016). The Shenzi Fragments. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231542166.
• Pines, Yuri (2017). The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China. Abridged Edition. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-55038-3.
• Fraser, Chris (2011). Oxford Handbook of World Philosophy. Oup USA. ISBN 978-0-19-532899-8.
• Knechtges, David R. (2014). "Shenzi 慎子". In Knechtges, David R.; Chang, Taiping (eds.). Ancient and Early Medieval Chinese Literature: A Reference Guide, Part Two. Leiden: Brill. pp. 871–874. ISBN 978-90-04-19240-9.
• Liu Xiaogan (1994). Classifying the Zhuangzi Chapters. Michigan Monographs in Chinese Studies, vol. 65. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. doi:10.3998/mpub.19186. ISBN 9780472901340.

• The Shenzi Fragments: A Philosophical Analysis and Translation translated by Eirik Lang Harris, 2016, Columbia University Press

• Shen Dao: Text and Translation
• Hong Kong University Philosophy Department, Shen Dao
• Surviving text of the Shenzi
• 慎到
• 慎到與《慎子》考
• Works by Dao Shen at Project Gutenberg