Shen Dao (; c. 350c. 275BC) was a Chinese philosopher and writer. He was a "Chinese Legalist" theoretician most remembered for his influence on Han Fei with regards to the concept of shi 勢 (circumstantial advantage, power, or authority), though most of his book concerns the concept of fa 法 (administrative methods & standards) more commonly shared among "Legalists". Compared with western schools, Shen Dao considered laws that are not good "still preferable to having no laws at all." Making use of the term dao 道 without cosmological or metaphysical reference, the Shenzi serves as noteworthy precursor to both Daoism and Han Fei. Posthumously, he is also sometimes classified as Taoist, and Wang Fuzhi speculated that the chapter "Essay on Seeing Things as Equal" of the Zhuangzhi was actually written by Shen Dao. Compared with the egoist Yang Chu, Shen Dao is characterized by the Zhuangzhi as impartial and lacking selfishness, his great way embracing all things. Usually referred to as "Master Shen" ("Shenzi" 慎子) for his writings, very little is known of Shen Dao's life. An itinerant Chinese philosopher from Zhao, he was probably born about 350BC, travelling to the city of Linzi (modern Zibo, Shandong) in 300BC to become a member of the Jixia Academy. Shen probably left Linzi after its capture by the state of Yan in 285BC, possibly moving to the Han kingdom and absorbing the "Legalist" tradition there. He died roughly 10 years later. Text Thompson states that the Shenzi was available until the fall of the Tang dynasty, though not in its original edition. Shen Dao's own original 42 essays have been lost. With only 7 fragments still extant, he is known largely through short references and the writings of others, notably the Han Feizi and Zhuangzi. A critical reconstruction of the lost book of Shenzi was made by Paul Thompson, and published in 1979 as The Shen Tzu Fragments. In 2007, the Shanghai Museum published a collection of texts written on bamboo slips from the State of Chu dating to the Warring States period, including six bamboo slips with sayings of Shenzi. These are the only known examples of the text of Shenzi that are contemporaneous with its composition. Xun Kuang considered Shen's style grandiose. Statecraft Shen Dao espouses an impersonal administration in much the same sense as "Legalist" Shen Buhai, and in contrast with "Legalist" Shang Yang emphasizes the use of talent