LEGALISM, a Chinese philosophy dating back almost 2,000 years, was recently reintroduced to modern Chinese audiences through China Central Television’s (CCTV) major television series “Let’s Read Classics.” Han Wangxi, a Shenzhen scholar, was the person who tried to make legalism both understandable and appealing to today’s viewers at 10:45 p.m. this past Monday night.

    Han’s lecture introduced “Han Feizi,” the definitive work on Chinese legalism written by Han Fei (280-233 B.C.), and demonstrated the importance of integrating the philosophy into modern society.

    Han has a Ph.D. in ethics from Renmin University of China and is a visiting scholar at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who specializes in traditional Chinese culture and philosophy. His major works include “Ode to Humanity,” and “The Good and Beauty of Humanity.” He is also one of the main writers for the CCTV program “The Power of Morality” and Shenzhen’s “The Standard of Behaviors and Ethics for Shenzhen Residents.”

    Han is a guest speaker for Shenzhen Radio, where he introduces great Chinese scholars from ancient times, and he published 11 articles about traditional Chinese philosophy in Shenzhen Evening News last year.

    As a local leading expert on Chinese classical philosophy, Han was invited by CCTV to take part in their new major national TV program.

    “Han’s lecture was so interesting we decided to make it the subject of the second episode,” said Wan Wei, assistant director of the program.

    Han Fei, also known as Han Feizi, was a Chinese philosopher during the Warring States period of ancient China. Along with Li Si, Gongsun Yang, Shen Dao and Shen Buhai, Han Fei developed the philosophy of legalism in China.

    Born as a prince in the State of Han, Han Fei and the school of legalism helped Qinshihuang, the king of the State of Qin, become the first emperor of China.

    The school of legalism assumed the three main concepts for controlling and ruling a country, including the position of power (shi) and certain techniques for ruling (shu) and emphasized the importance of laws (fa).

    Under legalism, discipline must be standardized and the law must severely punish any unwanted actions while rewarding those who follow it.

    “Han Fei was a student of the great philosopher Xun Zi and integrated the core concepts of legalism into different schools of philosophy. His work, ‘Han Feizi,’ significantly impacted every Chinese dynasty and Chinese society for almost 2,000 years,” Han said.

    Han used four stories in his CCTV lecture to demonstrate Han Fei’s philosophy. “For example, Han Fei told Qinshihuang a story about Qihuangong’s failures. Qihuangong failed because he ignored the importance of law and did whatever his favorite official told him to do. Han Fei thought that a kingdom would fall if the ruler did not govern his kingdom based on the law,” Han said.

    “Han Fei’s main philosophy about how to run a country was based on the concepts of fa, shi and shu and not to bend to the will of the people. Fa, shi and shu are objective standards, but people are subjective and emotional,” Han said.

    Han believes that Han Fei’s philosophy of legalism has a lot in common with today’s concept of running a country based on the rule of law. People today could also learn a great deal from Han Fei’s thoughts and works.

    However, Han pointed out that there were also limitations to traditional philosophies. “For example, in today’s China, our strategy is to govern the country by combing the rule of law with the rule of virtue. However, the main concepts of legalism did not include running the country with the rule of virtue. This is because society is evolving. Therefore, when learning these ancient classics, it is very important for modern people to know their limitations and to adapt to modern society,” Han said. (Wang Yuanyuan)