Analysis Of Han Fei
To what degree would Han Fei, the author of the second document, disagree with Confucius on the way in which to run a state?
Like any scholars who might disagree with each other, the author of the second document, Han Fei (c. 230 B.C.), a prominent scholar of the "legalist" school of Chinese political thought, and the author of the 1st document, Confucius (c. 500 B.C.), an influential Chinese scholar of the "Summer and Autumn" period of Chinese history, are no different from each other. And so, although Han Fei would differ with Confucius on the way in which to run a state, still, it would not be to a significant degree. Indeed, it can be deduced from the document that Han Fei would only disagree with Confucius to a small extent, …show more content…
That being said, we can, in fact, infer it from some of their statements. To start with, Confucius states that "Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue. Confucius said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;-then they will reverence him. Let him be filial and kind to all;-then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;-then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous." In other words, Confucius believes that in order to cause people to reverence their ruler, the ruler must be possessed with kindness and good manners. His viewpoint on how to cause people to reverence their ruler slightly differs from Han Fei's, thus, this supports my argument that although Han Fei would differ with Confucius on the way in which to run a state, still, it would not be to a significant …show more content…
And that is according to what Han Fei states: "able men cannot be obscured, bad characters cannot be disguised; falsely praised fellows cannot be advanced, wrongly defamed people cannot be degraded" and "To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong". What is more than the ethical terms he uses, is the message behind his words that he tries to deliver. That is, regulations are designed to honor those who interpret the law and make a positive impact on states, as well as, punish those who go against it. Moreover, Han Fei argues that laws must be followed by everyone, including nobles and ministers, such a thing could be looked upon as something Confucius would strongly stand up for. As a result of the commonality thoughts of the both scholars in this point, thus, it could be argued now that Han Fei would not actually have a significant disagreement with Confucius on the way in which to run a state.
All in all, "Ancient Chinese Philosophy" document supports and verifies that Han Fei would only disagree with Confucius to a small extent. For example, how to cause people to reverence their ruler. Whereas, they would agree on various things, such as the belief that morals and ethics are equally important in order to run a
Like any scholars who might disagree with each other, the author of the second document, Han Fei (c. 230 B.C.), a prominent scholar of the "legalist" school of Chinese political thought, and the author of the 1st document, Confucius (c. 500 B.C.), an influential Chinese scholar of the "Summer and Autumn" period of Chinese history, are no different from each other. And so, although Han Fei would differ with Confucius on the way in which to run a state, still, it would not be to a significant degree. Indeed, it can be deduced from the document that Han Fei would only disagree with Confucius to a small extent, …show more content…
That being said, we can, in fact, infer it from some of their statements. To start with, Confucius states that "Chi K'ang asked how to cause the people to reverence their ruler, to be faithful to him, and to go on to nerve themselves to virtue. Confucius said, "Let him preside over them with gravity;-then they will reverence him. Let him be filial and kind to all;-then they will be faithful to him. Let him advance the good and teach the incompetent;-then they will eagerly seek to be virtuous." In other words, Confucius believes that in order to cause people to reverence their ruler, the ruler must be possessed with kindness and good manners. His viewpoint on how to cause people to reverence their ruler slightly differs from Han Fei's, thus, this supports my argument that although Han Fei would differ with Confucius on the way in which to run a state, still, it would not be to a significant …show more content…
And that is according to what Han Fei states: "able men cannot be obscured, bad characters cannot be disguised; falsely praised fellows cannot be advanced, wrongly defamed people cannot be degraded" and "To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong". What is more than the ethical terms he uses, is the message behind his words that he tries to deliver. That is, regulations are designed to honor those who interpret the law and make a positive impact on states, as well as, punish those who go against it. Moreover, Han Fei argues that laws must be followed by everyone, including nobles and ministers, such a thing could be looked upon as something Confucius would strongly stand up for. As a result of the commonality thoughts of the both scholars in this point, thus, it could be argued now that Han Fei would not actually have a significant disagreement with Confucius on the way in which to run a state.
All in all, "Ancient Chinese Philosophy" document supports and verifies that Han Fei would only disagree with Confucius to a small extent. For example, how to cause people to reverence their ruler. Whereas, they would agree on various things, such as the belief that morals and ethics are equally important in order to run a