Han Fei (Chinese: 韓非; pinyin: Hán Fēi; Wade–Giles: Han Fei; ca. 280–233 BC), also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese philosopher who, along with Li Si, Gongsun Yang, Shen Dao and Shen Buhai, developed the doctrine of Legalism. Unlike the other famed philosophers of the time, Han Fei was a member of the ruling aristocracy, having been born into the ruling family of the state of Han during the end phase of the Warring States Period. In this context, his works have been interpreted by some scholars as being directed to his cousin, the King of Han.^[1]

Name[link]

Han Fei is his name, while zi (子, meaning "Master") was often added to philosophers' names as an honorific—such as Kong Fuzi (孔夫子) for Confucius—thus Han Feizi (韓非子) can denote the book written by him, but is also used in reference to the person himself.

Legalism[link]

Han Fei belonged to the school of Ancient Chinese Philosophy called Legalism. Legalism assumed that people were naturally evil and always acted to avoid punishment while simultaneously trying to achieve gains; Thus, the law must severely punish any unwanted action, while at the same time reward those who follow it. Han Fei Synthesized the ideas of Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Shen Dao, while borrowing Shang Yang's emphasis on laws, Shen Buhai's emphasis on techniques, and Shen Dao's ideas on authority and prophecy. Hen Fei's interpretation of Legalism stressed that the autocrat will be able achieve the ultimate ends of Legalist philosophy of firmly control the state with the mastering of three concepts: his position of power (勢, Shì); certain techniques (術, Shù), and laws (法, Fǎ) as described in his classic work, the Han Feizi (book).

Comparison with Confucianism and Taoism[link]

Apart from the Confucianist Xun Zi, who was his and Li Si's teacher, the other main source for his political theories was Lao Zi's Daoist work, the Tao Te Ching, which he interpreted as a political text, and on which he wrote a commentary (chapters 20 and 21 in his book, Han Feizi). He saw the Tao as a natural law that everyone and everything was forced to follow. Parallel to this, he believed that an ideal ruler made laws, like an inevitable force of nature, that the people could not resist.

His philosophy was very influential on the first King of Qin and the first emperor of China, Qin Shi Huang, becoming one of the guiding principles of the ruler's policies. After the early demise of the Qin Dynasty, Han Fei's philosophy was officially vilified by the following Han Dynasty. Despite its outcast status throughout the history of imperial China, Han Fei's political theory continued to heavily influence every dynasty afterwards, and the Confucian ideal of a rule without laws was never again realized.

Han Fei's philosophy experienced a renewed interest under the rule of the Communist Party during the leadership of Mao Zedong, who personally admired some of the principles laid out in it.^{[citation needed]}

Han Fei's entire recorded work is collected in the Han Feizi, a book containing 55 chapters. It is also important as the only surviving source^{[citation needed]} for numerous anecdotes from the Warring States Period.

Notes[link]

References[link]

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Further reading[link]

• Burton Watson (1964). Han Fei Tzu: Basic Writings. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-08609-7.

External links[link]

• Li, Guangcan, "Han Fei". Encyclopedia of China (Law Edition), 1st ed.
• Works by Fei Han at Project Gutenberg
• Gu, Fang, "Han Fei". Encyclopedia of China (Philosophy Edition), 1st ed.
• The complete works of Han Fei Tzu, A classic of Chinese political science. Translator, Wenkui Liao.
• Full text of Han Feizi

Feizi (Chinese: 非子; pinyin: Fēizǐ, died 858 BC), also known by his title Qin Ying (Chinese: 秦嬴; pinyin: Qín Yíng), was the founder of the ancient Chinese state of Qin, predecessor of the Qin Dynasty that would conquer all other Chinese states and unite China in 221 BC.^[1]

Mythical origin of Qin[link]

According to the founding myths 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 and successor Zhuanxu. Zhuanxu's granddaughter Nüxiu (女脩) gave birth to Daye (大業) after swallowing an egg of a swallow. Daye's son Boyi (伯益) was awarded the ancestral name Ying (嬴) by the mythical Chinese ruler Shun.^[1]

Ancestry[link]

During the Shang Dynasty, Boyi's descendant Zhongyu (中潏) was in charge of Xichui (西垂, also called Quanqiu, in present-day Li County, Gansu) among the Rong tribes. Zhongyu's son Feilian (蜚廉) and granson Elai served King Zhou of Shang, and Elai was killed when King Wu of Zhou overthrew Shang and founded the Zhou Dynasty. Feizi's father Daluo (大骆) was the great-great-grandson of Elai.^[1] However, Daluo's legal heir was not Feizi, but his other son Cheng, because Cheng was born to Daluo's main wife, daughter of the Marquis of the state of Shen.^[2]

Founding of Qin[link]

Feizi lived in Xichui and was a skilled horse breeder.^[2] King Xiao of Zhou learned of his reputation and put him in charge of breeding and training horses for the Zhou army. To reward his contributions, King Xiao wanted to make Feizi his father's legal heir instead of his half-brother Cheng. However, Marquis of Shen, Cheng's grandfather, objected and said that the Rong people would revolt if the king deposed Cheng. The king changed his mind and rewarded Feizi the small fief of Qin instead (in present-day Zhangjiachuan County, Gansu), separate from his father's fief of Xichui, and gave Feizi the title Qin Ying, a combination of his fief and ancestral name.^[2][3] This was the beginning of the State of Qin that would over six centuries later conquer all other states and unify China under the rule of Qin Shi Huang, the First Emperor of the Qin Dynasty.^[1] At this time Qin was only a minor state classified as an "attached state" (附庸, fuyong), and Feizi did not receive any nobility rank. Qin would not become a major vassal state until five generations later, when King Ping of Zhou granted Duke Xiang of Qin the nobility rank of duke for protecting the king during the invasion of the Dog Rong nomads.^[2]

After death[link]

Feizi died in 858 BC and was succeeded by his son, known as the Marquis of Qin. In 842 BC the Rong people rebelled, destroying the clan of Feizi's half-brother at Xichui. Twenty years later, Feizi's great-grandson Qin Zhong was also killed by the Rong in 822 BC. However, Qin Zhong's son and successor Duke Zhuang of Qin defeated the Rong and annexed Xichui, thus reuniting the territories of the two branches of the House of Ying.^[1][2]

References[link]