shriek operator See APPENDIX OF SPECIAL SYM-. BOLS. shu1, Chinese term for ‘technique of statecraft’. Such techniques were advocated by Shen Pu-hai and the other Legalist philosophers as instruments of the ruler in power that would guarantee the stable and efficient operations of government. The best-known shu include (1) ‘accountability’ (hsing-ming): the duties and obligations of office are clearly articulated, and at intervals a comparison is made between stipulated responsibilities (ming) and performance (hsing); (2) ‘doing nothing’ (wu-wei): the engine of state is constructed so that the ministers are integral, functioning components guided by clearly promulgated laws (fa), while the ruler stands aloof as the embodiment of the authority of government, thereby receiving credit for successes and deflecting blame back to the officials; (3) ‘showing nothing’ (wu-hsien): by secreting the royal person, concealing all likes and dislikes, and proffering no opinion, the ruler not only shields his limitations from public scrutiny, but further encourages a personal mystique as an ideal invested with a superlative degree of all things worthwhile. R.P.P. & R.T.A.