The court as a battlefield: the art of war and the art of politics in the Han Feizi

The court as a battlefield: the art of war and the art of politics in the Han Feizi

Author: 
Galvany, Albert
Publisher: 
Cambridge University Press
Date published: 
2017
Record type: 
Journal Title: 
Bulletin of the school of Oriental and African studies
Source: 
Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 80, No. 1, February 2017, pp. 73-96
Abstract: 

Most scholarly contributions analysing the Han Feizi tend not only to overlook the influence military literature might have had on its conception and unfolding, but also to assert that the figure of the ruler, as described in this text, and that of the commander, as portrayed in military treatises, are incompatible. In refuting this view, I shall attempt to demonstrate that the writings collected in the Han Feizi fully embrace the logic of military confrontation, which entails, among other things, the deployment of deception and irregular procedures as a necessary means to secure sovereign power and to achieve a complete control of the administration. Accordingly, I shall show that a comprehensive understanding of this important work in the history of classical Chinese thought is not possible unless one takes into account this convergence of shared ideas and concepts from both spheres, that of military strategy and that of political science as set forth in the Han Feizi.

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CITATION: Galvany, Albert. The court as a battlefield: the art of war and the art of politics in the Han Feizi . : Cambridge University Press , 2017. Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, Vol. 80, No. 1, February 2017, pp. 73-96 - Available at: https://library.au.int/court-battlefield-art-war-and-art-politics-han-feizi