Similarities Between Kongzi And Han Feii

The landscape of classical Chinese philosophy was transformed by two Chinese scholars Kongzi, whose name was Latinised into Confucius, and Han Feizi who lived two hundred years apart in the reign of the Zhou dynasty. Their philosophies challenged and provided solutions to the disorder in the societies they lived in. This paper aims to look at the similarities and differences between the philosophies of the two scholars. It also analyses the ways in which they discussed the structure of their societies as well as how they should be ruled and reformed.
Kongzi, who preceded Han Fei and lived from 551-479 B.C.E., established a school of thought that sought to change the virtues and the governing of the Zhou kingdom by looking to the past. The

Kongzi espoused the idea of the gentleman who interpreted the ways of heaven, kept in touch with his ancestors’ spirits and practised moral conduct for the refinement of his society. In this way, the gentleman could be a subject and not necessarily the king. The focus also lay in the individual bettering himself for the sake of others. Han Fei, on the other hand, laid the foundation for the absolutist state by stating that the ruler should ideally have total power over his subjects and control his personal feelings to rule in an amoral fashion so as to not be strayed by persuasive ministers seeking to usurp his power. The focal point of Han Fei’s argument is the ruler: he is paramount in his capabilities regarding power and was entitled to respect and rule. Additionally, Kongzi and Han Fei cherished the idea of empowering the individual, though in different respects. The individual, to Kongzi, was someone who did not need to be born into power but had to cultivate a sense of importance by taking stock of his past and improving his sensibilities and knowledge in the present. Since there was no specific individual in Kongzi’s mind, the individual was created through the process of nurture. On the other hand, the most important person in Han Fei’s philosophy was the monarch. He was somebody who, by virtue of his birth, came into power so he had to harness the powers vested in him in order to become an example to his subjects. The dynamics of these two philosophies therefore follow the age old debate of nature versus