This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 49 (Five Vermin) argues governance must adapt to changing eras. It denounces five harmful social groups sapping state strength, advocating strict law‑reward‑punishment and prioritizing farming‑warfare over empty moral rhetoric.
This Han Feizi ‑ Chapter 36.2 advances the famous spear and shield paradox. It critiques Confucian moral example governance via Yao and Shun tales, arguing institutional rewards punishments outperform sages’ personal toil.
This Zhuangzi ‑ Qiushui (Autumn Floods) excerpt uses He Bo and Sea God’s dialogue to teach relativism of size and values. It includes well‑known parables like the well‑frog and the fish‑joy debate, urging humility and natural spontaneity.
Mencius said: “When the traces of the sage-kings faded, the civilization of rites and music represented by The Book of Songs (Book of Poetry) thus came to an end; and after that, the Spring and Autumn Annals emerged. The Cheng of Jin, the Taowu of Chu, and the Spring and Autumn Annals of Lu…