Legalism
Legalism is a political philosophy centred around the idea
that the ruler has absolute power, authority and control over his people (Ouellette, 2010). The core value of
Legalism was the upholding of the law (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Legalism was the
foundation of the Qin Dynasty, and was what largely enabled the state of Qin to
unify China in 221 BCE (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Legalists believe the
law should be so carefully laid out that no matter the strength of the ruler,
they could always rely on the law to maintain authority (Ouellette, 2010). The sovereign was a strong focus of
Legalism, and had supreme power over ministers and every facet of the subject’s
lives (Ouellette, 2010). The Guanzi, a piece of writing that
conveys the ideas of Legalism, states “The wise sovereign holds six powers; to
grant life and kill; to enrich and impoverish; to promote and to demote.” (Ouellette, 2010). This quote is
significant because it gives insight into the perspective of a Legalist and the
beliefs that they held in regard to the power of the sovereign. In this case,
as the sovereign was referred to as ‘wise’, the author believes the sovereign
had the right to the complete power that it held over the people. Another
belief of the Legalists is that the ruler should never reveal their opinions to
the ministers and is required to remain impartial to all matters rather than
show preference to certain ideas, otherwise the ministers would accommodate his
opinion when presenting ideas rather than giving unbiased advice (Ouellette, 2010). Han Fei, an eminent
historian, believed that this was the most suitable course of action in all
matters so the Emperor would receive a more expansive range of opinions and he
could then choose from these judgements he deemed to be the most suitable.
Another large part of Legalism was favour and punishment (Ouellette, 2010). It was believed that people would behave
accordingly depending on the consequences and rewards of certain actions. Those
that broke the law were given strict punishments, so others would be discouraged
from behaving in the same manner and consequently there would be more order in
the kingdom (Ouellette, 2010). The main goal of Legalism is to,
through the control of the people’s lives, have an organised kingdom in which
all subjects know their place (Ouellette, 2010).
The reason why the rulers controlled every aspect of their subject’s lives and lived by so many strict laws was that the Legalists believed that humans were inherently selfish, fame-seeking and, given the opportunity, would be unfaithful to their ruler (Watkins, 2010). A set of strict laws and punishments for wrongdoing would supposedly persuade humans out of their selfish behaviour (Watkins, 2010). A functional and just society needed to have well-publicised laws and retribution for those who dared to violate the laws (Watkins, 2010). According to the Legalist theory, there were three elements of proper government, and these were Fa, Shu and Shih (Watkins, 2010). Fa was the system of laws. It was believed that the laws must be recorded and displayed publicly, so all subjects were aware of the expectations (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Fa was also compromised of the belief that all people, with the exception of the ruler, were equal under the law and that the laws were necessary to punish those who disobeyed them and reward those who followed them (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Shu was the control of the people and the methods taken. The ruler employed certain methods to ensure that the ministers did not take control of the state (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). The second component of Shu was the secrecy of the ruler’s motivations, so people would follow the law rather than act to please the ruler (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). The final of the three principles is Shi, which consists of legitimacy, power and charisma (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). A belief that comes under the branch of Shi is that the power and authority belongs to the position of the ruler, rather than the actual ruler (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005).
There were certain activities which Legalists approved of, and those which they believed were evil. Activities that were not productive, such as reading and learning, were considered evil, whereas farming and weaving were thought to be productive, and were therefore encouraged (Watkins, 2010). Legalists also believed that military undertakings were of importance as they were vital to the continued existence and development of the political sector, thus military activity was encouraged (Watkins, 2010). Lord Shang, in The Book of Lord Shang, wrote, “The six parasites are: rites and music, odes and history, cultivation and goodness, filial devotion and brotherly love, sincerity and trustworthiness, uprightness and integrity, humaneness and rightness, criticism of the army and being ashamed of fighting…” (de Bary, 1999). While this source was written before the Qin Dynasty, Lord Shang was momentous in strengthening the state of Qin so it could later go on and conquer all other states to begin the Qin Dynasty, as well as being a strong believer in Legalism. The six ‘parasites’ he mentions align with the Legalist values, as they oppose the law and the support of equal punishments. This quote also indicates that the army and fighting were highly valued.
The reason why the rulers controlled every aspect of their subject’s lives and lived by so many strict laws was that the Legalists believed that humans were inherently selfish, fame-seeking and, given the opportunity, would be unfaithful to their ruler (Watkins, 2010). A set of strict laws and punishments for wrongdoing would supposedly persuade humans out of their selfish behaviour (Watkins, 2010). A functional and just society needed to have well-publicised laws and retribution for those who dared to violate the laws (Watkins, 2010). According to the Legalist theory, there were three elements of proper government, and these were Fa, Shu and Shih (Watkins, 2010). Fa was the system of laws. It was believed that the laws must be recorded and displayed publicly, so all subjects were aware of the expectations (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Fa was also compromised of the belief that all people, with the exception of the ruler, were equal under the law and that the laws were necessary to punish those who disobeyed them and reward those who followed them (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). Shu was the control of the people and the methods taken. The ruler employed certain methods to ensure that the ministers did not take control of the state (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). The second component of Shu was the secrecy of the ruler’s motivations, so people would follow the law rather than act to please the ruler (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). The final of the three principles is Shi, which consists of legitimacy, power and charisma (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005). A belief that comes under the branch of Shi is that the power and authority belongs to the position of the ruler, rather than the actual ruler (Chinese Ministry of Culture, 2005).
There were certain activities which Legalists approved of, and those which they believed were evil. Activities that were not productive, such as reading and learning, were considered evil, whereas farming and weaving were thought to be productive, and were therefore encouraged (Watkins, 2010). Legalists also believed that military undertakings were of importance as they were vital to the continued existence and development of the political sector, thus military activity was encouraged (Watkins, 2010). Lord Shang, in The Book of Lord Shang, wrote, “The six parasites are: rites and music, odes and history, cultivation and goodness, filial devotion and brotherly love, sincerity and trustworthiness, uprightness and integrity, humaneness and rightness, criticism of the army and being ashamed of fighting…” (de Bary, 1999). While this source was written before the Qin Dynasty, Lord Shang was momentous in strengthening the state of Qin so it could later go on and conquer all other states to begin the Qin Dynasty, as well as being a strong believer in Legalism. The six ‘parasites’ he mentions align with the Legalist values, as they oppose the law and the support of equal punishments. This quote also indicates that the army and fighting were highly valued.