Person

Han Fei

c. 280–233 BCE · 3rd century BCE · Also known as Han Feizi

Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE) was a prince of the State of Han and the leading theorist of Legalism. The book named after him, the Han Feizi, argues that a ruler should govern through clear laws, strict rewards and punishments and techniques for controlling officials, rather than through Confucian virtue. Sent to Qin as an envoy, he died in prison there, but his ideas shaped the policies of the Qin state.

Han Fei
Image: Sabinowitz · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 profiles

State of QinImpactClassical ChineseOrigins, Literature

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Eastern ZhouState of Han

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Han Fei. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/han-fei
MLA
“Han Fei.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/han-fei. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Han Fei.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/han-fei.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Han Fei’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/han-fei (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻