Des Herrschers neue Kleider. Rekonzeption des zhǔ 主 bzw. jūn 君 und seiner Herrschaft im klassischen und Neuen chinesischen Legalismus

Abstract

Abstract This essay re-interprets the ruler and their rulership in classical Chinese Legalism (Fǎjiā 法家) and its main work, the Hán Fēizǐ 韓非子 attributed to Han Fei 韓非 (c. 280–233 BCE). The re-interpretation takes late 19th and early 20th century New Legalism’s (Xīn Fǎjiā 新法家) focus on the ruler’s instruments of governance as a starting point. My essay raises this instrumental idea to a new level by re-conceptualizing the ruler (zhǔ 主 or jūn 君) as a dynamic figure and office. First, the legalist ruler becomes procedural. Their rulership is not a static property vested in a fixed unit. Rather, the ruler must create and sustain their office by applying the three action modes: fǎ 法 (general, standardized, public laws), shì 勢 (positional power surrounding the ruler), and shù 術 (administrative tactics kept internal and secret). Secondly, the ruler becomes relative. Their rulership is not an absolute feature pertaining to one single institution or person. Rather, every unit in state hierarchy – whether monarch, minister (chén 臣), or citizen (mín 民) – can turn into a ruler with respect to other units acting as its ministers. This re-conception of rulership renders Han Feis 2,200-year-old theory of rulership a neither out-of-date nor authoritarian analytical framework. Using this framework developed by my essay, prospective analyses can potentially apply Chinese Legalism not only to Ancient China but also to other epochs and other countries, and that in various disciplines.