Hello everyone, today we continue to introduce the Legalist thinker Han Feizi, earlier we introduced the Legalist thought of sexual evil and the concept of heaven and Taoism, discussed the relationship between Tao, reason, and law, Han Feizi found the philosophical basis of Legalist thought from Taoist thought, and also provided arguments for the legitimacy and truth of law.
The Tao is the origin of all things and the foundation of the existence of all things, and the Principle and the Law are the manifestations of the Tao, and both the Reason and the Law come from the Tao. The Tao is the way of heaven, the law is the reason, the law is the law of man, the Tao is the law and the law that governs all things in heaven and earth, the law is the rule of specific things, the law is the principle of human society, the law is the way of obedience, and the observance of the law is the observance of reason.
The Tao is eternal, the foundation and origin of reason and law, and the law is a concrete change, therefore, Han Feizi further put forward his own political concept based on "law", how to govern the complex and changeable human society according to "law"?
Today we introduce three points: the queen of the law, the dialectic, and the clear division of the envoys.
First of all, it is to break the inherent ideological tradition, here Han Feizi inherited and carried forward the teacher Xunzi's "Queen of Law" thought, the Queen of Law corresponds to the first king of law, that is, governing the country should change with the times, do not stick to the ideas and ideas of the first king, Han Feizi in "Five Worms" It was put forward: unexpectedly repairing the ancients, lawlessness is often acceptable, things are different, things are different, and other ideas, are all telling not to stick to tradition, which is contrary to Confucianism at that time, Confucianism advocates the first king, imitate the practice of the first king and the concept of governing the country, and Han Feizi inherited the idea of Xunzi's queen of law.
Here Han Feizi also used the fable of "Waiting for the Rabbit" to expound his thoughts, saying that the farmer of the Song Kingdom was plowing the field, and when he encountered a rabbit hitting a tree, his neck was broken and he died. The farmer was so happy that he stopped plowing the field and stayed by the tree all day, hoping to get another rabbit. In the end, the farmer waited stupidly for a long time, and was laughed at by the Song people. Han Feizi said that those who rule the world by the ideas of the previous kings today are no different from waiting for the rabbit.
Han Feizi criticized the praise of the former king in the book, and he said in the chapter "Difficult One" that later generations praised Shun's virtuous and virtuous deeds, and for example, said that everywhere Shun went, he was prosperous, peaceful and peaceful, but Han Feizi said, praising Shun in this way, isn't it a negation of Yao? If you think that Shun is virtuous, then you deny Yao's discernment. If you think that Yao Shengming, then you deny Shun's virtuous ability. Therefore, Han Feizi said that either Yao's ability to govern is not good, or people have a good reputation for Shun, and these two situations cannot be established at the same time.
Han Feizi also gave the famous example of "contradiction", where it is impossible for an invincible spear and an all-encompassing shield to be established at the same time. The reason why the contradictions cannot be established at the same time is that they lack a unified standard, so Han Feizi proposed a unified method to resolve the contradiction, and the unity should be measured according to the standard of "law", that is: "The law is systematized, and the law is broken, and the prince is guilty of the same crime as the people." This is what it is: the rule of law. Han Feizi said that if the rule of law is implemented, people in the world will have to obey the law, so there will be no such contradictory faults. If we want to govern the world, why should we abandon the method that mediocre people can do and follow the method that is difficult for Yao and Shun to do? Han Feizi demonstrated the necessity and feasibility of the "rule of law" through the "dialectical relationship of contradictions."
Han Feizi believes that the reason why there is a contradiction is because the spear and the shield are used incorrectly, and the contradiction is not that it cannot coexist, but can exist in different places. For example, Han Feizi said that ice and charcoal fire cannot be put in the same container, that cold and heat cannot be in the same season, and that if the monarch obeys contradictory doctrines, it is impossible to govern the country well. Everything has its own reason, and putting the right people in the right place is the only way to reach their potential.
In terms of specific national governance, Han Feizi inherited Xunzi's idea of "clearly dividing the group". "Xunzi Rich Country" said: "If you don't treat each other, you will be poor, and if you don't have a group, you will fight." The poor suffer, and the contend. To save the troubles and eliminate the evils, it is better to distinguish the masses. Xunzi believes that people have desires; people's desires are the same, but they want more and less things, and the materials of society cannot satisfy people's desires; if there is no distinction between people, there will inevitably be contention, leading to chaos. The solution to this contradiction is to "make a clear distinction" and to stipulate a certain "demarcation of measures" for people through the formulation of etiquette and righteousness, so as to regulate people's desires and desires, so that "there are equal to the high and the low, the old and the young are different, and the rich and the poor are all proportionate," so that people can get their own place and form a group. He believes that the difference between humans and animals lies in the "human ability group", that is, people can organize society, have rich social life and social practices, and improve productivity and living standards through the division of labor.
From the perspective of sociogeneology, Xunzi put forward the concept of "fame makes the group", through the determination of names, the members of the society are in their place, each performs their duties, each has its own place, and each enjoys his life, and maintains the order of a society through solemn rituals and heavy laws. Han Feizi inherited this idea, and he divided social development into: ancient times, middle ages, modern times and the present world. Han Feizi said that the ancients competed for morality, such as King Wen of Zhou practiced benevolence and righteousness and ruled the world, while King Xu Yan was destroyed by Chu and lost the country, therefore, benevolence and righteousness were used in ancient times and could not be used in the present, and things are different in the world.
And Han Feizi believes that the world cannot rely on virtue to rule, but to rely on strength. In the chapter "Han Feizi Xianxue", he said that even if the ruler of a country equal to me likes my moral code, I will not make them pay tribute to me, and even if the feudal lords within the border pass oppose my virtue, I will certainly make them worship with gifts of birds. Therefore, when the power is strong, others will come to worship, and if the power is weak, it will be worshiped by others, so the wise monarch will strive to increase his power. In a strict family, there is no strong and fierce slave, but under the doting of a loving mother, there will be a ruined family. This is how a loving mother has many defeated children, Han Feizi said, so I know that majestic power can be used to prohibit violence, but the depth of virtue cannot be used to stop trouble. In the troubled times of the Warring States, the rule of virtue was not enough to govern the world, and only through the authority built on the basis of the rule of law could social order be maintained. Han Feizi said: In ancient times, morality was competitive, and in the Middle Ages, it was wise and resourceful, but today it is about strength, and it speaks with strength, strength and power.
Xunzi's idea of "clearly dividing the group", in fact, was put forward from Confucius, but there was no detailed argument, Confucius said: monarchs, ministers, fathers, sons, many people think that this is Confucianism in emphasizing the class concept, but in fact, it is a famous "follow the name and responsibility, the name is in line with the truth", the king should do things like you, the first king is a noun, the second king is a verb, and in the same way, the monarch and ministers, fathers and sons must do things according to their own names, so that the whole society will be orderly, and there will be no chaos, contradictions and conflicts. In fact, this also embodies the idea of clearly separating the masses, and it also embodies the idea of "dialectical unity" of Legalist thought, and the contradictions of different individuals can be achieved through a reasonable system.
Han Feizi believes that the reason why there is a phenomenon of self-contradiction and different people having different opinions is that there is no unified law and standard, things are not put in the right place, and different methods should be used to govern in different eras. In the idea of the unity of contradictions, Han Feizi absorbed the simple dialectics of Taoist Laozi, which is the method of understanding the general laws of the movement, development and change of the contradictions of things. The old contradictions dissolve and form unity, and the opposing struggle containing new contradictions and new contradictions arises, promotes the development of things, forms a new unity, and so on.
In view of the continuous development and changing nature of things, Han Feizi pointed out in the chapter "Solving the Old": "Theorems have survival and death, life and death, and prosperity and decline", "One thing survives and dies, and those who die at the beginning of their prosperity and then decline cannot be normal". For the first time in the history of Chinese philosophy, he put forward the concept of "contradiction", in which the two sides of contradiction are opposed to each other and negate each other.
Lao Tzu said: "The big words are sparse, the elephant is invisible", from the side of "nothing" to look at "have", from the side of "have" to look at "nothing", there is no relative, there is no unity, through contradictions, opposites, The perspective of development to look at things, so as to truly achieve dialectical unity and value sublimation, this is Han Feizi's interpretation of Laozi's Taoist thought, and applied this thought to social practice and national governance, although Legalist thought later moved towards centralization and autocracy, but in the design of the political system, Han Feizi's Legalist thought can not be described as a huge breakthrough and innovation.
Okay, that's all for today's content, in the next issue, we will further introduce the core of Han Feizi's Legalist thought: what exactly does "Spell Potential" say, more exciting content, please like and collect and follow me.