Abstract

This study explicates Han Fei Tzu's persuasive theory written in the third century BCE in China in the areas of audience adaptation, gaining trust, and face‐saving. The study also examines the influence of Han's theory on contemporary Chinese political and interpersonal communication behaviors. The study shows that although his theory is written for the social context in ancient China, Han's views on the human communication process as subtle, sophisticated, and inconsistent are still applicable and identifiable in today's Chinese communication behaviors. The author argues in the paper that China has varied philosophical traditions and that Chinese communication behaviors cannot be exclusively explained through a Confucian lens.