Study Of HanFei's Legalist Thought

Han Fei epitomized the legalist school of the end of the Warring States. He had summarized the historical experiences of institutional reforms of every kingdom since the Spring and Autumn Periods and the Warring States, critically inherited and developed Shang Yang's, Shen Buhai's and Shen Dao's legalist thoughts, and systematically formed the combined legalist thought of "law", "strategy" and "power". Man's social being decides his social consciousness. Thought or theory objectively results from social economy, and meanwhile necessarily the melting and legitimately but morally. Han Fei's legalist thought rose at the end of the Warring States, which was not accidental but deep in historical roots., then, the new class of landlords frequently wielded their powers, reformed the traditional social system and social conceptions, to strengthen despotisn or feudalism and safeguard their political and economic interests. Therefore, Han Fei's legalist thought came into being.His thought philosophically inherited Xunzi's theory of "vicious nature of man", which is characterized by every person and cannot be transferred. Therefore, not morality but legal rewards and punishments will work. "Rule by man" and "rule by law", in Confucian doctrine are criticized. Han Fei developed the part of forbearance in Laozi's philosophy and the "Taoism legalizes nature" was employed in despotic stratagem and law and other rational principles. Laozi's "doing nothing" is adopted and transformed into conforming to Taoism and law. As the pre-Qin epitomist of legalist school, HanFei critically took in the earlier legalists' thoughts and pointed out that although Shang Yang, Shen Buhai and shen Dao put forward "law", "stratagem" and "power" from different angles, they were not "perfects". The paper clearly combines the three to form an integral theory.Han's legal theory is characteristic of its contents, substantive quality, character and nature of law. It is rich in "clarifying law", "undertaking law", "one penalty", and "severe penalty". The essence of his thought is despotism. As an advocate of despotism,...