Hufeizi 胡非子

Hufeizi 胡非子 "Master Hufei" was a Mohist treatise compiled during the Warring States period 戰國 (5th cent.-221 BCE). Hufei was a surname derived from the name of Prince Fei 非 of the small state of Hu 胡. Zheng Qiao 鄭樵 (1104-1162) in his encyclopaedia Tongzhi 通志 erroneously says that Hu was his surname, and Fei his name.

According to the imperial bibliography Yiwen zhi 藝文志 in the offial dynastic history Hanshu 漢書, the Hufeizi is listed with a length of three chapters , and it is remarked that Master Hufei was a disciple of the famous philosopher Mo Di 墨翟 (c. 476-c. 390 BCE), known as Mozi 墨子. During the Tang period 唐 (618-907), the Hufeizi was known with a length of 1 juan, which can mean that it was already partially lost.

The Qing-period 清 (1644-1911) scholar Ma Guohan 馬國翰 (1794-1857) collected fragements of the Hufeizi surviving in the encyclopaedias Yilin 意林, Beitang shuchao 北堂書鈔, Yiwen leiju 藝文類聚 and Taiping yulan 太平御覽. He put together four chapters that were published in his series Yuhan shanfang yiji shu 玉函山房輯佚書. One important chapter in the surviving fragments is Feidou 非斗 "Against battling".