Fa (philosophy)

Fa is a concept in Chinese philosophy that concerns aspects of ethics, logic, and law. It can be translated as 'law' in some contexts, but more often as 'model' or 'standard'. First gaining importance in the Mohist school of thought, the concept was principally elaborated in Legalism. In Han Fei's philosophy, the king is the sole source of fa ('law'), taught to the common people so that there would be a harmonious society free of chance occurrences, disorder, and "appeal to privilege". High officials were not to be held above the fa ('law' or 'protocol'), nor were they allowed to independently create their own fa, uniting both executive fiat and rule of law.^[1]

Xunzi, whose work would ultimately be foundational to Confucian philosophy during the Han dynasty, also took up fa, suggesting that it could only be properly assessed by the Confucian sage (聖; shèng), and that the most important fa were the very rituals that Mozi had ridiculed for their ostentatious waste and lack of benefit for the people at large.^[2]