This introduction to the volume distinguishes between han fei, the man, and han feizi, the text purporting to contain his writings. Confucius lived in the times of great turbulence and war in bc 500, the spring and. The term legalist school fa jia is ubiquitous in studies of early chinese political philosophy. Historical accounts tell us that he was a noble scion of the relatively weak state of han, and that he created his. The kuan tzu, a work supposed to embody the teachings. Foreword to the complete works of han fei tzu with collected commentaries book one. Explain how han fei tzus beliefs differed from the.
A tremendous inspirational force, laozis philosophical brilliance made him one amongst many of the great chinese poetphilosophers who helped guide the middle kingdom along the ancient middle way. Their court ruled that confucian scholars and texts were outlawed and to be destroyed. He also taught people to follow the beliefs of their ancestors. The exact year of han feis birth remains unknown, however scholars have placed it at around 280 bce. Confucianism refers to the philosophies and teachings of confucius and hs disciples. It was part of a much larger work published by legge under the title the chinese classics, which rendered into. Han fei, the geatest chinese legalist philosopher the east.
In order to do so, the awareness of two problems is imperative. The first emperor of chin admired his writings and appears to have taken some of his advice to heart it was known for its brutal administration and lasted but a short time. To try to govern the people of a chaotic age with benevolence and lenient measures is like. Xunzi later confucian works daoism and mozi laozi mozi teachings of mozi moism zhuangzi liezi songs of chu huainanzi legalism, qin empire and han dynasty guanzi book of shangyang han feizi qin empire 221206 bc founding the han dynasty 206141 bc wu dis reign 14187 bc confucian china 877 bc china 7 bc to 1279 wang mangs. To try to govern the people of a chaotic age with benevolence and lenient measures is like to drive wild horses without reins and whips. Han dynasty 3rd century bc so he was borntaught in the spring and autumn period. Unlike the other famed philosophers of the time, han fei was a member of the ruling aristocracy. He is venerated as a philosopher by confucians and as a saint or god in popular religion and was worshipped as an imperial ancestor during the tang dynasty 618907. The following paragraph was taken from han feitzu, the book of master han fei, chapter 50. The hanfeizi is a collection of different chapters attributed to han fei. In his short life he wrote 55 books short essays we would probably call chapters today assembled into the han feizi. This is the version of confucianism that survived, and is almost certainly a han creation. The book of lord shang but not han feizi allowed for the. He is famous for the legalism theory which is similar to the western idea of rule of law.
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. Explain how han fei tzus beliefs differed from the beliefs. Han fei is often considered to be the greatest representative of chinese legalism for his eponymous work the han feizi, synthesizing the methods of his predecessors. He was a prince of the royal family of the state of han. The hanfeizi, the book named after him, comprises a synthesis of legal. But men like liu xin and ban gu made their interpretations in accordance with the rulers desire. His teachings gained prominence over doctrines like legalism daoism in the han dynasty who. The period was marked by humanist and naturalist reflections on.
Han fei was a prince in the han kingdom in the third century bce. Master was often added to philosophers names as an extra addition honorific. Quotations by han fei, chinese philosopher, born 280 bc. The writings of chuang tzu this book is taken from james legges translation the writings of chuang tzu, found in volumes thirty. Han fei tzu was a scholar who propounded legalism a strict adherance to the law by way of benefits and punishments to create and maintain an efficient state. On the other hand, confucius was the founder of confucianism. Legalism was synthesised from related earlier sources by a prince of the han ruling family, han fei zi, in the last years of the warring states period. A representative of the fachia, or legalist, school of ph ilos oph y, he pr odu ce d the final and m os t rea dabl e ex pos ition of its theories. Han fei john knoblock this is one of a series of pages discussing classical chinese philosophy during the period from before confucius ca 650 b. The chapters he had definitely compiled by himself are gufen 11, wudu 49, the neichu and waichu chapters 3035, the shuolin chapters 2223, and shuonan 12. Nov 14, 2016 the qin were so successful that by 221 bce they had conquered the other chinese states and unified the empire after centuries of war. Confucius just compiled the wisdom of his ancestors especially of zhou dynasty.
Han feizi describes why the teachings of confucius and mo tzu were dangerous including the following. Preface to the complete works of han fei tzu with collected commentaries foreword to the complete works of han fei tzu with collected commentaries book one. Nov 30, 2016 confucianism refers to the philosophies and teachings of confucius and hs disciples. This site is like a library, use search box in the widget to get ebook that you want. When the people revolted, the han empire emerged in the year 206 bc under liu. Thus, the law must severely punish any unwanted action. A founder of the legist school fachia in ancient china. Immediately download the han fei summary, chapterbychapter analysis, book notes, essays, quotes, character descriptions, lesson plans, and more everything you need for studying or teaching han fei. Laozi, the first philosopher of chinese daoism and the alleged author of the daodejing, a primary daoist writing. And his words have important lessons that can prove useful, even today, for our own politicians. However, they also thought that transforming people.
Indeed, customs differ between the past and the present. His essays on autocratic government so impressed king zheng of qin that the future emperor adopted their principles after seizing power in 221 bce. Confucius and laozi, the great philosophers of the east. The zhou dynasty, confucius, and chinas philosophic. Following the teachings of xun zi and han fei zi about absolute control, the qin empire became militarily powerful for about ten years, but then the system fell from its own flaws. He was a member of and spokesperson for the legalistic school. The legalists dismissed the idea of leaving people to their traditional customs, as the taoists recommended. He is part of a group said to have created of doctrine of the school of law or legalism. Also known as a bureaucratic style of governing vs tyranny from a dictator or king.
Mozis teaching is summed up in ten theses extensively argued for in the text that bears his name. Zhuangzi chuangtzu master zhuang late 4th century bc is the pivotal figure in classical philosophical daoism. According to han feis biography, he several times tried convincing the king of his native state of han to adopt reforms. The fajia legalism of the mohists schools most famous proponent and contributor han fei zi believed that a ruler should use the following three tools to govern his subjects. Trenchant, sophisticated, and cynical, han feizi has been readin every age and is still of interest. The teachings of confucius and his disciples are recorded in the analects also known as lunyu.
Preface to the complete works of han fei tzu with collected commentaries foreword to the complete works of han fei tzu with collected commentaries. It comprises a selection of essays in the legalist tradition on theories of state power, synthesizing the methodologies of his predecessors. Jul 16, 2014 yet the han government is known to have used a written version of confucianism influenced by legalism. Legalist theory is best expressed by han feizi han fei tzu, who wrote at the end of the warring states period third century bce. Hence, my teaching causes those among the people who seek benefits to gain. He believed that people needed harsh rules and punishments just for people to do their everyday jobs. The title han feizi is also used to denote the book written by him. The rest of the book hanfeizi seems to have been written by han fei himself. How did the qin dynasty apply the teachings of hanfeizi. Legalism in chinese philosophy stanford encyclopedia of. Although the term legalism was coined only during the han.
Han fei zi argues that a ruler should never trust his ministers or subjects to be loyal. Han fei tzi was a prince of the ruling house of the small state of han. A late 19th century edition of the hanfeizi by hongwen book company. Legalism was synthesised from related earlier sources by a prince of the han ruling family, han feizi, in the last years of the warring states period. Yet the han government is known to have used a written version of confucianism influenced by legalism. An official in the chin state, han fei wrote most of the chapters of the treatise han feitzu, which focused on the problems of managing an administrative apparatus. Click download or read online button to get han fei zi book now. This paper is an attempt to read han fei in a specific sense.
Han feis ideas are sometimes compared with niccolo machiavelli and his book is considered by some to be superior to the il principe of niccolo machiavelli. Han fei zi simple english wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. This paper uses the traditional text, hanfeizi, and reinterprets it in a modern approach as historical correspondence. Ironically, han fei tzus advice was heeded not by the king of han but by the king of chin, who, soon after. The eastern zhou period was one of political fragmentation with the power of the zhou in decline. Mo di mo ti, better known as mozi motzu or master mo, was a chinese thinker active from the late 5th to the early 4th centuries b.
This short article about a person or group of people can be made longer. Han fei birthplacestate of han occupation philosopher han fei also han feitzu. This page provides an intellectual biography of the 3rd century legalist philosopher han fei and excerpts from two of his most important. In fact a lot of chapters are older and were only revised and collected by han fei. Han feizi han fei tzi was a prince of the ruling house of the small state of han. While most modern scholars, including the contributors to this collection, accept the bulk of the han feizi as genuine, one cannot simply assume that han fei was the author of everything in its pages. He was forced to write the book when he wanted to leave china. Han feizi, wadegiles romanization han feitzu chinese. The qin were so successful that by 221 bce they had conquered the other chinese states and unified the empire after centuries of war. Confucius had confused the issue of private and public interest in one of his books. This book is a direct translation ham feizis basic writings from chinese by burton watson. Han fei quotes lost sources from the shangshu, lu chunqiu. He believed that the duties to the family are important.
Laozis chief concern involved describing a way tao of life that could be true to the natural order of gods laws. Han fei legalism assumed that people were naturally evil and always acted to avoid punishment while simultaneously trying to achieve gains. Han fei tzu hanfeizi quotes the legalist fa chia school. Han fei worked as an official for the state of qin until he was. Also known as kong zi ancient chinese philosopher who was considered to be contemporary with plato and aristotle.
He is best remembered for being the first major intellectual rival to confucius and his followers. Apr 03, 2014 han feis ten lessons long before niccolo machiavelli wrote his nowfamous work of political philosophy, the prince, there was another man writing in a similar vein in china. Burton watson, one of the premier scholars of classical chinese, once again brings a lesserknown chinese philosopher to public knowledge, this time the austere legalist han fei zi. Its 55 chapters, most of which date to the warring states period mid. The hanfeizi, the book named after him, comprises a synthesis of legal theories up to his time. The biographies of lao zi and han fei, shi ji obviously, sima qian correctly noted the differences between confucianism and taoism. Han fei, also known as han fei zi, was a chinese philosopher or statesman of the legalist school during the warring states period, and a prince of the state of han. Han fei zi 281 bc 233 bc was an early chinese philosopher. Historical accounts tell us that he was a noble scion of the relatively weak. Thus, the law must severely punish any unwanted action, while at the same time reward those who follow it. Try searching on jstor for other items related to this book. The zhuangzi is a compilation of his and others writings at the pinnacle of the philosophically subtle classical period in china 5th3rd century bc.