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Han Fei's Ancient Chinese Strategies of Governance As Contrasted With $SULO $XWRFUDWLF%XUHDXFUDWLVP +DQ)HL¶V$QFLHQW&KLQHVH6WUDWHJLHV RI*RYHUQDQFHDV&RQWUDVWHGZLWK 0DFKLDYHOOL¶V3ROLWLFDO3KLORVRSK\ $FDQGSROLWWKHVLVLQSROLWLFDOVFLHQFH :ULWWHQE\/DUV7+HOOLNVHQ 6SULQJWHUP 'HSDUWPHQWRI3ROLWLFDO6FLHQFH 8QLYHUVLW\RI2VOR 7DEOHRI&RQWHQWV Preface...................................................................................................................................................iii Chapter 1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1 Objectives and Outline ....................................................................................................................... 3 Some Methodological and Theoretical Reflections ........................................................................... 3 Translations and References............................................................................................................... 6 PART I: THE BACKGROUND OF HAN FEI ZI..................................................................................... 8 Chapter 2. The Historical Setting........................................................................................................... 8 From the Zhou Dynasty to the Warring States Period ....................................................................... 8 Legalism in Practice: The State and Empire of Qin......................................................................... 12 Chapter 3. Philosophical Background: Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism. Legalist Forerunners and their Central Concepts.......................................................................................................................... 16 Confucianism.................................................................................................................................... 17 Mohism............................................................................................................................................. 19 Daoism.............................................................................................................................................. 21 Legalist Forerunners and their Central Concepts ............................................................................. 23 Chapter 4. The Life and Writings of Han Fei ...................................................................................... 25 PART II: THE HAN FEI ZI .................................................................................................................... 29 Chapter 5. Han Fei’s Political Thought - A Presentation..................................................................... 29 Man and History ............................................................................................................................... 29 Inquiring into the Sources of Power................................................................................................. 32 The Road to Ruin: A Theory of Opposing Interests......................................................................... 34 Self-Defeating Behaviour. The Deplorable Fate of the Specialists in Law and Political Philosophy .................................................................................................................... 38 The Art of Government .................................................................................................................... 40 Han Fei and Daoism ......................................................................................................................... 52 PART III: MACHIAVELLI AND HAN FEI .......................................................................................... 55 Chapter 6. The Parallel Lives of Machiavelli and Han Fei.................................................................. 55 Chapter 7. History and Man: Assumptions and Methods in the Political Philosophies of Han Fei and Machiavelli........................................................................................................................................... 60 The Lessons of History..................................................................................................................... 60 Historical Change and the Need for Political Adaptation ................................................................ 62 The Nature of Man ........................................................................................................................... 64 Chapter 8. The Discourses and The Han Fei Zi: Conditions for Political Stability............................. 66 The Constitutional Question. Freedom and Political Stability......................................................... 66 Private versus Public Interests: How to Mobilise the People in the Service of the State ................ 70 Law, Power, and the Good Society .................................................................................................. 77 Legal Reforms: Conflict and Institutionalisation of Self-interest.................................................... 79 Institutional Reforms........................................................................................................................ 82 Chapter 9. The Prince and The Han Fei Zi: The Problem of Power Maintenance and Morality under Conditions of Political Instability. ....................................................................................................... 88 New and Hereditary Rulers: The Problem of Power Acquisition .................................................... 88 External Security: Military Alliances versus Military Self-sufficiency........................................... 93 Internal Security: Political Leadership and Moral Virtue ................................................................ 96 Controlling the Civil Servants........................................................................................................ 101 Chapter 10. Political Strategy and Morality: An Analysis of the Political Philosophies of Han Fei and Machiavelli.................................................................................................................................. 104 The Political Battlefield.................................................................................................................. 105 The Strategic Conception of Politics.............................................................................................. 108 The Restructuring of the Political Game. Military and Civil Communities .................................. 123 Politics and Morality: Towards New Conceptions of Political Leadership ................................... 128 Bibliography ................................................................................................................................... 134 i ii 3UHIDFH In the autumn term of 1997, an interdisciplinary course in Chinese political thought (STV-615), jointly initiated by Professor Knut Midgaard (Dept. of Political Science, UiO) and Professor Christoph Harbsmeier (Dept. of East European and Oriental Stud- ies, UiO), was taught at the Department of Political Science of Oslo. The purpose of this course was to give an introduction to Chinese political philosophy and “the art of gov- ernment” at the time of the First Emperor of China. In twelve inspiring lectures, Profes- sor Harbsmeier, by means of a study of passages from selected classical texts, intro- duced the main currents of Chinese political philosophy to his audience. In particular, selected narrative passages from the book +DQ)HL=L from the third century BC, which had a decisive influence on Chinese strategic political thinking, were studied. This the- ory course gave me an opportunity to pursue my long-standing interest in political phi- losophy in a completely new cultural and political setting; and it was only natural that, upon consultations with Professors Midgaard and Harbsmeier, I decided to follow up central topics in the course in my cand. polit. thesis. More specifically, the conclusion was reached that a comparative analysis of the two “pioneers” of strategic political thought in the Chinese and Western traditions, Han Fei and Machiavelli, would consti- tute an intriguing and fruitful challenge. Although the focus of this thesis may seem rather narrow, I would like to suggest that an inquiry of this sort may be seen - in a broader perspective - as a contribution to the process of building bridges between the Western and Chinese traditions of thought, for the benefit of a mutual illumination of central assumptions, problems, questions and points of view. The thesis is written in the faith in the political and cultural significance of studying non-Western cultures in a world of ever increasing interdependence, as well as in the belief that the study of other cultures gives us a critical tool for a renewed ex- amination of our own. I would also like to suggest, as Mulgan (1977: 2) does in the introduction to his book on Aristotle’s political theory, that the study of the history of political thought “is not a merely antiquarian study but involves critical reflection on a living tradition”. Al- though the ideas of ancient writers must be understood in the light of their historical iii context they should also be regarded as means for comparison and assessment of our own experiences, beliefs and values. I owe a special debt of thanks to Christoph Harbsmeier for his enthusiastic support
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