Conventions
Han Fei’s native state 韓 is transcribed Hán. 魏 is transcribed Wei and 衛 is transcribed Wey. The name of the state of 徐 is rendered Xú, whereas 許 is rendered Xǔ. The name of the last king of the Shang dynasty, Zhou 紂 is transcribed Zhòu to distinguish him from the Zhou 周 dynasty (when the dynasty’s name appears in the same sentence as the name of the Shang tyrant, we distinguish it as Zhōu).
All dates are Before Common Era unless indicated otherwise.
In the footnotes, first person pronouns refer to the translator.
The text is divided into sections following Zhang Jue 2011. Page references are supplied for Zhang Jue 2011, referred to as “Xilun”, and Chen Qiyou 2000, referred to as “Xin jiaozhu.”