This article is about the ancient Chinese text. For for the text's author, see Han Fei.
Han Feizi
A late 19th century edition of the Hanfeizi by Hongwen Book Company
Author
Han Fei
Original title
韩非子
Country
China
Language
Chinese
Genre
Chinese classics
Publication date
3rd century BCE
Han Feizi
'Hanfeizi' in seal script (top), Traditional (middle), and Simplified (bottom) forms
Traditional Chinese
韓非子
Simplified Chinese
韩非子
Literal meaning
"[The Writings of] Master Han Fei"
Transcriptions
Standard Mandarin
Hanyu Pinyin
Hán Fēi zǐ
Bopomofo
ㄏㄢˊ ㄈㄟ ㄗˇ
Gwoyeu Romatzyh
Harn Feitzyy
Wade–Giles
Han2 Fei1 tzŭ3
IPA
[xǎn féɪ.tsɨ̀]
Yue: Cantonese
Yale Romanization
Hòhn Fēi-jí
Jyutping
Hon4 Fei1-zi2
IPA
[hɔːn˩ fei˥.tsiː˧˥]
Southern Min
Hokkien POJ
Hân Hui-chú
Tâi-lô
Hân Hui-tsú
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese
ɦanpi.tzí
Old Chinese
Baxter–Sagart (2014)
*[g]ˤarpəj.tsəʔ
Part of a series on
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Texts
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Canon of Laws
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Shenzi (both books)
Han Feizi
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Wuzi
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Wu Qi
Founding figures
Shen Buhai
Duke Xiao of Qin
Shang Yang
Shen Dao
Zhang Yi
Xunzi
Han Fei
Li Si
Qin Shi Huang
Han figures
Jia Yi
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Emperor Wu of Han
Chao Cuo
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Huan Tan
Wang Fu
Zhuge Liang
Later figures
Emperor Wen of Sui
Du You
Wang Anshi
Li Shanchang
Zhang Juzheng
Xu Guangqi
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The Han Feizi (simplified Chinese: 韩非子; traditional Chinese: 韓非子; pinyin: Hánfēizi; lit. 'Book of Master Han Fei') is an ancient Chinese text attributed to the Legalist political philosopher Han Fei.[1] It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition, elucidating theories of state power, and synthesizing the methodologies of his predecessors.[2] Its 55 chapters, most of which date to the Warring States period mid-3rd century BCE, are the only such text to survive fully intact.[3][2] The Han Feizi is believed to contain the first commentaries on the Dao De Jing.[4][5] Temporarily coming to overt power as an ideology with the ascension of the Qin dynasty,[6]: 82 the First Emperor of Qin and succeeding emperors often followed the template set by Han Fei.[7]
Often considered the "culminating" or "greatest" Legalist texts, Han Fei was dubbed by A. C. Graham amongst as the "great synthesizer" of 'Legalism'".[8][9] Sun Tzu's The Art of War incorporates both a Daoist philosophy of inaction and impartiality, and a 'Legalist' system of punishment and rewards, recalling Han Fei's use of the concepts of power and technique.[10]
Among the most important philosophical classics in ancient China,[11] it touches on administration, diplomacy, war and economics,[12] and is also valuable for its abundance of anecdotes about pre-Qin China. Though differing considerably in style, the coherency of the essays lend themselves to the possibility that much was written by Han Fei himself, and are generally considered more philosophically engaging than the Book of Lord Shang.[13] Zhuge Liang is said to have attached great importance to the Han Feizi, as well as to Han Fei's predecessor Shen Buhai.[14]
^Encyclopedia of World Biography[full citation needed]
^ abLévi (1993), p. 115.
^Pines, Yuri, "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.),
(Goldin 2013)
^Pines, Yuri (2014), Zalta, Edward N.; Nodelman, Uri (eds.), "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2014 ed.), Metaphysics Research Lab, Stanford University, retrieved 2023-08-29
^Lu, Xing (1998). Rhetoric in Ancient China, Fifth to Third Century, B.C.E.: A Comparison with Classical Greek Rhetoric. Univ of South Carolina Press. ISBN 978-1-57003-216-5.
^Bishop, Donald H. (September 27, 1995). Chinese Thought: An Introduction. Motilal Banarsidass Publ. ISBN 9788120811393.
^Kenneth Winston p. 315. Singapore Journal of Legal Studies [2005] 313–347. The Internal Morality of Chinese Legalism. http://law.nus.edu.sg/sjls/articles/SJLS-2005-313.pdf
^Yu-lan Fung 1948. p. 157. A Short History of Chinese Philosophy. https://books.google.com/books?id=HZU0YKnpTH0C&pg=PA157
Eno, Robert (2010), Legalism and Huang-Lao Thought (PDF), Indiana University, Early Chinese Thought Course Readings
Hu Shi 1930: 480–48, also quoted Yuri Pines 2013. Birth of an Empire
^Goldin (2011), p. 15.
^Chen, Chao Chuan and Yueh-Ting Lee 2008 p. 12. Leadership and Management in China
^Pang-White, Ann A. (2016). The Bloomsbury Research Handbook of Chinese Philosophy and Gender. Bloomsbury Publishing. ISBN 978-1-4725-6986-8.[page needed]
^Gernet, Jacques (1996). A History of Chinese Civilization. Cambridge University Press. p. 90. ISBN 978-0-521-49781-7.
^Cite error: The named reference ReferenceB was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^Zhuge Liang ref Paul R. Goldin 2013. Dao Companion to the Han Feizi p.271. https://books.google.com/books?id=l25hjMyCfnEC&dq=%22han+fei%22+%22zhuge+liang%22&pg=PA271 Guo, Baogang (2008). China in Search of a Harmonious Society. p38. https://books.google.com/books?id=UkoStC-S-AMC&pg=PA38 Pines, Yuri (10 December 2014). "Legalism in Chinese Philosophy". Epilogue: Legalism in Chinese History. https://plato.stanford.edu/archives/win2014/entries/chinese-legalism/ Current Shen Buhai reference is less strong, but Han Feizi is rooted in Shen's administrative doctrine regardless; Shen does not imply Han Fei, but Han Fei implies Shen
The HanFeizi (simplified Chinese: 韩非子; traditional Chinese: 韓非子; pinyin: Hánfēizi; lit. 'Book of Master Han Fei') is an ancient Chinese text attributed...
Han Fei (c. 280 – 233 BC), also known as HanFeizi, was a Chinese Legalist philosopher and statesman during the Warring States period. He was a prince...
R. (2013). "Introduction: Han Fei and the HanFeizi" (PDF). In Goldin, Paul R. (ed.). Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei. Dao Companions to Chinese...
of Qin recorded in the Records of the Grand Historian by Han Dynasty historian Sima Qian, Feizi descended from the mythical Yellow Emperor and his grandson...
story (see Kanbun § Example) in the 3rd century BC philosophical book HanFeizi. In the story, a man trying to sell a spear and a shield claimed that...
Legalism". The earliest surviving of such texts (the second being the HanFeizi), it is named for and to some extent attributed to major Qin reformer...
Autumn Annals and the HanFeizi.) Sima Qian, in his Shiji, equates the popularity of the Wuzi, in both the Warring States and the Han dynasty, with that...
exemplifies kanbun. These eight words comprise the well-known first line in the HanFeizi story (ch. 36) that first coined the term máodùn (Japanese mujun, 矛盾 'contradiction...
for 200 years form years 3162–2962 BC .[citation needed] According to HanFeizi, people could avoid harm from animals with the help of buildings made...
Dynamics of Masters Literature: Early Chinese Thought from Confucius to HanFeizi. Harvard University Press. p. 38. Shawn Eichman (2000). Taoism and the...
Additionally, the Bamboo Annals and Han Fei paint a very different picture of Shun. Both the Annals and the book HanFeizi stated that Shun overthrew Yao and...
dynasty Period of China. He was first recorded in the work HanFeizi, by Legalist philosopher Han Fei, as the companion of the historical figure Duke Ling...
ISBN 978-0-812-69087-3 Goldin, Paul R. (2013), "Han Fei and the HanFeizi", Dao Companion to the Philosophy of Han Fei (PDF), Springer, ISBN 978-9-400-74318-2...
"Chinese Legalist" statecraft by Han Fei, his most famous successor. Shen Buhai's fragments most resembles the HanFeizi, though more conciliatory. Though...
BCE. Shen's successor Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE) synthesized the thought of the other Legalists in his eponymous text, the HanFeizi, one of the most influential...
defeated and partly because Han scholars misunderstood the nature of the texts, for it was only after the founding of the Han that Sima Qian labeled the...
ineptitude, only justified if already inevitable. Meanwhile, the authoritarian HanFeizi rejected entirely the concept of a just rebellion, going as far as denouncing...
largely through short references and the writings of others, notably the HanFeizi and Zhuangzi. A critical reconstruction of the lost Shenzi was made by...
tales from 300–200 BC. The Legalist philosopher Han Fei spoke disparagingly of youxias in his book HanFeizi in the chapter On Five 'Maggot' Classes about...
and Jean W. Sedlar, Oxford University Press, 1970. LCCN: 68-8409 和氏, HanFeizi, Han Fei 东周列国志, 蔡元放 Sage, Steven F. (1992-01-01). Ancient Sichuan and the...
Dynamics of Masters Literature: Early Chinese Thought from Confucius to HanFeizi. Harvard University Press. p. 38. "Egalitarianism". Stanford Encyclopedia...
by rulers from the 4th century BCE. The 3rd-century BCE Zhanguo Ce and HanFeizi both record a story about King Qingxiang of Chu (r. 298–263 BCE) being...
Emperor, Qin Shi Huang. The Qin Dynasty practised all the things that HanFeizi taught, allowing Qin Shi Huang to own and control all his territories...
actual philosophy did not develop until hundred years later. Chao Cuo HanFeizi, synthesizer of Legalist theories. Li Kui Li Si Shang Yang Shen Buhai...