Cindy Kuang
8-8
Legalist ideas largely influenced the government during the Qin dynasty of ancient China,
which lasted from 221-206 B.C.E. During this time, authorities believed that humans were
naturally evil and selfish which was often a cause of conflict. In order to maintain a safe and
organized society, these authorities concluded that complete control over the people was
necessary to restrain their evil nature. According to Legalist theory, the three necessary elements
of a proper government are shih (power and position), shu (administrative techniques and
methods) and fa (a comprehensive set of laws). The Qin government employed several Legalist
aspects, such as rigid laws, harsh punishments, and a great emphasis on power, in order to
attempt to achieve their goal of restraining the evil nature of humans.
The rigid laws of the Qin government helped avoid conflict among the people by making
it clear that the vices of humans, such as greed and selfishness, must be restrained. “An Event:
The Unification of China” says: “Legalists believed that humans were essentially based and
selfish. And that they needed to be strictly controlled and disciplined.”1 From this it is shown that
the Qin government believed that the only way to control the inner evil of humans was to
regulate it with strict rules and laws. Only then would conflict be avoided. “The Records of the
Grand Historian” says “He defines the laws, leaving nothing in doubt, making known what is
forbidden.”2 This quote shows that the Qin government had a clear and understandable set of
laws with clear boundaries between black and white. If the people are clear about what they can
or cannot do, they will not cause conflict unknowingly, causing unnecessary dispute in society.
1
"An Event: The Unification of China." skwirk.com. Last modified 2014.
http://www.skwirk.com/p-c_s-14_u-173_t-472_c-1713/nsw/history/
ancient-societies-china/ancient-china-part-ii/an-event-the-unification-of-china.
2
Qian, Sima. "The Records of the Grand Historian." 145-86 B.C.E.De Bary, Theodore, and Irene Bloom.
"Chapter 49." In Selections from the Han Feizi. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press,
1999.
Not only do the laws have to be clear, they must also be incredibly strict so that there is
practically no room for conflict. According to “Selections from the Han Feizi”: “The ancient
kings allowed law to be supreme and did not give in to their tearful longings.”3 It is only with
rigid laws and indifferent kings that the people will respect the laws and obey them. Therefore, it
can be seen that strict laws had a hand in attempting to suppress conflict during the Qin dynasty.
Another key concept in Qin government that helped officials to restrain the evil nature of
humans was harsh punishment. Strict laws worked to tell the people what they could and could
not do. Now the government must show the punishment for breaking those laws. Because of the
greed and selfishness of humans, Legalists said, their fear of pain would outweigh their love and
loyalty towards their ruler. Therefore, the only way to force people to follow your laws is if you
cause them to fear the punishment for breaking those laws. The selection from “The Han Feizi”
tells of a young boy: “Thus, although three fine influences are brought to bear on him--the love
of his parents, the efforts of the neighbors, the wisdom of his teachers--yet he remains unmoved
and refuses to change so much as a hair on his shin. But let the district magistrate send out the
government soldiers to enforce the law and search for evildoers, and then he is filled with terror,
reforms his conduct, and changes his ways.” 4 From this example it can be seen that power and
the threat of punishment will be more effective than love and example. Empathy and
humaneness were looked down upon in the Qin dynasty in favor of punishment and penalties
because the former would not only fail in teaching the criminals a lesson, it may also have
encouraged others to break rules because the threat of punishment or pain was gone. According
to the World Civilization textbook, revolts over heavy taxes, and cruel, forced labor broke out
3
Zi, Han Fei. "Selections from the Han Feizi Chapter 49, 'The Five Vermin.'" 233 B.C.E. De Bary,
Theodore, and Irene Bloom. "Chapter 49." In Selections from the Han Feizi. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York:
Columbia University Press, 1999.
4
Ibid
immediately after Shi Huang Di died in 210 B.C.5 Though the people eventually revolted, it was
only after the Qin emperor and government collapsed because only then was the threat and fear
of penalty gone. Therefore, it can be seen that when the people believe you have the ability and
tendency to give out harsh penalties for breaking the laws, they will abide by your rules so that
no pain is inflicted on themselves.
In order to make the people fear your punishments, you must show them that you have
the power to inflict those punishments. Shi Huang Di understood the importance of power and
believed that:“when men strive for sinecures in the government, it is not because they are base
but because the power they will acquire is great.”6 From this it is shown that power is the most
important goal of a person’s life. After acquiring power, one must strive to maintain that power
by showing others reason to fear your power. This is shown in the Qin government by the
annexation of feudalism. “If Your Highness allows it to slip away and does not press the
advantage in haste, the feudal lords will revive their strength and organize themselves into an
anti-Qin alliance. Then no one, even though he possess the virtues of the Yellow Emperor, would
be able to annex their territories.”7 Because feudalism was a system that required little allegiance
from the feudal lords to the Qin government, Shi Huang Di destroyed and took power away from
the aristocrats not only to gain more power for himself, but also to show the other people that his
power is one to be feared. This is further shown by the great burning of books:Shi Huang Di
killed 460 Confucian scholars and burned all but one copy of each Confucian classic because the
5
Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History. 9th ed. Boston:
Prentice Hall School Division, 2009.
6
Zi, Han Fei. "Selections from the Han Feizi Chapter 49, 'The Five Vermin.'" De Bary, Theodore, and
Irene Bloom. "Chapter 49." In Selections from the Han Feizi.
7
Si, Li, and Sima Qian. "Memorial on Annexation of Feudal States and Memorial of the Burning of
Books." In Sources of Chinese Tradition. 208. De Bary, Theodore, and Irene Bloom. "Chapter 49." In
Selections from the Han Feizi. 2nd ed. Vol. 1. New York: Colombia University Press, 1999.
scholars disagreed with his Legalist ways.8 This is a great display of power and would cause one
to think that in order to avoid meeting the same fate, one must comply with Shi Huang Di’s rules
and not dare to disagree with him because he is a force to be feared. In the end, gaining and
displaying your power over the people will cause them to fear you and they will not dare break
your laws and disrupt society.
In conclusion, strict laws, severe punishments, and a prominence on power were all
utilized by the Qin government to attempt to maintain order in society. Because of the natural
selfishness of humans, the fear of having punishment inflicted upon yourself will always
outweigh the love and loyalty you have for others. Therefore, harsh and strict ways would work
better than love and empathy when governing a state. In the Qin dynasty, it was better to rule
with fear than love.
8
Ellis, Elisabeth Gaynor, and Anthony Esler. World History.