Han Fei(280 B. C.~233 B. C.), a native of the State of Han and a former student of Xun Zi, synthesized the thoughts of the Legalist School of the pre-Qin period.
韩非(约公元前280年~公元前233年)，韩国人，曾受学于荀况，是先秦法家思想的集大成者。
His doctrines served as the theoretical basis for the State of Qin's unification of China and the establishment of a feudal and autocratic empire. Han Fei's entire work is collected in Han Feizi, a book containing 55 chapters.
他的学说，为秦的统一和封建专制帝国的建立做了重要的思想准备，现存《韩非子》一书，共55篇。

Han Fei adopted and developed a progressive social and historical view put forward by earlier legalists (Shang Yang, for instance) and further proposed his notions of social development and historical evolution. He pointed out that "one does not have to follow ancient practices in order to govern" and "as conditions in the world change, different principles should be applied accordingly." He also held that the impetus of social development lies in the material foundation and inner conflicts of the society.
韩非继承并发展了商鞍等前期法家进步的社会历史观，提出“治世不法古”的社会发展观和“世异则事异，事异则备变”的历史进化论，主张从社会的物质基础，从社会内部的矛盾现象来探求社会发展变化的原因。
Han Fei's idea of ruling a state involves three concepts: fa (the laws), shu (techniques) and shi (power). An intelligent ruler must have shu(techniques) to carry out fa (laws), and he must have shi (power) to use the techniques and enforce the laws.
韩非的法治思想是“法、术、势”相结合，“行术”是“抱法”的必要方法，而“行术”、“抱法”必须以“处势”为基本前提，但又是“处势”的重要手段。
Fa, above all, is the most fundamental concept of the three, though they are complementary in function.
三者之中，“法”是最根本的，但必须三者结合，相辅为用。
Like Xun Zi, Han Fei denied the correspondence between human and the universe and believed that the change of natural world is rule-governed. He also argued that one should “deal with everything by following their generic and specific rules", with which one could actively exert their talents and abilities.
在天道观方面，他继承了荀况“天人相分”、“天行有常”的思想，提出“道理相应”的自然观，主张“缘道理以从事”。用“道”和“理”来说明事物发展的普遍规律和特殊规律之间的关系，要求人要遵循客观规律办事，充分发挥主观能动性。
Epistemologically, Han Fei adopted the method of "investigation and verification" and objected to idealist apriorism. Right and wrong can only be distinguished by abiding by the doctrine of “holding the actualities responsible for their names".
在认识论方面，韩非注重“参验”，反对唯心主义先验论的“前识”，以名实是否相合为确定是非的标志。
In debates with people from other schools, Han Fei tended to use the law of contradiction and law of excluded middle to expose the contradictions in their arguments.
韩非在辩论中经常用矛盾律和排中律来揭露其他学派自身的矛盾。
He believed that contradictory ideas and things cannot coexist, but the contradictory parties are interchangeable.
他认为对立的思想或事物不能同时存在，但矛盾的双方可以相互转化。
Thus Han Fei attached importance to the conflict between the contradictory parties and further exaggerated this conflict, resulting in his belief that violence and power are the panacea of everything.
在矛盾观中，韩非较多地强调对立面的斗争，把对立性绝对化为势不两立，导致他在政治上主张唯暴力论，认为只要依靠暴力和权势就可解决一切问题。