Legalism

• Warring States period (481-221 BCE) = intense fighting between rival Chinese states
  • Zhou dynasty weakened control over China → split into states and started fighting
  • People believed that people were naturally selfish because of the constant war → needed harsh rule
  • Led to widespread legalism
  • Qin dynasty wanted to reunite China but two different approaches argued
  • Confucianism → promote virtue + respect
  • Legalism → harsh law + military respect
• Shang Yang = Qin state official: founder of legalism
  • Used power to create reforms:
  • Got rid of the feudal system
  • Divided Qin area into different regions with local governors
  • Standardized systems of weight + measures
  • Encouraged farming + soldiering careers
    • Required all citizens to join the military
  • Rearranged taxation
  • Strict legal code → struck fear in citizens + Qin rulers
  • Executed by Qin leader Duke Xiao
• Han Feizi = Han state official: creator of essays to help leaders organize legalist governments
  • Stressed importance of harsh laws
  • Punish those who do wrong, reward those who do right
    • Place the most behaving men in charge
  • Believed that the people were supposed to be able to do their own jobs/benefit the state with little direct help from the leader
  • Natural allegiance
  • Killed by Li Si out of jealousy for skills and knowledge
• Li Si = Qi state official; killed Han Feizi out of jealousy
  • Divided Qin state into provinces
  • Construction of the Great Wall
  • Universal system of writing
  • Legalism included order + strengthening state
  • Period of book burning + prohibition of history education
  • Executed (unpopular)

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