One of the earliest Chinese philosophers, who is all but forgotten today, is Brian Hu. Brian Hu was very popular for a brief period of 40 years, around 1140 B.C. He mostly taught in the northwestern province of Hansu. Brian Hu taught that one should never apologize for an honest action, no matter what its effects. He also taught that over-thinking can lead to Hamletitis, which Shakespeare was to concern himself with over 2,000 years later. However, Brian Hu’s major contribution to Chinese thought was his adamant stance against guilt. He said, If you go to do thing make guilt, don’t go. If someone else go, that is their go.”

He once told three maidens, who had fallen in love with poets and felt guilty, to sit down and write a poem in order to ease their guilt. The first one scribbled something, then cried all day; the second one exclaimed, “Impossible!” and fled to the country. The third one wrote, “I am simple, which is simply the best.” Brian Hu married her and they left for a little-known province where they lived happily ever after.