Quote by Han Feizi: “The law does not fawn on the noble; the measuring line does not yield to the crooked.”

True justice is blind to status and power. Just as a ruler or measuring tool gives the same result regardless of who is being measured, law should apply equally to everyone — the powerful and the powerless alike. Anything less is not law but favoritism.

Han Feizi wrote during the final decades before the Qin dynasty united China by force in 221 BCE. His philosophy rejected the Confucian reliance on the ruler's personal virtue, arguing instead that clearly written laws applied impartially were the only reliable foundation for a stable state. His ideas significantly shaped the Qin legal system.

Chinese political philosopher of the third century BCE who synthesized earlier Legalist ideas into a systematic theory of governance based on law, political technique, and authority rather than moral virtue. His text, the Han Feizi, was highly influential in the unification of China under the Qin dynasty. He died in prison after being outmaneuvered by a rival at the Qin court.