Hui Shi

Hui Shi (c. 370–310 BCE), also known as Huizi or "Master Hui", was a Chinese philosopher of the Warring States period and a representative of the School of Names, also called the Logicians (mingjia). He is best remembered for his paradoxes about time, space, and the relation between concepts such as sameness and difference.

He served King Hui of Wei as a minister and, according to some sources, as chancellor. He is also credited with drafting a penal code that the king thought was good, though it could not be put into practice. None of his writings survive. We know his ideas mainly through other texts, above all the Zhuangzi, which portrays him as a close acquaintance, a skilled debater, and a man who valued peace. That work also records his ten theses, whose interpretation is still disputed. Some scholars suspect he meant to support Mozi's doctrine of mutual love.

Hui Shi often relied on analogies and paradoxical arguments, and claims such as that heaven and earth are equally high puzzled his contemporaries. His influence can be seen in later Chinese logical debate, though the lack of direct sources limits any firm assessment of his work.