Han Feizi -- Basic Collection of Chinese Family Classics

Author: Xu Cuilan, translated and annotated by Mu Gong
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2003-03-01
Features: This book is one of the volumes in "Essential Classics of Chinese Family Libraries · The Hundred Schools of Thought," aimed at providing readers with an accessible and easy-to-understand edition. The entire work is based on Wang Xingshen's Qing Dynasty "Collected Explanations of Han Feizi," with occasional references to other versions. Research findings from the "Collected Explanations" have been selectively adopted where appropriate, without special mention. The complete "Han Feizi" consists of twenty volumes and fifty-five chapters, but due to space constraints, this book selects and annotates its essence. The selection focuses on the more narrative and readable sections such as "Shu Lin," "Nei Chu Shuo," and "Wai Chu Shuo," with subheadings based on the original text to aid comprehension. The annotations are concise, and the translations strive for accuracy and readability, primarily using literal translation with occasional free translation as needed.
"Han Feizi" is renowned as one of the "Four Great Pillars of Pre-Qin Prose" (alongside "Mencius," "Zhuangzi," and "Xunzi"). It is characterized by its powerful and passionate style, especially its numerous fables, many of which have endured to this day. For this reason, the book includes a section titled "Famous Quotes and Sayings from 'Han Feizi'" at the end, with corresponding sentences in the main text marked in italics for easy reference and retrieval.
Since its inception, countless works have been written on "Han Feizi" for study. To further assist readers, the book concludes with sections on "Major Editions of 'Han Feizi'" and "Important Research Works on 'Han Feizi.'"