In ancient times, those who excelled at guarding the state used what people valued most to prohibit what they took lightly, and used what they found hardest to bear to restrain what they found easy to do. Therefore, both the noble man and the petty man conduct themselves uprightly; both Robber Zhi and Zeng Shen and Shi Yu maintain their integrity. How do we know this? A greedy thief will not plunge into a ravine to pick up gold, for if he plunges into a ravine to pick up gold, his life will not be preserved. Meng Ben and Xia Yu, if they do not measure their enemy, will earn no reputation for courage; Robber Zhi, if he does not calculate feasibility, will not succeed in gaining profit.
When a wise ruler upholds his prohibitions, Meng Ben and Xia Yu are checked where they cannot prevail, and Robber Zhi is harmed where he cannot seize. Therefore, when a ruler can prohibit what Meng Ben and Xia Yu dare not transgress, and guard what Robber Zhi dare not take, then the violent become cautious, and the wicked return to righteousness. When the mightiest warrior grows cautious and the greatest thief grows honest, then the world is fair and just, and the hearts of the common people are set aright.
Note
This Han Feizi excerpt advocates deterrence‑centered legislation. Using Robber Zhi and warriors as examples, it argues heavy penalties can restrain all people, making even violent and wicked individuals comply and bringing social fairness.
Robber Zhi (盗跖):
A legendary archetypal bandit in ancient Chinese literature, portrayed as the embodiment of greed and lawlessness. He appears frequently in the Zhuangzi and other pre-Qin texts as a foil to moral exemplars. Han Fei uses him not as a historical figure but as a cultural shorthand for the worst kind of criminal – the one most resistant to moral persuasion but most susceptible to rational calculation of costs and benefits.
It is worth noting that Zhi, also known as Liuxia Zhi, was a leader of a slave uprising in the late Spring‑and‑Autumn Period. Zhi was his given name. The epithet “robber” was a derogatory label imposed on him by slave‑owners and later‑generation literati. In orthodox ancient histories, he was labelled a “robber” and denounced as a rebel brigand. From the perspective of historical materialism and the people‑centered view of history, Mao re‑evaluated this historical figure in his poem.
Zeng Shen (曾参):
A disciple of Confucius, universally regarded as the archetype of filial piety and moral integrity in Confucian tradition. He is said to have examined himself three times daily for any moral failing. Han Fei pairs him with Robber Zhi to make a striking point: under a well-designed legal system, even the most virtuous sage and the most depraved criminal would behave identically – not because the criminal became virtuous, but because the cost of vice became too high.
Shi Yu (史鱼):
Also known as Shi Qiu (史䲡), a minister of the State of Wei during the Spring and Autumn period. He was renowned for his unwavering uprightness – so much so that even on his deathbed, he instructed his son to present his body to the ruler in a posture of protest, urging the appointment of a worthy minister. He became a symbol of incorruptible integrity, paired with Zeng Shen as the moral extreme.
Meng Ben (孟贲) and Xia Yu (夏育):
Two of the most celebrated warriors in ancient Chinese history. Meng Ben was a legendary strongman said to be able to pull bulls by their tails and drag tigers by their paws. Xia Yu was a famous warrior of the State of Wei. Together, “Ben and Yu” (贲育) became a fixed expression in Chinese literature for supreme martial courage. Han Fei uses them to illustrate that even the bravest warriors are constrained by rational self-interest – they will not fight battles they cannot win, because death without glory is the worst outcome.
Use what they value most to prohibit what they take lightly (以其所重禁其所轻):
This is Han Fei’s core legislative strategy. “所重” refers to what people treasure most – their lives, their families, their status. “所轻” refers to the minor offenses people might casually commit. By attaching the heaviest possible penalty to even minor offenses, the law makes the cost-benefit calculation overwhelmingly negative, deterring all rational actors. This is the Legalist version of deterrence theory.
Plunging into a ravine to pick up gold:
A vivid metaphor for an action where the potential gain is far outweighed by the risk. Even a greedy thief understands that gold at the bottom of a ravine is not worth his life. Han Fei uses this to argue that deterrence works not by changing human nature, but by making the cost of crime exceed its reward – a principle that applies universally, regardless of moral character.
Both noble and petty men act uprightly; both Robber Zhi and the sages maintain integrity:
This is Han Fei’s most provocative claim. He is not saying that law makes everyone morally equal – he is saying that law makes moral character irrelevant to behavior. Under a perfect legal system, the sage acts rightly because of virtue, and the criminal acts rightly because of fear. The outcome is the same. This challenges the Confucian assumption that moral cultivation is the foundation of good governance.
The violent become cautious, the wicked return to righteousness (暴者守愿，邪者反正):
“愿” here means cautious, restrained – not virtuous in the Confucian sense, but practically compliant. Han Fei’s point is that the law does not need to transform human nature; it only needs to make violence and crime so costly that even the most violent and criminal persons choose restraint. This is a profoundly pragmatic vision of governance.
The mightiest warrior grows cautious, the greatest thief grows honest:
This is Han Fei’s ultimate vision of legal order. When even the archetypal warrior (Meng Ben, Xia Yu) and the archetypal criminal (Robber Zhi) are constrained by law, the entire society falls into line. The phrase “the great thief becomes honest” is deliberately paradoxical – it suggests that institutional design can achieve what moral education cannot: making even the worst person act as if they were the best.
The hearts of the common people are set aright:
“齊民” literally means “the leveled people” – ordinary citizens whose status has been equalized under the law. Han Fei argues that when the law treats everyone equally – punishing the powerful and protecting the weak – the natural disposition of the people returns to order. This is the Legalist answer to social harmony: not through ritual and virtue, but through impartial enforcement of clear rules.
古之善守者，以其所重禁其所輕，以其所難止其所易。故君子與小人俱正，盜跖與曾、史俱廉。何以知之？夫貪盜不赴谿而掇金，赴谿而掇金則身不全；賁、育不量敵則無勇名，盜跖不計可則利不成。明主之守禁也，賁、育見侵於其所不能勝，盜跖見害於其所不能取。故能禁賁、育之所不能犯，守盜跖之所不能取，則暴者守愿，邪者反正。大勇愿，巨盜貞，則天下公平，而齊民之情正矣。
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