Sun Shuwei is a scholar of Chinese philosophy and is currently a joint PhD student at the Department of Languages and Cultures, Ghent University and the School of Chinese Classics, Renmin University of China. She received an M.A. and B.A. in intellectual history from the School of Chinese Classics, Renmin University of China. Her work focuses on the fa tradition (fajia 法家, known as Pre-Qin Legalism) and history of Chinese political thought. The subject of her doctoral dissertation is A Study of the State Theory of the fa Tradition. State theories include the origin, causes, legitimacy and mission of the state, as well as state system and state building. This study will cover the state theory in Guanzi 管子, The Book of Lord Shang 商君书 and Han Feizi韩非子, the core masterpieces of the fa tradition, where the richest state theory in early China is embedded. By using a classical research method, that is, developing a comprehensive study centered on fa texts without separating literature, history, philosophy, political science, and law under modern disciplinary divisions, this study will allow us to reevaluate both the fa tradition and Chinese politics, and also contribute at the level of methodology regarding the academic investigation into the fa tradition itself.