The Study On Hanfei’s Legitimate Ruling

During the Spring and Autumn period, new rising thinkers began to consider and reconstruct social order using their own theories, in the context of the wrecked rites and music. Confucian scholars insist that the accident and unrest of society is caused by the collapse of Li of the Zhou Dynasty. In the contrast, the legalists observe that the institution of society should keep up with the times and customs, rather than admire the ancient or linger on the current. Han Fei, the synthesizer of the legalism, even put forward three generations, that is "ancient, mid-ancient, near ancient", and suggest that "Fa ruling" in the respect of displining the society are more operational and superior than "Li ruling". There is a prerequisite in the "Li-ruling" which requires saints reigning, so it emphasizes the model of the ancient saints. But in Han Fei’ thought, the condition of ruling and securing is "Fa", "Shu" and "Shi". Han Fei’s thought lies in substituting "Li ruling" for "Fa ruling". Firstly, under the rule of "Fa", all countrymen become the tools of agriculture and warring. Secondly, the monarch use "Shu" to control the courtiers so that however wisdom or fool the courtiers can serve in their best. Thus the society’s stabilization can be guaranteed. Han Fei says the most wisdom monarch is not the sage in the Confucian words, but just of mediocre ability, whose wisdom is just to use Fa to rule the world, to use Shu to control the courtiers and to make everything into such a normative system. Han Fei’s thought had a tremendous impact on the Chinese history, which actually laid the foundation of ancient Chinese traditional political pattern.