Shen Tao also called Shen Tzu (350?–275? B.C.), Chinese philosopher associated with Legalism, Taoism, and the Huang–Lao school. Depicted in the Chuang Tzu as a simple-minded naturalist who believed that one only had to abandon knowledge to follow tao (the Way), Shen Tao advocated rule by law where laws were to be impartial, publicly promulgated, and changed only if necessary and then in accordance with tao. His main contribution to Legalist theory is the notion that the ruler must rely on shih (political purchase, or the power held by virtue of his position). Shen’s law is the pragmatic positive law of the Legalists rather than the natural law of Huang–Lao. See also HUANG – LAO, TAOISM. R.P.P. & R.T.A.