Han Fei died in 233 BC and was born around 280 BC. He was born into a noble family in Korea, and both Li Si and Li Si were students of Xun Kuang. He has a stutter and is not very good at speaking, but he is very good at writing. Seeing that South Korea was weakening day by day, Han Fei once wrote to the king of Han , advocating reforms to strengthen the country. King Han cannot use it. His works such as "Gu Anger" and "五覹" were seen by Qin Wangzheng, but he greatly admired him and sighed: "Oh, I can't see this person hanging out with him, and I will hate him to death!" The King of Qin sent troops to attack South Korea, and Han Fei was sent as an envoy to the State of Qin. When Han Fei arrived in Qin, the King of Qin was very happy, but he did not trust him yet. However, Qin's ministers Li Si and Yao Jia spoke ill of Han Fei in front of King Qin, so that Han Fei was imprisoned. Li Si sent someone to deliver poison to Han Fei, and Han Fei was forced to commit suicide in prison.
Han Fei's works are collected in the book " Han Feizi ". The existing fifty-five chapters of "Han Feizi" can generally be said to be a compilation of the works of Han Fei's school. Except for a few chapters, most of them are Han Fei's works and reflect Han Fei's thoughts.
The perspective of historical evolution
Han Fei systematically discussed the evolution of social history in the chapter "Five Beetles". He said: In ancient times, there were few people but many animals, and the people were invincible to animals, insects, and snakes. Some saints built wooden nests to avoid harm from the crowd, and the people were happy with them, making them kings of the world, and they called them Chao clan. When people eat fruits, clams, and clams, the smelly smell hurts the stomach and stomach, and the people suffer from many diseases. Some saints made fire by drilling flints to melt the smell, but the people liked it and made it king in the world. They called it Suiren's . In the Middle Ages, the world was flooded, and Gun and Yu fought against each other. In modern times, Jie and Zhou rebelled, and Tang and Wu conquered them. Today, anyone who builds wood and drills firewood in the time of the Xia Hou clan will surely be laughed at by Gun and Yu. Anyone who commits blasphemy against the Yin and Zhou dynasties will surely be laughed at by Tang and Wu. However, those who have beautiful ways of Yao, Shun, Yu, Tang, and Wu in today's world will surely be laughed at by the new sages. Therefore, the sage does not seek to cultivate the ancients, but can always break the law and discuss the affairs of the world because he is prepared.
It can be seen that Han Fei regards social history as a staged and continuous evolution. History will not go backwards and retrogression is impossible. Each historical stage has different specific situations and problems. The so-called "sages" in history all proposed measures to solve problems based on the conditions at that time; today there are still people praising the old methods of governing the country like Yao, Shun, Gun, Yu, Tang and Wu, which will definitely be replaced by today's "new saints" ” laughed. He concluded from the evolution of history that "sages" do not yearn for the distant past and do not follow the old practices, but study the social conditions at that time and formulate appropriate measures. He ridiculed those retrotists who "want to lead the world with the politics of the previous kings", as being as rigid and stupid as those who "just wait and wait". Han Fei divided history into three periods: the ancient world, the medieval world, and the modern world. Although this is unscientific, he got rid of religious superstitions and used materials rich in legendary value to discuss the existing divination books in society that record Han Fei's life. Very little activity. The materials we know today mainly come from "The Biography of Laozi and Han Fei" in "Historical Records". There are also "Qin Shihuang's Chronicles", "Han Shijia", "Six Kingdoms Table", "Qin Ce" in "Historical Records", and "Disaster" and "Disaster" in "Lunheng". "The Case Book" also touches on Han Fei's deeds. Although there are fifty-five chapters in "Han Feizi", except for the chapter "Cun Han" which briefly touches on Han Fei's deeds, and the chapter "Unspeakable" which occasionally contains the word "Chen Fei", there is no self-narration by him. The second part of "Asking for the Fields" records the conversation between Tangxi Gong and Han Fei. Han Fei has some narrative words. However, some people have always suspected that this record was not written by Han Fei. Duke Tangxi was from the time of Han Zhaohou , much earlier than Han Fei, but Han Fei died in the sixth year of King An of Han, a hundred years after the death of Han Zhaohou. Based on this inference, it is not absolutely impossible for the elderly Tang Xi Gong to meet the young Han Fei. The problem is that the word "zi" is used to address Han Fei respectfully, and the word "chen" is used to address Tangxi Gong humbly, which is not consistent with their identities. This record is likely to have come from the hands of later generations.
The evolution of history and criticism of retro ideas are undoubtedly progressive.
Why does social history continue to evolve? Han Fei believes that the reasons should be found from changes in people's economic and living conditions. Changes in economic living conditions affect changes in politics and moral trends. He said in the chapter "Five Beetles": In ancient times, if the husband did not plow, the grass and trees would be enough for food; if the woman did not weave, the skins of animals would be enough for clothing. If you don't work hard but have enough, the people will be small but have more wealth, so the people will not fight. Therefore, generous rewards will not work, heavy punishments will not work, and the people will govern themselves. Nowadays, there are not many sons, and there are five sons. The eldest father is still alive and has twenty-five grandsons. Therefore, the people are common and have few possessions. They work hard and have little support. Therefore, the people fight, although the rewards and punishments are doubled. Not free from chaos.
This means that social changes and chaos in ancient and modern times are due to the growth of population faster than the growth of property. In ancient times, the population was small, there was plenty of property, there was no competition between people, there was no need for generous rewards and heavy punishments, and everything was peaceful. Nowadays, the population is large and property is scarce. Although we work hard, there is still not enough to eat. Even with generous rewards and heavy punishments, social strife is inevitable. Han Fei's ability to explain the root causes of social chaos from changes in economic living conditions is valuable in ancient thought. Thinkers before him generally studied how to increase population, but he proposed new insights into analyzing social disorder from the comparative relationship between population and property. However, it is incorrect for him to simply attribute the causes of chaos to population and wealth. He heard that in ancient times, although the population was small, material wealth was not necessarily abundant; in his time, although the population was larger than in ancient times, material wealth was not necessarily small. His class limitations and the limitations of the times made it impossible for him to realize that the fundamental cause of social strife was caused by the unreasonable ownership of the means of production and the system of class exploitation.
Han Fei also said that when Yao was emperor, he lived in a thatched house, ate coarse grain and wild vegetable soup, and wore simple clothes. His life was similar to that of a gatekeeper today. When Yu was the emperor, he personally took the lead in the labor, and the hair on his legs was polished. The degree of labor was no less than that of slaves today. In this way, in ancient times, giving up the throne of emperor to others was a relief from hard work. Even if today's county magistrate dies, his descendants will still lose their wealth and honor. Of course, no one will resign. "So in ancient times, it was not benevolent to despise wealth, because it meant having too much money; today's competition is not contemptuous, it means having few money. To dismiss the emperor lightly is not to be high, but to have weak power; to focus on fighting for scholars (officials). "Trust" refers to dependence on power, not "lowness" but "weight". He believes that these differences between ancient and modern times are not moral issues, but are caused by material interests and the weight of power.
Han Fei started from the perspective of social and historical evolution and argued from all aspects of history that "things are caused by the world, and preparation is suitable for things"; , the correctness of the viewpoint of "new things, new things, different ideas", he concluded that the rule of law is the inevitable product of historical evolution to a certain stage. He criticized "benevolence, justice and morality", opposed retroism , and advocated looking forward. This kind of thinking embodies the enterprising spirit of the emerging landlord class that dares to change and innovate. He noticed that it is reasonable to look for the roots of historical changes and evolution from economic living conditions.
Views on Social Contradictions During the Warring States Period, social conflicts were sharp and complex. This prompted Han Fei to explore the relationship between people of different status in society and put forward his views on the relationship between people.
The word "contradiction" was first proposed by Han Fei. He used contradictory viewpoints to analyze and criticize the contradictions between Confucius and Mo Xianxue, thereby explaining the correctness of Legalist thought . He said in the chapter "Difficult One" that when Yao was the emperor, "the farmers of Lishan invaded the riverside", "the fishermen on the riverside fought for the dike", and "the potters of Dongyi had bitter wars" , Shun personally went to these places to plow fields, fish, and make pottery, thereby changing these bad habits. Confucius praised this and said: "The saint's virtue has transformed", but Confucius also said that Yao was a "sage". Han Fei believed that the virtuous Shun eliminated Yao's insight, and the saintly Yao eliminated Shun's virtue. You cannot have both. Chu people had people who had shields and spears. They praised them and said: "My shields are so strong that nothing can trap them." They also praised their spears and said: "My spears are so sharp that they can trap everything." Or say: "How about using Zi's spear to trap Zi's frame?" This person cannot respond.A man's frame cannot be trapped, and a spear that cannot be trapped cannot stand in the same world. Today Yao and Shun are incompatible with each other, which is also said to be a spear.
This is based on the contradiction between the two reputations of Yao and Shun, revealing the untrustworthiness of Confucianism beautifying the previous kings.
In the chapter " Explicit Learning ", Han Fei analyzed the contradictory views within Confucianism and Mohism and the contradictory views between Confucianism and Mohism to deny the Confucian Mohist theory and the way of the kings they praised. He said that after Confucius and Mo Zhai, Confucianism was divided into eight schools and Mohism was divided into three schools. Their choices were opposite, but they both said that they were the true successors of Kong Mo. Confucius Mozi both praised Yao and Shun, but their choices were different, and they all said that they had obtained the true inheritance of Yao and Shun. Neither Confucius nor Mo can be resurrected, and Yao and Shun have been dead for three thousand years. It is impossible to determine which of them has received the true inheritance. He believed that blindly believing in the "former kings" and "Yao and Shun" was either stupidity or deception. "Those who are sure of it without reference and verification are fools; those who are unable to prove it with certainty are false accusations. Therefore, those who clearly rely on the previous kings to definitely determine Yao and Shun are not fools, but are false accusations." Han Fei also said that Confucius and Mozi's views on funerals are contradictory. "The husband is the thrift of Mozi, but the general is not the extravagance of Confucius; the filial piety of Confucius and the general is not the cruelty of Mozi."
Han Fei believes that the relationship between monarch and minister is Conflicting interests. The monarch exchanges his official title for the sacrifice of his ministers. In order to achieve the goal of wealth and honor, the ministers must sacrifice their lives in exchange for the monarch's official title. He quoted Tian Qian's words in "Wai Chu Shuo Xia You": "The master sells his official title, and the minister sells his intelligence." He also said in "Nan Yi": "The minister does his best to win the king's market, and the king gives his title and salary to the minister. Market. When a king is great, there is no relationship between father and son. The relationship between the king and his ministers is like a business. This kind of relationship between monarch and minister is a reflection of the fact that official positions were not obtained through hereditary inheritance at that time. The old relationship between monarch and ministers was based on clan blood ties, and the old nobles obtained their titles through hereditary inheritance. The "doctrine of benevolence and righteousness" of Confucianism and Mohism objectively played a role in maintaining the old system. Therefore, he believed that "if the king is unkind and his ministers are unfaithful, he can dominate the king." He also believed that since "overlord" is the great benefit of the king, the king appoints officials and enables selfless rewards and punishments; "wealth and honor" are the great benefit of the king, so Try your best to die in order to gain honor and wealth. The monarch and his ministers each have their own interests. It does not mean that the monarch is benevolent and his ministers are loyal, but that there is a relationship of interests. The wise monarch's method of governing the country is to "set up the path of interests and harms to show the world", that is, to use rewards and punishments to show the world. At the same time, it is necessary for the ministers to have "upright ways to gain benefits", otherwise the ministers will have to "act selfishly for the sake of superiority". Han Fei believes that in the conflict between the interests of the monarch and his ministers, the monarch is the main aspect of the conflict. "Chu Shuo Upper Right", "The master of a person is also the hub of interests, and he shoots at the crowd." The likes and dislikes of the monarch are related to the interests of the ministers, so the ministers use various means to detect the monarch's intentions, "A country has thousands of eyes on people. host". The chapter "Yangquan" says: "If ministers do not kill their emperor, the party will not have it. Therefore, Han Fei considers the handling of conflicts within the ruling group, such as monarchs, ministers, concubines, and concubines, to be related to the security of the regime. Major events. The "Bi Nei" chapter is dedicated to preventing concubines and legitimate sons from being used by traitors to rob the emperor. Killing the master. He said that there is no time for subordinates to spy on the monarch's thoughts. The monarch's laziness and arrogance are a good opportunity for traitors to rob the monarch and kill his master. It is private, so Li Dui Fu Zhaowang is hungry for his father. If one is the master and has great trust in his wife, then the treacherous ministers will be able to take advantage of his wife to achieve his own selfish goals. Therefore, Youshi Fu Liji killed Shen Sheng and established Xi Qi. "If a monarch cannot see through the treachery and hidden secrets of his ministers, and only looks at superficial phenomena to determine rewards and punishments, he will definitely fail.
Han Fei believes that the monarch and the "powerful gate" In order to compete for the people, the conflicts between them are sharp and fierce. The chapter "The Secret Envoy" says: "We pay taxes and dedicate the people's power, so we prepare for disasters and fill the warehouses. When the soldiers escape, they hide them with entrustment." There are powerful gates to avoid corvee and taxes, but there are thousands of people who cannot get there. "Bi Nei" chapter said: "If there are many corvees, the people will suffer. If the people suffer, the powerful will rise. When the powerful rise, they will get rid of the heavy. If the heavy is eliminated, the rich will be rich. To gain power by borrowing ministers, it will not benefit the world."Therefore, it is said: If there are few corvees, the people will be safe; if the people are safe, there will be no heavy power at the bottom; if there is no heavy power at the bottom, the power will be destroyed; if the power will be destroyed, virtue will be at the top. "
Han Fei believes that the contradiction between the emperor and his ministers was the most important contradiction among the social conflicts at that time. "Binei" chapter says: ""Tao Zuo (Yu Ji) Spring and Autumn Annals" said: "The disease of the master cannot be cured by half." "This means that most monarchs die in the conflicts between monarchs and ministers. He also said: "There are rumors from ancient times, recorded in the "Spring and Autumn Annals", that those who violate the law and become traitors are not disobedient to noble ministers. And the reason why laws are prepared and the punishments are punished is because they are always humble. "This is an accusation that laws are often beneficial to noble ministers and promote conflicts between monarchs and ministers.
