Han Fei Tzu also called Master Han Fei (third century B.C.), Chinese Legalist political theorist. He was a prince of the state of Han and a student of Hsün Tzu. His thought, recorded in the text Han Fei Tzu, mainly concerned the method of government and was addressed primarily to rulers. Han Fei Tzu believed that human beings are self-seeking by nature, and that they can rarely be transformed by education and moral examples. Accordingly, the ruler should institute a precisely formulated and clearly propagated system of laws (fa) to regulate their behavior, and enforce it with punishment. Officials, in addition to being governed by laws, are to be rewarded and punished according to whether their performance coincides with their official duties and proposed plans. The ruler should enforce this system strictly without favoritism, should shun contact with subordinates to avoid breeding familiarity, and should conceal his personal likes and dislikes to avoid their being exploited. Having properly set up the machinary of government, the government will run smoothly with minimal intervention by the ruler. See also CHI- NESE LEGALIS. K.-l.S.