Overview
The translated histories identify Han Fei as an envoy, official, philosopher, and royal family member. This record brings together 30 passages from 11 chapters across 5 histories, with names, dates, relationships, offices, and events preserved as source-backed claims.
Names
| Type | English | Chinese | Pinyin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Personal | Han Fei | 韓非 | Han Fei |
| Given | Fei | 非 | Fēi |
| Alternate | Fei | 非 | Fēi |
| Given | Fei | 非 | Fei |
| Surname | Han | 韓 | Hán |
| Personal name | Han Fei | 韓非 | Han Fei |
| Personal | Han Fei | 韓 | Han |
| Personal name | Han Fei | 韓非 | Hán Fēi |
| Personal | Han Fei | 韩非 | Han Fei |
| Personal | Han Fei | 韓 | Han Fei |
| Personal | Han Fei | 韓非 | |
| Personal | Han Fei | 韓非 | Hán Fēi |
| Personal | Han Feizi | 韓子 | Hánzǐ |
| Personal name | Han Feizi | 韓子 | Hánzǐ |
| Personal name | Han Feizi | 韓非子 | Hán Fēizǐ |
| Personal | Han Zi | 韓子 | Hanzi |
Identity
- Historicity
- Historical
- Identification
- Named
- Sex
- Male
- Sex: maleStrongly inferred · houhanshu:032:s0122, mingshi:298:s0095, shiji:063:s0053, shiji:108:s0002, shiji:124:s0001
- Sex: maleExplicit · houhanshu:085:s0072, shiji:045:s0191
Roles
- Envoy
- Official
- Philosopher
- Royal Family Member
- Scholar
- Student
- Writer
Life and dates
Death
- Manner: execution · Authority: Qin / 秦 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 王安五年 · Regnal Year: 5 · Western Year: BC 234Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
- Manner: forced suicide by poison in Qin / 李斯使人遺非藥，使自殺 · Place: Qin / 秦 · Authority Person Id: Li Si (李斯)
Attested activity
- Source Date: Text: 王安五年 · Regnal Year: 5 · Western Year: BC 234Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
- Source Date: Text: BC 280-233 · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 233Strongly inferred · houhanshu:032:s0122
- Source Date: Text: BC 475-221 · Western Interval: Start: BC 475 · End: BC 221Explicit event contextual date · houhanshu:085:s0072
- Source Date: Text: Warring States activity of Han Feizi · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 233Strongly inferred · shiji:108:s0002
- Source Date: Text: 楊、墨、釋、老 · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 233Explicit event contextual date · mingshi:298:s0095
- Source Date: Text: 終死於秦 · Western Year: BC 233Explicit · shiji:063:s0063
- Source Date: Text: 與李斯俱事荀卿 · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 250Explicit event contextual date · shiji:063:s0056
- Source Date: Text: 遣非使秦 · Western Year: BC 234Explicit · shiji:063:s0131
- Source Date: Text: 韓子曰 · Western Interval: Start: BC 280 · End: BC 233Explicit · shiji:124:s0001
- Source Date: Text: 韓非 · Western Year: BC 233Explicit · nanqishu:047:s0082
Origins and identity
- Label: prince of the Han ruling house / 韓之諸公子Explicit · shiji:063:s0053
Career and standing
- Label: envoy / 使Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
- Status: detained · Action: entered · Place: Qin / 秦 · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 王安五年 · Regnal Year: 5 · Western Year: BC 234Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
- Explicit · shiji:063:s0136
Places and affiliations
- Polity: Han / 韓 · Relation: servedExplicit · shiji:045:s0191
Learning and skills
- Belief: Huang-Lao / 黃老 · Relation: based-onExplicit · shiji:063:s0054
- Skill: writing books / 善著書 · Level: renownedExplicit · shiji:063:s0055
Works and attributed material
- Title: Difficulty of Persuasion / 說難Explicit · hanshu:117:s0245
- Work: Difficulty of Persuasion / 說難 · Relation: author
- Work: Five Parasites / 五蠹 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:063:s0062
- Work: Forest of Sayings / 說林 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:063:s0062
- Work: Inner and Outer Stores / 內外儲 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:063:s0062
- Work: Lonely Indignation / 孤憤 · Relation: authorExplicit · shiji:063:s0062
- Kind: quotation · Role: authorExplicit · shiji:124:s0001
- Kind: treatise · Role: author · Work: Difficulty of Persuasion / 說難Explicit · shiji:063:s0064, shiji:063:s0065, shiji:063:s0066, shiji:063:s0067, shiji:063:s0068, shiji:063:s0069, shiji:063:s0070, shiji:063:s0071, shiji:063:s0072, shiji:063:s0073, shiji:063:s0074, shiji:063:s0075, shiji:063:s0076, shiji:063:s0077, shiji:063:s0078, shiji:063:s0079, shiji:063:s0080, shiji:063:s0081, shiji:063:s0082, shiji:063:s0083, shiji:063:s0084, shiji:063:s0085, shiji:063:s0086, shiji:063:s0087, shiji:063:s0088, shiji:063:s0089, shiji:063:s0090, shiji:063:s0091, shiji:063:s0092, shiji:063:s0093, shiji:063:s0094, shiji:063:s0095, shiji:063:s0096, shiji:063:s0097, shiji:063:s0098, shiji:063:s0099, shiji:063:s0100, shiji:063:s0101, shiji:063:s0102, shiji:063:s0103, shiji:063:s0104, shiji:063:s0105, shiji:063:s0106, shiji:063:s0107, shiji:063:s0108, shiji:063:s0109, shiji:063:s0110, shiji:063:s0111, shiji:063:s0112, shiji:063:s0113, shiji:063:s0114, shiji:063:s0115, shiji:063:s0116, shiji:063:s0117, shiji:063:s0118, shiji:063:s0119, shiji:063:s0120, shiji:063:s0121, shiji:063:s0122, shiji:063:s0123, shiji:063:s0124, shiji:063:s0125, shiji:063:s0126
Events and relationships
- Kind: remonstrance · Role: remonstrator · Action: remonstrated-in-writing · Other Person Id: King of Han (韓王)Explicit · shiji:063:s0057
- Explicit · shiji:063:s0131
- Kind: diplomatic · Role: envoy · Action: sent-to · Place: Qin / 秦 · Other Person Id: King An (王安) · Date Context: Source Date: Text: 王安五年 · Regnal Year: 5 · Western Year: BC 234Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
- Explicit · shiji:063:s0133, shiji:063:s0136
- Relation: fellow-student-of · Person Id: Li Si (李斯)Explicit · shiji:063:s0056
- Relation: student-of · Person Id: Xunzi (孫卿)Explicit · shiji:063:s0056
- Relation: envoy-of · Person Id: King An (王安)Explicit · shiji:045:s0191
Assessments and attributes
- Assessment: drew ink lines, cut affairs, clarified right and wrong; extreme was harsh and cruel, lacking mercy · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)Explicit · shiji:063:s0145
- Assessment: wrote Difficulty of Persuasion yet could not save himself · Provenance: Mode: historian-judgment · Speaker Person Id: Sima Qian (太史公)Explicit · shiji:063:s0141
- Kind: physical-description · Statement: had a stutter / 口吃Explicit · shiji:063:s0055
Source notes
- Historicity: historicalExplicit · houhanshu:085:s0072
References in the histories
Open any source group to read the Chinese and English passage in context.