A Comparative Study Of Han Feizi And Kautilya's International Political Thought

The theme of this paper is a comparative study of Han Feizi's and Kautilya's international political thoughts.By comparing the international political thoughts of the two political thinkers,the similarities and differences of their thoughts are obtained,and explore the fundamental differences and their reasons from the three aspects of social system,political environment,and ideological background.The reason why Han Feizi and Kautilya 's international political thought can be compared is that their personal lives are related to political cause,similar historical background and the reality of political thought.This study compares Han Feizi's and Kautilya 's international political thoughts from the following six aspects: political purpose,philosophical basis,moral concept,attitudes towards relations between nations,foreign policy,viewpoint and strategy of war,and concludes the similarities and differences between them.Generally speaking,Han Feizi and Kautilya both aim at strengthening their own national strength and striving for survival and hegemony.They both hold a pessimistic attitude towards human nature.They both believe that in political practice,there is no need for morality and unscrupulous means,and that there is always fierce competition and game between nations,and both attach importance to the role of war.But they also have different ideas.In order to win the annexation war,Han Feizi learned from Laozi's Taoist thought,deeply distrusted inter-state relations,despised diplomacy,and emphasized caution in war.Kautilya wanted to assist Tantra Gupta to establish the Maurya Dynasty.Influenced by religious thoughts,he proposed the theory of national circles,emphasized diplomacy,and proposed six foreign policies,leaning towards full-scale war.This research also explored the fundamental differences and reasons of the differences in international political thought between Han Feizi and Kautilya from three aspects: social system,political environment,and ideological background.From the perspective of the social system,Han Feizi's legalism is the embodiment of the ritual system of ancient Chinese society.Kautilya's thought grew up in the soil of the caste system;From the perspective of political environment,the political structure of ancient Chinese society tends to be unified,which makes Han Feizi's thought pay attention to national unity.In the history of India,the dispersivism of political environment influences each other with Kautilya 's thought of Mandala.From the perspective of ideological background,Han Feizi's legalism embodies the pragmatic characteristics of Chinese civilization,and Kautilya 's Mantra thought is deeply influenced by the religious nature of Indian civilization.