Mainly reflected in the following aspects:
1. In Han Fei's view, "two punishments and one reward" is the most effective means to promote the rule of law. Both Shang Yang and Han Fei advocate severe punishment. How to reward and punish? Shang Yang basically advocated light reward and little reward. Such as "severe punishment and light reward, then love the people and die;" Reward with a light punishment, the people of the world will not love, and the people will not die. "There are many punishments for governing the country and few rewards." Shang Yang believes that reward is the auxiliary of punishment: "The husband punishes evil, and rewards help to prohibit evil". Han Fei first advocated reward, on the grounds that "if you reward, you will get something; If the punishment is heavy, it is urgent to ban evil. " Later, he emphasized less reward, because "heavy punishment and less reward, those who love the people die;" "Reward is greater than punishment, do not love the people in the class, and the people will not die in the class, in response to Shang Yang's saying that" love the people with heavy punishment ",and because" punishment wins and the people are safe, reward is complicated and treacherous. "This change of Han Fei shows that severe punishment goes to extremes, which will inevitably lead to light rewards and less rewards.
2. Han Fei is the defender of Shang Yang's thought of replacing punishment with punishment. Han Fei continued to discuss the reasons for heavy punishment on the basis of Shang Yang. "The so-called heavy punishment, the advantage of rape is a fine, and what is added is big. People don't commit big crimes for small profits, so rape will stop. The so-called lighter punishment, the benefits of rape are great, and the worse is small. People admire Qili and are proud of their sins, so they are raped. " This paper compares and analyzes the functions of heavy punishment and light punishment in stopping crime, and holds that heavy punishment can stop crime better than light punishment. The purpose of severe punishment is not only to punish criminals, but also to prevent crimes. "It is not the sinner who is severely punished by her husband." Severe punishment strikes against thieves and other major crimes, deterring and educating citizens not to commit crimes: "Severe punishment, thieves, sinners, good citizens", "rape is serious, and the evil of the country is also stopped." The ultimate goal of punishment is to rule the people, not to destroy them. Therefore, "knowing the Lord can reward him and set avoidable punishment." Although Han Fei realized that the law inevitably has its side effects, "the law is difficult" and "the law is not difficult, and the world is harmless", even the sages have to admit that it is "orderly, but there are waves in the water. I want more, but I can't help it. " However, in order to maintain the ruling order, we can only pay the price for criminal acts in hell, but we must never be soft-hearted, let alone tolerate and foster traitors. "If you don't want to be punished, you will be benevolent; But the punishment should be punished, and the law is also "not only that, but also" the implementation should be implemented, and the light ones should not come, and the heavy ones should not come. This is called replacing punishment with punishment. The crime is heavy and the punishment is light, and the punishment is light, which is called punishment. " Heavy punishment can be "replaced by punishment", while light punishment will lead to "replaced by punishment". Therefore, heavy punishment can prevent crime more than light punishment.
3. The thought of "law has no hierarchy" and "law is not expensive" is the most radical proposition put forward by Han Fei to realize the rule of law. He stated in "You Du" that "the law is not expensive, the rope is not tortuous, and the law is increased. Wise men dare to speak, brave men dare to argue, punishment is inseparable from doctors, and rewards are inseparable from ordinary people. " The same idea is expressed as "one punishment" in Shang Yang: "The so-called one punishment has no hierarchy. Since Qing Xiang, general and doctor Shu Ren, some people have disobeyed the king's orders, violated the state ban, and created chaos, which is extremely sinful. " As can be seen from the above two paragraphs, Shang Yang first put forward the idea that "punishment has no dignity", and Shang Yang further developed into "law has no dignity". It should be said that this thought appeared as the direct antithesis of "doctors can't be punished, Shu Ren can't be polite" which prevailed in three generations, and its spearhead was directed at aristocratic privilege. Therefore, it has trans-generational significance in the history of China's legal thought, and laid a theoretical foundation for later generations to resist extra-legal privilege, which should be fully affirmed.
4. Shang Yang advocated the doctrine of severe punishment, opposed the Confucian thought of ruling by virtue, and thought that "benevolence and righteousness are not enough to rule the world" and advocated "banning rape and imposing severe punishment". At the same time, he does not deny that morality has a certain role, and discusses the role of morality according to his own theory of rule of law. Shang Yang said: "A saint can govern people with his heart, so he can exert his strength. Endless strength, Qiang Sen Wei, Hui, De, Li ". Admit the inspiring role of morality, but the inspiring role and morality come not from the king's character but from the king's strength, and the king's strength comes from the deterrent of punishment. Therefore, Shang Yang further pointed out: "Punishment gives birth to strength, Johnson is strong, Johnson is strong, Wei is strong, Wei is strong, and virtue comes from punishment." In Shang Yang's eyes, virtue is only a derivative of punishment, and the implementation of punishment can form moral fashion in the environment of a country ruled by law. "Killing is against punishment, and righteousness is against violence", not only punishment can produce virtue, but violence is also meaningful. Shang Yang's "Morality from Punishment" is to defend his thought of severe punishment, which is too extreme and close to sophistry, so it is not taken by Han Fei. Han Fei called criminal morality the king's "second hand" in manipulating the people and ruling the country. "The second in command is also a criminal morality. What is criminal morality? It is said that killing is a punishment and celebrating is a virtue. " Although there is an order of combining punishment with morality, it still reflects that Han Fei attaches more importance to morality than Shang Yang, or at least disagrees with Shang Yang's view that "morality is born in punishment". At the same time, it should be pointed out that killing is not the whole punishment, and celebrating rewards is only a part of morality. Han Fei did not discuss this in depth. If it is expanded, it is possible to further put forward slogans such as "punishment first, morality second". The reason why Han Fei pays more attention to the role of morality can be found in his relationship with teachers. Han Fei studied under Xun Kuang, and Xun Kuang was a Confucian. Xun Kuang's thought of "the law of long ceremony" had a potential influence on Han Fei. In addition, Han Fei's "love to learn the name of criminal demons" led to Han Fei's combination of "criminal morality" and Xun Kuang's "law of long ceremony". If Xun Kuang can introduce some thoughts of legalists to transform Confucianism, it will be difficult for Han Fei to completely exclude the influence of Confucianism after Xun Kuang's transformation.
However, Han Fei, after all, is a legalist and has never given up his thought of rule of law. Although he combined punishment with morality, he still advocated "obeying the law with morality", thinking that "the strong is what people do, and the weak is what people do, so wisdom." My husband's family is not fierce, but my loving mother has lost her son. I know that power can stop violence, but virtue is not enough to stop chaos. " ⑦