Q0209
“When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs change, preparations must change.” — Han Feizi (Han Feizi, Five Vermin)
Verified English quotation. Primary source: Han Feizi, Five Vermin. Theme: time.
English
When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs change, preparations must change.
Source and attribution
The archive attributes this English wording to Han Feizi, Five Vermin and files it under Legalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
About Han Feizi
Han Feizi (c. 280–233 BCE) was the major synthesizer of Legalism (fajia) in late Warring States China.
How to read this passage
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, power.
Concepts in this quote
- Time
- Philosophy of time asks what tense and duration are—and how memory, death, and history shape a human life.
- Power
- Power is the capacity to affect others and to shape what counts as possible—central to politics and ethics.
How to cite this quotation
APA: Han Feizi. (n.d.). When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs change, preparations must change. In Philosophy Blind Box. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0209
MLA: Han Feizi. “When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs….” Philosophy Blind Box, https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0209.
Chicago: Han Feizi. “When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs….” Philosophy Blind Box. Accessed 2026. https://www.philosophydef.com/quotes/q0209.
Frequently asked questions
What is the source of the quotation “When the age changes, affairs change; when affairs…”?
The passage is attributed to Han Feizi, Han Feizi, Five Vermin. The archive attributes this English wording to Han Feizi, Five Vermin and files it under Legalism. That locator distinguishes the passage from loose internet attributions: readers can return to the named work or section to check translation, surrounding argument, and edition-specific wording.
What does Han Feizi mean by time?
Is time a river, a dimension, or a structure of consciousness? Augustine, Bergson, and modern metaphysics offer rival pictures while ethics asks how finite time should be spent. This passage enters that discussion through time, power.