ФА ЦЗЯ

Fa Chia

Legalists, philosophers of law, a leading ideological trend in ancient China. Shang Chun (4th century B.C.) and Han Fei Tzu (died c. 233 B.C.) were its most eminent exponents. The followers of Fa Chia, expressing the interests of the new nobility which had become rich with the development of exchange relations, resolutely fought against the survivals of the gentile system and the communal-patriarchal traditions and stood for the unification of the country and historical progress.

Han Fei Tzu provided the philosophical basis for the economic and political views of Fa Chia. He held that natural laws (tao) determine the development of things. Human society must also have its own laws (fa) which would serve as the criterion of men's actions. These laws are the chief instrument of the state in the struggle against conservative socio-political forces, for the consolidation of the country's might and prosperity. Han Fei Tzu and other proponents of Fa Chia were opposed to religious mysticism and superstition.