Han Feizi, the Art of Statecraft in Early China (Vol.1) - by Jens ØStergaard Petersen & Yuri Pines & Christoph Harbsmeier (Hardcover)

About the Book

This translation introduces the reader to Han Feizi, one of the masterpieces of early Chinese political thought. Deplored for its cynicism, authoritarianism and assault on moralising discourse, the text was also admired for its wit, humour, incisiveness, and political realism.

Book Synopsis

Volume 1 of a 2-volume set: This annotated translation of Han Feizi introduces one of China's most controversial political texts. Generations of Chinese literati have deplored Han Feizi's cynical assault on moralising discourse, blatant authoritarianism, and gleeful derision of fellow intellectuals. Yet many were attracted to the text's practical advice, especially its advocacy of reliance on impartial standards rather than on the personal qualities of the leaders (who may be dupes, selfish, or both). And many more admired the text's incisiveness, wit, humour, and realistic approach to politics.
The new translation makes the text's political philosophy and its literary gems accessible to the interested readers.
For Volume 2 see: brill.com/edcollbook/title/71794.

About the Author

Christoph Harbsmeier, dr. phil., emeritus professor of Chinese at the University of Oslo, is the author of vol. 7.1 of Science and Civilisation in China, Language and Logic (1998). His Aspects of Classical Chinese Syntax (1981) were published in Chinese by Peking University Press in 2023.

Jens Østergaard Petersen, retired, MA from University of Copenhagen (1983), is an independent scholar studying early Chinese textual history. Publications include "Whispering in Early China: On Ouyu and Its Synonyms." Monumenta Serica 70:2 (2022).

Yuri Pines, Ph.D. (1998), is Professor of Asian Studies, Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He has published extensively on early Chinese history, political thought, and historiography. His monographs include The Book of Lord Shang: Apologetics of State Power in Early China (Columbia, 2017).