Who is Tian Pian 田骈？

Tian Pian was a philosopher during the Warring States Period. He was also known as Chen Pian and Tian Zi. Because he was fond of debating and his eloquence seemed inexhaustible, he was also called "Tiankou Pian" (meaning his mouth was as powerful as heaven in terms of speaking ability).

His main period of activity was around 320 - 282 BC. He was from the State of Qi, studied at the Jixia Academy, and was granted the title of Grand Master of the Upper Rank. He was as famous as Shen Dao.

He studied the "techniques of Huang-Lao (the Yellow Emperor and Laozi) and the principles of morality" (from "Biographies of Mencius and Xun Qing" in Records of the Grand Historian). His thoughts had the tendencies of both Taoism and Legalism. He adhered to the tenet of Taoism's "On the Equality of Things": "Chen Pian valued equality" (from "The Chapter of Bu Er" in Lüshi Chunqiu), and "Tian Zi valued balance" (from "The Chapter of Guang Ze" in Shizi). Furthermore, he advocated taking "equalizing all things" as the primary principle (from "The Chapter of the World" in Zhuangzi).

He adhered to Taoism's theory of carefree wandering, advocated following one's nature when dealing with things, and asserted that "All changes in response to demands have their own patterns; by following one's nature when dealing with things, everything will be appropriate" (from "Zhi Yi" in Lüshi Chunqiu). That is to say, no matter how things change, they are in line with the principles (in line with the Tao), and by going along with one's nature and moving with things, one will find everything suitable wherever one goes.

He advocated flowing along with things, having no fixed mindset, and making no choices: "Being resolute without a fixed stance, following things without hesitation, not worrying about concerns, not relying on knowledge for planning, making no choices among things, and going along with them" (from "The Chapter of the World" in Zhuangzi).

He adhered to Taoism's view of inaction, advocating achieving something through inaction, that is, obtaining positive results through doing nothing. He said, "One can achieve good governance without taking actions. It is like a forest. Even without valuable timber at present, it can produce valuable timber in the future" (from "Zhi Yi" in Lüshi Chunqiu). In addition to adhering to Taoism's views such as the equality of things, carefree wandering, and inaction, he also had a tendency towards Legalism. Therefore, Xunzi said that Tian Pian "advocated the law" (from "Criticizing Twelve Philosophers" in Xunzi). Just like the Legalists, Tian Pian emphasized the role of interests and the correlation between form and name. He said, "Scholars all over the world are unwilling to stay at home with their wives and children. They must go to seek official positions in the courts of various vassal states because they are attracted by the benefits. Those who seek official positions in the courts of vassal states all aspire to be grand masters or ministers, but not to be vassal lords because they are restricted by their status" (from "The Great Tao, Part I" in Yin Wenzi). He believed that practical interests made scholars all over the world go out to seek official positions, and their status restricted them to certain official positions without being able to exceed them. The "Book of Han: Treatise on Arts and Letters" listed 25 chapters of "Tian Zi" in the category of Taoism. Now this book has been lost.