Kung-sun Lung Tzu (fl. 300 B.C.), Chinese philosopher best known for his dialogue defending the claim ‘A white horse is not a horse.’ Kung-sun probably regarded his paradox only as an entertaining exercise in disputation (pien), and not as philosophically illuminating. Nonetheless, it may have had the serious effect of helping to bring disputation into disrepute in China. Numerous interpretations of the ‘white horse’ dialogue have been proposed. One recent theory is that Kung-sun Lung Tzu is assuming that ‘white horse’ refers to two things (an equine shape and a color) while ‘horse’ refers only to the shape, and then simply observing that the whole (shape and color) is not identical with one of its parts (the shape). See also PIEN. B.W.V.N.