Han Fei Zi

El realismo político es la "imaginación del desastre" capaz de captar "momentos anímicos aislados que brillan a través de los siglos" y que por ello están dotados de una "significación eterna". Este estudio propone una definición del realismo político como "forma-límite del pensamiento político".

It is commonly accepted that Han Fei studied under Xunzi sometime during the late third century BCE. However, there is surprisingly little dedicated to the in-depth study of the relationship between Xunzi’s ideas and one of his best-known followers. In this essay I argue that Han Fei’s notion of xing, commonly translated as human nature, was not only influenced by Xunzi but also that it is an important feature of his political philosophy.

Han Fei’s doctrine of absolute monarchy is one of the most sophisticated political ideologies ever devised in any ancient society, and it proved critical to the foundation of the first imperial dynasty. One must nonetheless acknowledge that it remains problematic. What are the reasons for the shifting and contradictory attitudes in the Han Feizi concerning the nature of sovereignty, the distribution of political roles, and the vexed question of the delegation of authority? Cornered by the ever-clashing perspectives of history and doctrine, which imply the simultaneous mistrust of both rulers and ministers, the Han Feizi’s authors were forced into conceiving a sublime rulership figure that was tantamount to a metaphysical dummy. This empty silhouette was the result of the contradictory attempts to destroy all possible factors weakening monarchical authority but yet, at the same time, to nullify all potential damage that the monarch could inflict on the state and on himself. The fascinating figure of a spirit-like Prince fusing with the Principle (Dao) imposed a long-lasting ideological paradigm of rulership on China, one that may account for many of the weaknesses of and tensions in its political culture.

The paradoxical truth of the world is that we can only do the right thing when it is not *our* right thing. As he wanders idly between his fables, Zhuangzi playfully mocks human certainty and ideology through the theme of "getting thinged by things".

Han Feizi (s. III a.C.) es el principal representante de la escuela legista china (făjiā). Los principios de su teoría política le han granjeado el apodo de “el Maquiavelo chino”. Sus ideas serían adoptadas por Qin Shihuang, el Primer Emperador, quien unificó China e impuso un régimen despótico caracterizado por la represión del debate político y la supresión de la libertad de expresión. La conexión entre el desarrollo de la retórica y la situación política en el contexto de la última etapa del clasicismo chino puede servir de fondo para una consideración más amplia de dicho nexo. La retórica comparada proporciona las bases para relacionar el pensamiento legista chino con el discurso neoliberal contemporáneo.

Resumen
El artículo pretende contribuir al estudio de los textos retóricos del clasicismo chino, presentando traducciones directas del chino al castellano. Se ofrece aquí la primera versión íntegra del capítulo 3 (Nán yán) del corpus atribuido al filósofo legista Han Feizi (c. 280-233 a.C.), un autor de extraordinaria importancia a ese respecto. Un comentario analiza el texto, proporciona información para una adecuada comprensión y apreciación y repasa las líneas de investigación que puede ofrecer desde la perspectiva de la retórica comparada.
Palabras clave: retórica china – Han Feizi – suasoria política – retórica comparada – traducción.
Abstract
Our paper contributes to the study of Classical Chinese rhetorical texts by offering new translations from Chinese into Spanish. In this case, it is chapter 3 (Nán yán) from the corpus attributed to the Legalist philosopher Han Feizi, living during the Warring States period (c. 280-233 BC), whose work is highly relevant as far as Rhetoric is concerned. A final commentary analizes the text, presents further details for an accurate understanding and suggests some possible lines of research from the standpoint of comparative Rhetoric.

In this essay I revise, based on the notion of the ‘enlightened ruler’ or mingzhu and his critique of the literati of his time, the common belief that Han Fei was an amoralist and an advocate of tyranny. Instead, I will argue that his writings are dedicated to advising those who ought to rule in order to achieve the goal of a peaceful and stable society framed by laws in accordance with the dao.