Top 12 Han Fei Quotes

To govern the state by law is to praise the right and blame the wrong.

The way of the ruler is to make certain that, if what a minister says beforehand does not tally with what he says later, or what he says later does not tally with what he has said previously, then although he may have fulfilled his task with distinction, he is condemned to certain punishment. This is what it means to hold your subordinates responsible.

Be immeasurably great, be unfathomably deep; make certain that names and results tally, examine laws and customs, punish those who act willfully, and the state will be without traitors.

Take hold of the handles of government carefully and grip them tightly. Destroy all hope, smash all intention of wresting them from you; allow no man to covet them.

From your place of darkness observe the defects of others. See but do not appear to see; listen but do not seem to listen; know but do not let it be known that you know. When you perceive the trend of a man's words, do not change them, do not correct them, but examine them and compare them with the results.

The way is the beginning of all beings and the measure of right and wrong.

Laws are the means of prohibiting error and ruling out selfish motives; strict penalties are the means of enforcing orders and disciplining inferiors. Authority should never reside in two places; the power of decree should never be open to joint use. If authority and power are shared with others, then all manner of abuse will become rife. If law does not command respect, then all the ruler’s actions will be endangered. If penalties are not enforced, then evil will never be surmounted.

A truly enlightened ruler uses the law to select men for him; he does not choose them himself. He uses the law to weigh their merits; he does not attempt to judge them for himself.

國無常強，無常弱。奉法者強則國強，奉法者弱則國弱。

No state is forever strong or forever weak. If those who uphold the law are strong, the state will be strong; if they are weak, the state will be weak.

In dealing with those who share his bed, the enlightened ruler may enjoy their beauty but should not listen to their special pleas...

四海既藏，道陰見陽。左右既立，開門而當。勿變勿易，與二俱行，行之不已，是謂履理也。