Deng Xi Zi

The Han History (Hanshu) attributes two scrolls of writings to Deng Xi, neither of which survives, though Professor Zhenbin Sun at least considers the text bearing Deng's name to reflect his thought. It recommends that a wise king "follow names and observe actualities, examine laws and establish authority", saying that "positions cannot be surpassed, official titles cannot be used, and officials have their own responsibilities according to their names titles. The superior follows the names and inspects if they correspond to actuality, the subordinate carries the orders and puts them into practice." Along more logical lines comparable to Mozi it advocates "distinguishing different categories so that they may not hinder each other, and to organize different bases so that they may not disturb each other."

Biography

Developing his debating skills in the legal courts of the state of Zheng, Deng served as a minor official there. Depicted as taking both sides of his cases, he is said to have argued for the permissibility of contradictory propositions, likely engaging in hair-splitting debates on the interpretation of laws, legal principles and definitions. The Annals of Lu Buwei introduce him as a man who could "argue a right to be wrong and a wrong to be right, (for whome) right and wrong had no fixed standard, and 'yea' and nay' changed every day.... What he wished to win always won, and whom he desired to punish was always punished."

His consultation attracted many clients seeking legal advice, and apparently charging for cases in articles of clothing (sensible for 500 BCE) he would eventually have enough to count him rich. Xunzi's book pairing him with Hui Shi, it is difficult to separate their contributions. An example of his sophistry:

The Wei River was extremely high. A person from the house of a rich man of Zheng drowned. Someone found the body. The rich man asked to buy it back. The man demanded very much money. The rich man told Deng Xi about it. Deng Xi said, 「Calm down. There's certainly no one else he can sell the body to.」 The man who found the body was troubled by this and told Deng Xi about it. Deng Xi replied to him by saying, 「Calm down. There's certainly nowhere else they can buy the body.」

Despite this portrayal, more modern scholars consider that, having taken the time to write his own penal code, Deng may have been a well-intentioned legal reformer opposing what he saw as the suppression of ideas and opinions. Nit-picking the law to defy Zichan's attempts to stop the publication of posters, Professors Xing Lu and Zhenbin Sun consider Deng to have challenged Confucian Li in favour of litigation and a free exchange, favoring what is termed "big" or communal arguments over petty ones as better resolving issues.

The Annals record that Zichan eventually executed him after Zheng fell into disorder.

生平

鄧析是子產的部下，子產在鄭國執政時，鄧析是大夫。但鄧析不滿子產所鑄的刑書，竟「不顧君命，而私制刑法，書之于竹筒，故言竹刑」，制定竹刑，主張刑法公開化。鄧析此舉引發貴族的不滿，最後為鄭國大夫駟歂所殺。

著作與思想

鄧首倡「刑名之論」，操「兩可之說」，被視為玩弄巧辯之術，開起了名家的思想。鄧析反對禮治，要「以非為是，以是為非」，反《周禮》而行。提出「事斷于法」的主張。

《漢書·藝文志》將鄧析列入名家。鄧析著有《鄧析子》，有《無厚篇》與《轉辭篇》兩篇，《無厚篇》二十一段，《轉辭篇》十七段。關於《鄧析子》之真偽，學術界爭論不一，有說內容參雜其他家說法，可能為後人偽託。《四庫全書》將其歸入子部法家類。

評價

荀子曾經對鄧析作出批評，《荀子·非十二子》謂其：「不法先王，不是禮義；而好治怪說，玩綺辭。甚察而不惠，辯而無用，多事而寡功，不可以為治綱紀。然而其持之有故，其言之成理，足以欺惑愚眾。是惠施、鄧析也。」