Scholars › Philosopher / Thinker
Hui Shi
Warring States thinker from Song who served as chancellor to King Hui of Wei and was Zhuangzi's friend and sparring partner in debate
A thatched pavilion open on three sides stands among tall bamboo; one person sits with their back turned at the veranda rail beside a zither and a stack of bamboo slips, while a stone path runs to a calm pond reflecting clouds and distant hills.
Also known as Hui Zi
Hui Shi, known as Huizi, came from the state of Song and was a contemporary of Zhuangzi. He spent many years as chancellor of Wei under King Hui, and the Annals of Lu Buwei (Lushi chunqiu) says he drafted laws for Wei and backed the plan for the rulers of Qi and Wei to recognise each other as kings. When Zhang Yi rose in Wei he was pushed out and went to Chu and then back to Song. The Zhuangzi chapter on the world says Hui Shi had many arts and books enough to fill five carts, and records ten of his propositions, beginning with the greatest that has nothing outside it, the Great One. The Zhuangzi also tells of the two men arguing on a bridge over the Hao about whether fish are happy, and of Zhuangzi passing Hui Shi's grave and sighing that he had no one left to argue with. The Han imperial catalogue lists a Huizi in one chapter, now lost.
Life and times
Dates c. 370 BCE–c. 310 BCE