The law is born of what is most appropriate. This was the viewpoint of Liu An (179-122 BC), King of Huainan in the Western Han Dynasty. His belief rests on the principle that laws are intentionally crafted by people, acting as a compass for guiding their conduct. The foundation on which laws are built, or their intrinsic rationale, springs from a collective moral consensus – a social agreement on what is deemed fitting and fair. Liu An’s philosophy embeds a profound reflection on legal justice – a strand that parallels the Western narratives on justice that took root in ancient Greece and Rome and evolved through to the modern age.

Law emanates from what is appropriate, appropriateness arises from a shared consensus, and this consensus resonates with the human heart. This is the fundamental principle of governance. (Huainanzi)

Law does not drop from the sky or spring from the earth; it originates from the human world and, in turn, serves to rectify our actions. (Huainanzi)