本文的目的在於勾勒出近代的中國大陸和臺灣，以及從德川時代迄今日 本的《韓非子》研究的主要脈絡和特點。經過相關文獻的探討，本文將提出 如下四個觀點： 第一，在海峽兩岸的《韓非子》研究中，無論是二十世紀初或當今，個 別學者所處於的政治環境和對此的態度、或價值判斷乃構成了他們論述內容 的主軸。第二，從二十世紀初民國時期迄今海峽兩岸的學者，基本上都期待 《韓非子》哲學可以有助於達成中國的富國強兵。在這樣的理解格局中，共 產革命之後中國大陸的學者基本上稱讚《韓非子》批判儒家思想的態度。臺 灣學者雖然同樣也是要追求中國社會現代化之方法，但針對《韓非子》哲學 的價值和貢獻的部分，總體而言採取了比較懷疑，甚至嚴厲批評的態度。第 三，與如上所述海峽兩岸的情境相比，日本《韓非子》研究則是從荻生徂徠 與其弟子們對文本的興趣開始。德川時代學者對《韓非子》具有這樣的態度， 從荻生徂徠的時代開始大約一百年後的19 世紀初期，帶給日本《韓非子》 文本研究的黃金時代。以及第四，自明治至昭和時代初期（從1870 年代到 1930 年代），《韓非子》研究從傳統註解方式轉到近代文獻學和哲學分析的 方向展開。該段時期的研究引進法理學、社會學、政治理論、以及馬克思主 義等，並且採用了其中所使用的許多專有名詞，而這樣的過程成為後續《韓 非子》思想研究發展之基礎。

This article aims to provide a broad outline of Hanfeizi studies in China, Taiwan and Japan during the past two centuries, and what I would like to suggest through my discussion can be summarized into the following four points. First, Hanfeizi studies in both China and Taiwan has been deeply impacted by the political environment and the value orientations of individual scholars. This may well have been caused by the fact that early twentieth century Chinese intellectuals believed that the Hanfeizi’s philosophy would be instrumental both in the construction of a strong and wealthy state, and in the destruction of traditional Confucianism, which was viewed as reactionary and opposed to modernization. While this sentiment rapidly disappeared from mid-20th century Taiwan, it remained prevalent in mainland China until the end of the Cultural Revolution. Second, the Hanfeizi’s negative attitude toward Confucianism, which was praised by scholars in mainland China, has been questioned and even harshly criticized by scholars in Taiwan, who also sought to find a path to modernity for Chinese society. In Taiwan, Neo-Confucian values have predominated both in education and academic research, so the Hanfeizi’s anti-Confucian stance had to be repudiated before scholars could begin their “research.”