Dao Companion to China's Fa Tradition : Springer : 9783031536298 : 3031536290 : 17 Aug 2024 : This volume offers the most comprehensive introduction to the ideas of ancient Chinese thinkers who looked to perfect a political system thru the emphasis on impersonal standards, laws, and norms (fa).  This book covers the works of these thinkers, misleadingly dubbed Legalists, as well as the controversies they aroused, the legacy they left behind, and their potential relevance. The fa thinkers contributed decisively to the formation of China's first unified empire in 221 BCE, but this contribution was not widely acknowledged. Their derision of the moralizing discourse of their rivals, dismissal of independent intellectuals as self-serving hypocrites, and advocacy of a powerful centralized state did not endear them to most Chinese literati. To a certain extent, these reservations remain visible in modern research, which explains why a comprehensive study of the fa traditions is still lacking.