Hui Shi

Hui Shi (c. 370 – c. 310 BC) was a Chinese philosopher who founded the School of Names, also known as School of Logicians, or Dialecticians. His exact dates of birth and death are still debated which ranges from c. 380 to c. 290. He hailed from the state of Song, and acted for a long time as Counsellor-in-chief in the state of Wei. A book Huizi, said to be compiled by him or his disciples, is lost. Nevertheless, his thoughts are preserved in the books Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Hanfeizi, Zhanguoce, Lüshi chunqiu and Shuoyuan. He emphasized on changeability and relativity of reality. He was interested in how things were interrelated.

Wisdom & Quotes

• The sun exactly at noon is exactly beginning to go down. And a creature exactly when he is born is exactly beginning to die.
• The south has a limit and no limit.

The sun is declining when it is at high noon.
A creature is dying when it is born.

• Hui Shi's 10 propositions:

1. The largest thing has nothing beyond it; it is called the One of largeness. The smallest thing has nothing within it; it is called the One of smallness.
2. That which has no thickness cannot be piled up; yet it is a thousand li in dimension.
3. Heaven is as low as earth; mountains and marshes are on the same level.
4. The sun at noon is the sun setting. The thing born is the thing dying.
5. Great similarities are different from little similarities; these are called the little similarities and differences. The ten thousand things are all similar and are all different; these are called the great similarities and differences.
6. The southern region has no limit and yet has a limit.
7. I set off for Yueh today and came there yesterday.
8. Linked rings can be separated.
9. I know the center of the world: it is north of Yen and south of Yueh.
10. Let love embrace the ten thousand things; Heaven and earth are a single body.

• A madman is running towards the east, the man who chases after him also running towards the east. They are similar in running towards the east, but different in why they run towards the east.

- quoted in Chinese Culture (1996)

Chuang-Tzu