Gongsun Long was a logician in ancient China and a representative figure of the School of Names (Ming-Jia). What distinguishes Gongsun Long's work is his in-depth investigation into the relation between names and reality through conceptual analysis and rational argumentations. His thoughts are delivered in the Gongsun Longzi. Three brief essays in the text, "On the White Horse," "On Referring to Things," and "On Hardness and Whiteness," are considered most important in understanding his thoughts. The first one is considered the most philosophically interesting and influential in view of its substantial philosophical points, its articulate character of rational argumentation, and its sophistication.

Gongsun Long's well-known thesis "[the] white horse [is] not [the] horse" (bai-ma-fei-ma) is supported by several articulate arguments in the essay "On the White Horse." Modern scholars elaborate their substantial contents and philosophical significance through seemingly competing interpretations. Fung Yu-lan...