Shen Dao
Shen Dao (Chinese: 慎到; c. 350 – c. 275 BC) was a Chinese philosopher and writer. He was a "Chinese Legalist" theoretician most remembered for his influence on Han Fei with regards to the concept of shi (circumstantial advantage or authority), but most of his book concerns the concept of fa (administrative methods & standards) more commonly shared among "Legalists". Compared with western schools, Shen Dao considered laws that are not good "still preferable to having no laws at all."
| Born | c. 350 BC |
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| Died | c. 275 BC |
| Era | Ancient philosophy |
| Region | Chinese philosophy |
| School | Legalism |
Main interests | Fa (concept) |
| Shen Dao | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 慎到 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Chinese | 慎子 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Literal meaning | "Master Shen" | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Part of a series on |
| Chinese legalism |
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Usually referred to as "Master Shen" ("Shenzi" 慎子) for his writings, very little is known of Shen Dao's life. An itinerant Chinese philosopher from Zhao, he was probably born about 350 BC, travelling to the city of Linzi (modern Zibo, Shandong) in 300 BC to become a member of the Jixia Academy. Shen probably left Linzi after its capture by the state of Yan in 285 BC, possibly moving to the Han kingdom and absorbing the "Legalist" tradition there. He died roughly 10 years later.