Han Feizi (Basic Collection of Chinese Family Classics. Volume of the Hundred Schools of Thought)

Author: Xu Cuilan, translated and annotated by Mu Gong
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Features: This book is one of the volumes in "Basic Collection of Chinese Family Classics · Volume of the Hundred Schools of Thought," designed to provide readers with an accessible and easy-to-understand reading experience. The book is based on Wang Xingshen's "Collected Explanations of Han Feizi" from the Qing Dynasty, with occasional references to other editions. Research findings from the "Collected Explanations" are selectively adopted without special mention. The complete "Han Feizi" consists of twenty volumes and fifty-five chapters, but due to length constraints, this book selects and annotates its essence. The selection focuses on the more narrative and readable chapters such as "Shu Lin," "Ne Chu Shuo," and "Wai Chu Shuo," with subheadings set according to the original text to aid comprehension. The annotations are kept concise, and the translations aim 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 known for its powerful and passionate style, especially its numerous fables, many of which are still widely today. 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. Since its inception, countless works have been written to study "Han Feizi." To further assist readers, the book concludes with sections on "Major Editions of Han Feizi" and "Important Research Works on Han Feizi."