Abstract:
For long years, discussion about the relationship of thought between Xunzi and Hanfeizi has been dominated by a sort of tautological argument between two notions.First, that Han Fei was the student of Xunzi, and second that Han Fei’s view of human beings was profoundly influenced by Xunzi’s theory that “Human nature is bad”. By means of separately reflecting these two notions, this article attempts to demonstrate the following two points: Firstly, Han Fei’s view of human beings succeeded in the early socalled Legalist texts such as the Book of the Lord Shang, and Jixia thinkers such as Shen Dao and Tian Pian, not in Xunzi’s theory of human nature. Secondly, it is highly probable that the reason that Sima Qian wrote that Han Fei with Li Si served Xunzi was because he wanted to explain why Li Si “felt jealous” about Han Fei so that he drove Han Fei into death at the Qin court. In order to make the story consistent concerning when Li Si knew Han Fei's talent as a political philosopher, Sima Qian imagined a background situation that Han Fei served Xunzi together with Li Si when they were young. However, on the point of the origin of Han Fei’s political theory, Sima Qian had a very clear idea that Han Fei’s theory had not been influenced by Xunzi’s thought.
