The Shock of the Alps

Han Fei was a regrettably wasted talent. If his fellow disciple Li Si had not falsely accused him out of jealousy, he might have assisted Emperor Qin Shi Huang in creating a different kind of empire.

Han Feizi used twenty-five historical tales and folk legends to explain twelve chapters of Laozi. Eight chapters came from the De Jing and four from the Dao Jing, giving Laozi's abstract philosophical ideas a concrete, tangible form.

Pre-Qin Legalism had originally been exceedingly sharp and forceful, while the profundity and subtlety of Daoist Laozi surpassed that of all other masters. The sharp Legalist school and the profound Daoist school had originally stemmed from the same source, hence the scholars' saying: "The Dao gives rise to law."

Han Feizi: Explaining Laozi recorded: "King Zhuang of Chu had governed for three years without issuing a single command or carrying out a single policy. The Right Marshal stood before the throne and spoke privately with the king, saying, 'There is a bird perched upon a southern hill. For three years, it has neither spread its wings, flown, nor sung, remaining silent and soundless. What bird is this?' The king said, 'For three years it has not spread its wings because it is growing them long; it does not fly or sing because it is observing the people's customs. Though it has not flown, once it flies, it will soar into the heavens. Though it has not sung, once it sings, it will astonish the world. Leave it be. I understand.'"

Because of this passage, Chinese gained the idiom: "Silent until it cries; once it cries, it startles the world."

Albert Einstein had once lived at Kramgasse 49 in Bern. As a Jew, neither heading east nor west was a good choice. Switzerland was a permanently neutral country,