Hui Shi

▪ Chinese philosopher

Wade-Giles romanization  Hui Shih  

born 380 BCE, Song, in modern Henan, China

      Chinese philosopher, an outstanding representative of the early Chinese school of thought known as the dialecticians (Logician).

      As a result of their preoccupation with paradox and linguistic puzzles, the dialecticians have always been separated from the mainstream of Chinese philosophy, which was primarily concerned with ethics and proper government. It is not surprising then that Hui Shi's writings, which at one time supposedly numbered more than could fill a cart, have been lost and that he is known best for his “Ten Paradoxes,” which are quoted in the famous Daoist work Zhuangzi. These paradoxes have attracted much interest in modern times because of their similarity to concurrent developments in Western philosophy, especially the famous paradoxes of (paradoxes of Zeno) the Greek philosopher Zeno of Elea (c. 495–c. 430).

      Hui Shi appears as a character in many of the classical sources—e.g., Hanfeizi, Xunzi, Lushichunqiu. In each case he is depicted in a different way: maladroit sophist, teacher of heterodoxy, skillful analogist.

      Generally speaking, Hui Shi's doctrine, which bears some resemblance to Daoist thought, is based on a theory of relativity growing out of an atomistic view of space and time. His first paradox is “the greatest has nothing within itself and is called the great unit, the smallest has nothing within itself and is called the small unit.” The Zhuangzi, in what many have felt to be a not injudicious appraisal of Hui Shi as a thinker, says that his “doctrines were contradictory and his sayings missed the mark.”

      In spite of criticism, Hui apparently had a great following in his day and traveled throughout China with his disciples, advising kings and ministers. He became a minister of the state of Liang and wrote a new code of law that found favour with both the ruler and the people of the state. According to tradition, he was so successful in his public service that King Hui of Liang (reigned 371–320 BCE) once offered the state to him.

* * *