人或傳其書至秦。秦王見孤憤、五蠹之書，曰：「嗟乎，寡人得見此人與之游，死不恨矣！」李斯曰：「此韓非之所著書也。」秦因急攻韓。韓王始不用非，及急，乃遣非使秦。秦王悅之，未信用。李斯、姚賈害之，毀之曰：「韓非，韓之諸公子也。今王欲并諸侯，非終為韓不為秦，此人之情也。今王不用，久留而歸之，此自遺患也，不如以過法誅之。」秦王以為然，下吏治非。李斯使人遺非藥，使自殺。韓非欲自陳，不得見。秦王後悔之，使人赦之，非已死矣。申子、韓子皆著書，傳於後世，學者多有。余獨悲韓子為說難而不能自脫耳。

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Someone circulated certain memorials by Han Fei[1] in Qin. The King of Qin[2] read Solitary Indignation[3] and Five Vermin[4] and said, "Ah, if we could only meet this person in the course of his travels I could die with no regrets."
Li Si said, "These memorials were written by Han Fei." Qin thus intensified its attacks on Han. At first the King of Han[4] had had not wished to employ Fei, but under pressure he gave in an sent him as his envoy to Qin. The King of Qin was delighted by this, but did not trust him enough to employ him.

Li Si and Yao Jia[6], who were antipathetic towards Han Fei, slandered him, saying, "Han Fei is a son of the Lord of Han[7]. Now Your Majesty wishes to annex his state, Fei will - in the end - side with Han and not with Qin. Such is human nature. If you now refrain from employing him and oblige him to prolong his stay here before sending him back, you will be inviting future misfortunes. The best thing would be to accuse him of some crime and execute him." The King of Qin saw some truth in this and sent officials to take Fei into custody. Li Si sent one of his supporters with drugs such that Fei may commit suicide. Han Fei wished to put his case before the King in person, but could not obtain an audience. The King of Qin later regretted this and sent people to pardon Fei, but he was already dead. Master Shen[8] and Master Han[9] both wrote memorials that have been passed down to later generations, such that most scholars have a copy. My[9] only sorrow is that Master Han, who wrote Difficulties in Persuasion[10] could not himself use it to escape his fate.

 

[1] Han Fei, a legalist author and junior member of the Han royal house who had seemingly studied under Xunzi with Li Si.

[2] King Zheng of Qin (247-210 BCE) would later unify China and rule under the name Qin Shihuang.

[3] The title of a surviving essay by Han Fei. The text can be found here.

[4] The title of a surviving essay by Han Fei. The text can be found here.

[5] King An of Han (238-230 BCE) was the last King of Han.

[6] Yao Jia was a Qin diplomat. The conflict described here is covered in the Stratagems of the Warring States.

[7] I.e. King An.

[8] Shen Buhai was another legalist author who served as Chancellor of Han during the fourth century BC.

[9] I.e. Sima Qian's, the author of this biography.

[10] The title of a surviving essay by Han Fei. The text can be found here.