Who is Yin Wen 尹文？

Yin Wen (around 360 - 280 BC) was a scholar during the Warring States Period and a representative figure of the Song - Yin School. He was also known as Yin Wenzi. He was from the State of Qi.

He studied at Jixia Academy. After King Min of Qi was killed, he fled to Guyi (now Dong'a, Shandong). Later, he went to the State of Wei (now Puyang, Henan). He adhered to the Taoist view of governing by doing nothing. He asserted that "The affairs of the monarch lie in governing by doing nothing and being able to tolerate others. When there are few affairs, it is easy to follow; when the laws are simple, it is easy to abide by. Therefore, the people will not be convicted because of the government. The great Tao can tolerate the masses, and great virtue can tolerate all. When the sage does few things, the world will be in order." ("Shuo Yuan · Jun Dao") Just like Song Xing, he advocated peace in the world and having few desires: "Externally, it is to prohibit attacks and stop wars; internally, it is to have few desires" ("Zhuangzi · Tian Xia Pian"). Regarding the relationship between name and reality, he believed that form or reality is the objective object, and name is the concept that reflects and refers to the objective object. He advocated that "Form is used to determine the name, the name is used to determine the affairs, and the affairs are used to examine the name" ("Yin Wenzi · Da Dao Shang"). He further pointed out that "Reality" is a material entity that exists independently regardless of the "name". Even if there is a form but no name, "It will not necessarily lose its real nature of roundness, squareness, blackness and whiteness" (Ibid.). He regarded rectifying names as the foundation for implementing "law, strategy, and power". He said, "Therefore, what is said does not go beyond name, law, power, and strategy." "The key lies in rectifying the name of things first, so that they will not be confused. Then the strategy can be kept secret and the power can be monopolized" (Ibid.). He combined the Tao with the rectification of names, laws, and strategies, making the Tao and the rectification of names, laws, and strategies cycle with each other. He said, "When the Tao is not enough to govern, the law is used; when the law is not enough to govern, the strategy is used; when the strategy is not enough to govern, the power is used; when the power is not enough to govern, the potential is used,... At the end, it will return to the beginning. The beginning and the end follow each other without end" (Ibid.). His deeds can be found in "Lüshi Chunqiu · Zheng Ming". His works include "Yin Wenzi". In the "Records of the Scholars in the Book of Han · Yi Wen Zhi", "Yin Wenzi" is recorded. During the Huangchu period of the Wei Dynasty, Zhong Changshi from Shanyang revised it and divided it into two parts. "Sui Shu · Jing Ji Zhi" records a volume of "Yin Wenzi". The "Essential Passages of Yin Wenzi" were excerpted in "Qun Shu Zhi Yao" in the Tang Dynasty. It can be seen that before the Tang Dynasty, "Yin Wenzi" has been circulating in the world. In modern times, Liang Qichao, Tang Yue, Luo Genze and others thought that "Yin Wenzi" was a forged book, but the evidence was insufficient.