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From the pre-Qin masters to the great minds of later ages, these are the names that shaped the Chinese spirit — step into their lives, ideas and worlds.
Browse the river of lives by their dates, or follow the currents of each school to meet every thinker.
26
Thinkers
10
Schools
2500+
Years of Thought
Ordered by lifespan · click a name to jump
Twenty-six thinkers — the faces and voices of ten schools.
551–479 BCE
Confucius (551–479 BCE), given name Qiu and courtesy name Zhongni, was a native of the State of Lu in the late Spring and Autumn period and the founder of Confucianism. He advanced the core ideas of ren (benevolence), li (ritual propriety), and the Zhongyong (Golden Mean), edited the Six Classics of Songs, Documents, Rites, Music, Changes, and the Spring and Autumn Annals, opened private schools, and had three thousand disciples. His words and deeds were compiled into the Analects, which profoundly shaped Chinese and East Asian civilization.
372-289 BCE
Mencius (372–289 BCE), personal name Ke, was a native of Zou in the Warring States period and a representative of Confucianism, honored as the Second Sage. He advocated the theory of the goodness of human nature, proposed the Four Beginnings, promoted benevolent governance and the kingly way, and emphasized that the people are most important and the ruler least. His thought, transmitted through the seven books of the Mencius, has had a profound influence on later Confucianism and East Asian culture.
ca. 571-ca. 471 BCE
Laozi, surnamed Li, given name Er, courtesy name Dan, was a thinker of the late Spring and Autumn period and the founder of the Daoist school. He authored the Daodejing, proposing that Dao is the origin of the universe and advocating Wu Wei Er Zhi (governing through non-action). His thought has exerted a profound influence on Chinese and world philosophy.
ca. 369 – ca. 286 BCE
Zhuangzi (ca. 369 – ca. 286 BCE) was a representative figure of Daoism during the Warring States period. He inherited Laozi's thought and advocated free and easy wandering, the equality of things, and the Dao following nature. His work, the Zhuangzi, is famous for its fables and philosophical depth, and has had a profound influence on later philosophy, literature, and art. He is honored as the True Man of Nanhua.
ca. 450–ca. 375 BCE
Liezi (ca. 450–375 BCE), personal name Yukou, was a native of Zheng in the Warring States period and a representative of Daoism, honored as the True Man of Emptiness and Tranquility. He advocated 'valuing emptiness' and 'following fate'. His work Liezi contains many parables, such as The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains and Kuafu Chases the Sun, exerting a profound influence on later thought and literature.
?–536
Bodhidharma (?–536), a native of South India, came to China during the Northern and Southern Dynasties to transmit the Dharma and is revered as the First Patriarch of Chinese Chan Buddhism. He is famous for the legend of crossing the river on a single reed and facing a wall for nine years at Shaolin Temple on Mount Song. He advocated the Chan method of the Two Entries and Four Practices and transmitted the Lankavatara Sutra for mind-sealing, initiating the Chinese Chan intellectual tradition.
638-713
Huineng (638-713), the Sixth Patriarch of Chan Buddhism during the Tang dynasty, centered his thought on sudden enlightenment to Buddhahood and authored the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch. He broke the aristocracy's monopoly on Buddhism, brought Chan deeply into the common people, and made it the most distinctively Chinese school of Buddhism.
602-664 CE
Xuanzang (602-664) was a renowned Tang dynasty monk, translator, and traveler, and the founder of the Faxiang Consciousness-Only school. He journeyed west to India for seventeen years in search of the Dharma, bringing back and translating 1,335 scrolls of Buddhist scriptures, and authored the Great Tang Records on the Western Regions. His Consciousness-Only thought and translation work profoundly influenced Buddhism in China and East Asia.
ca. 395-338 BCE
Shang Yang (ca. 395-338 BCE), a descendant of the Wey nobility and a representative Legalist of the Warring States period, strengthened Qin from weakness to strength through two rounds of reforms and laid the foundation for unification. His thought centered on law, technique, and power, advocating heavy punishments and generous rewards, abolition of the well-field system and opening of field boundaries, and encouragement of agriculture and war. He wrote the Book of Lord Shang, which had a profound influence on later politics.
ca. 280-233 BCE
Han Fei (ca. 280-233 BCE) was a prince of the state of Han in the late Warring States period and the great synthesizer of Legalist thought. A student of Xunzi, he fused Shang Yang's law, Shen Buhai's method, and Shen Dao's power to construct a system of imperial rule grounded in law and employing both method and power. He wrote the fifty-five chapters of the Han Feizi, was valued by Qin Shi Huang, and later died after being slandered by Li Si. His thought laid the theoretical foundation of Chinese imperial politics and had a profound influence.
ca. 284-208 BCE
Li Si (ca. 284–208 BCE) was a politician and representative Legalist figure from the late Warring States period to the Qin dynasty. He assisted Qin Shi Huang in unifying the realm, implemented the system of commanderies and counties, standardized the script and weights and measures, and designed the centralized system. He was later executed by being cut in half at the waist due to Zhao Gao's machinations. His thought and deeds are recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Li Si.
ca. 545-470 BCE
Sun Wu, a representative figure of the Military School in the late Spring and Autumn period, is revered as the Supreme Sage of War. His thirteen-chapter Art of War constructs an Eastern military philosophy with thoughts such as cautious warfare, complete victory, and knowing both self and enemy, influencing the entire world.
ca. 380-320 BCE
Sun Bin (ca. 380–320 BCE) was a military strategist of the State of Qi during the Warring States period and a representative of the Military School. He studied under Guiguzi alongside Pang Juan, but was later framed by Pang Juan and crippled, escaping to Qi. He assisted Tian Ji and won a major victory over Wei at Guiling using the 'besiege Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy, and later annihilated the main Wei forces at the Battle of Maling. He authored Sun Bin's Art of War, inheriting Sun Wu's concept of 'cautious warfare,' emphasizing 'victory in war brings strength and stability,' and proposing ideas such as 'among all that lies between heaven and earth, none is more precious than man,' profoundly influencing later military theory.
ca. 440-381 BCE
Wu Qi (ca. 440–381 BCE) was a representative figure of the School of Military Strategy in the early Warring States period. He served in the states of Lu, Wei, and Chu, and was known for combining military and political expertise. In Wei, he created the Wei Wuzu and authored the Wuzi Bingfa; in Chu, he presided over reforms that made the state powerful. His military thought and reform practices had a profound influence on later generations, and he is jointly known with Sun Wu as 'Sun-Wu.'
ca. 320–250 BCE
Gongsun Long (ca. 320–250 BCE) was a representative figure of the School of Names during the Warring States period, famous for sophistical propositions such as 'A White Horse Is Not a Horse' and 'The Hard and White'. He focused on the relationship between names and actualities, challenging common sense through logical analysis, and had a profound influence on ancient logic and philosophy of language.
ca. 370–310 BCE
Hui Shi (ca. 370–310 BCE), a representative of the School of Names during the Warring States period, is renowned for the Ten Theses on Things and the proposition of the Unity of Similarity and Difference. A friend of Zhuangzi, his thought encompasses cosmology, logic, and relativism, exerting a profound influence on later schools of debate, Wei-Jin Neo-Daoism, and East Asian philosophy.
ca. 400-320 BCE
Guiguzi, the founder of the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliance during the Warring States period and a reclusive master, is known for his thought on opening and closing, fathoming, and strategy. He trained political strategists such as Su Qin and Zhang Yi and wrote the book Guiguzi, which profoundly influenced Warring States politics and later strategic studies.
?–284 BCE
Su Qin (?–284 BCE) was a representative figure of the School of Vertical and Horizontal Alliance during the Warring States period. He is known for his strategy of vertical alliance, uniting the six states against Qin and wearing the seals of six states as their prime minister, achieving great prominence. His thought emphasized expediency and the analysis of interests and disadvantages, profoundly influencing the political landscape of the Warring States.
?–309 BCE
Zhang Yi (?–309 BCE) was a strategist of the Warring States period, known for his horizontal alliance strategy that dismantled the vertical alliance of the six states, laying the foundation for Qin's expansion. His diplomatic skills and political maneuvering profoundly influenced the political landscape of the Warring States.
