Editing Chinese philosophy (section)

=== Warring States period ===

==== Legalism ====
{{Main|Legalism (Chinese philosophy)}}

Philosopher [[Han Fei]] synthesized together earlier the methods of his predecessors, which famous historian [[Sima Tan]] posthumously termed Legalism. With an essential principle like "when the epoch changed, the ways changed", late pre-[[Han dynasty]] reformers emphasized rule by law.

In Han Fei's philosophy, a ruler should govern his subjects by the following trinity:
#''Fa'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=法|p=fǎ}}): law or principle.
#''Shu'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=術|p=shù}}): method, tactic, art, or statecraft.
#''Shi'' ({{lang-zh|labels=no|t=勢|p=shì}}): legitimacy, power, or charisma.

What has been termed by some as the intrastate Realpolitik of the Warring States period was highly progressive, and extremely critical of the Confucian and Mohist schools. But that of the [[Qin dynasty]] would be blamed for creating a [[totalitarian]] society, thereby experiencing decline. Its main motto is: "Set clear strict laws, or deliver harsh punishment". In Han Fei's philosophy the ruler possessed authority regarding reward and penalty, enacted through law. Shang Yang and Han Fei promoted absolute adherence to the law, regardless of the circumstances or the person. Ministers were only to be rewarded if their words were accurate to the results of their proposals. Legalism, in accordance with Shang Yang's interpretation, could encourage the state to be a [[militarism|militaristic]] [[autarky]].

====Naturalists====

{{Main|School of Naturalists}}

The [[School of Naturalists]] or the School of Yin-yang ({{zh|t=陰陽家|p=Yīnyángjiā|w=Yin-yang-chia|l=School of Yin-Yang|c=}}) was a [[Warring States]] era philosophy that synthesized the concepts of [[yin-yang]] and the ''[[Wuxing (Chinese philosophy)|wuxing]]''; [[Zou Yan]] is considered the founder of this school.<ref>{{cite encyclopedia|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607826/Zou-Yan|title=Zou Yan|encyclopedia=Encyclopædia Britannica|access-date=1 March 2011|archive-date=26 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150426150251/http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/607826/Zou-Yan|url-status=live}}</ref> His theory attempted to explain the universe in terms of basic forces in nature: the complementary agents of yin (dark, cold, female, negative) and yang (light, hot, male, positive) and the Five Elements or Five Phases (water, fire, wood, metal, and earth).

In its early days, this theory was most strongly associated with the states of [[Yan (state)|Yan]] and [[Qi (state)|Qi]]. In later periods, these epistemological theories came to hold significance in both philosophy and popular belief.  This school was absorbed into Taoism's alchemic and magical dimensions as well as into the Chinese medical framework. The earliest surviving recordings of this are in the [[Mawangdui Silk Texts|Mawangdui]] texts and ''[[Huangdi Neijing]]''.

==== Mohism ====
{{Main|Mohism}}

[[Mohism]] (Moism), founded by [[Mozi]], promotes universal love with the aim of mutual benefit. Everyone must love each other equally and impartially to avoid conflict and war. Mozi was strongly against Confucian ritual, instead emphasizing [[pragmatism|pragmatic]] survival through farming, [[fortification]], and [[Public administration|statecraft]]. Tradition is inconsistent, and human beings need an extra-traditional guide to identify which traditions are acceptable. The moral guide must then promote and encourage social behaviors that maximize general benefit. As motivation for his theory, Mozi brought in the ''Will of Heaven'', but rather than being religious his philosophy parallels [[utilitarianism]].

==== Logicians ====

{{Main|School of Names}}

The logicians (School of Names) were concerned with logic, paradoxes, names and actuality (similar to Confucian rectification of names). The logician [[Hui Shi]] was a friendly rival to [[Zhuang Zhou|Zhuangzi]], arguing against Taoism in a light-hearted and humorous manner. Another logician, [[Gongsun Long]], originated the famous [[When a White Horse is Not a Horse]] dialogue.

==== Agriculturalists ====

{{main|Agriculturalism}}

[[Agriculturalism]] was an early [[Agrarianism|agrarian]] social and political philosophy that advocated peasant [[utopian]] communalism and [[egalitarianism]].<ref name="wp">{{cite book|last= Deutsch |first=Eliot |author2=Ronald Bontekoei|year=1999 | page= 183|title=A companion to world philosophies|publisher=Wiley Blackwell}}</ref> The philosophy is founded on the notion that human society originates with the development of [[agriculture]], and societies are based upon "people's natural propensity to farm."<ref name="js">{{cite book|last= Sellmann |first=James Daryl|year=2010 | page= 76|title=Timing and rulership in Master Lü's Spring and Autumn annals|publisher=SUNY Press}}</ref>

The Agriculturalists believed that the ideal government, modeled after the semi-mythical governance of [[Shennong]], is led by a benevolent king, one who works alongside the people in tilling the fields. The Agriculturalist king is not paid by the government through its treasuries; his livelihood is derived from the profits he earns working in the fields, not his leadership.<ref name="dw">{{cite book|last= Denecke|first=Wiebke|year=2011 | page= 38|title=The Dynamics of Masters Literature: Early Chinese Thought from Confucius to Han Feizi|publisher=Harvard University Press}}</ref> Unlike the Confucians, the Agriculturalists did not believe in the [[division of labour]], arguing instead that the economic policies of a country need to be based upon an egalitarian [[self sufficiency]]. The Agriculturalists supported the [[price fixing|fixing of prices]], in which all similar goods, regardless of differences in quality and demand, are set at exactly the same, unchanging price.<ref name="dw" />