Legalism
Rachael Scott
P.1
Ancient China
●
B.C.E.-Before Common Era
●
The Qin Dynasty (Ch’in) was China’s first imperial
dynasty. (It was a very short-lived dynasty, lasting
only about 15 years.)
●
It was formed on the basis of Chinese Philosophy.
●
Chinese Philosophy: New ideas started to form
about how the government and religion should be
run.
●
This took place during the Warring states era, when
different parts of China were fighting for power.
What is Legalism?
● Legalism is very strict obedience to the law, giving complete power to
the authority, and making sure others are completely following the law.
● Legalists believe that they can attain salvation only by perfectly
upholding the law, and making sure others do too.
Who Started Legalism?
When Legalism was first established in the Qin Dynasty,
there were three men who mainly influenced the practice
of Legalism.They are:
● Li Si
● Shang Yang
● Han Fei
Li Si
●
Minister and adviser to the Emperor, Qin Shi Huang.
●
Li Si was harsh and brutal, and devised new ways to torture
those who were not perfectly obedient to the law.
●
He did not want people to learn and think for themselves, so he
had almost all the books burned. He believed the common
people were only good for working, and they weren’t smart or
good enough to be educated.
●
One of his rival nobles, Zhao Gao, had Li Si executed by his own
torture inventions; called the Five Pains or Punishments.
●
The victim's forehead was branded; then his nose was cut off;
then his foot was cut off; then he was castrated; and then he
was executed.
Shang Yang
★ Shang Yang’s greatest priority was power.
★ He believed that power could only be
maintained through a large army and full
food storages.
★ He introduced many government procedures
such as the appointment of governors over
different divisions of land.
★ He also created new measures for length,
capacity, and weight.
★ He did only what he wanted and eventually
violated the interests of the other nobles.
★ They had him executed by tying him to
chariots and tearing him apart.
Shang Yang’s Execution
Han Fei
➢ He is also known as Han Feizi and Han Fei Tzu.
➢ Greatest of China’s Legalist philosophers.
➢ He had a speech defect, so he mostly wrote essays on how Legalism should
work, and how the government should be run.
➢ He was highly favored by the King.
➢ Li Si was afraid that the King would replace him with Han Fei, so he put
Han Fei in prison for false accusations.
➢ Later, Li Si ordered Han Fei to commit suicide. Han Fei drank poison and
died.
➢ Han Fei wrote many things, among them he wrote his beliefs on Legalism.
He thought that the common people were selfish, stupid, and
undependable.
➢ He believed that duty and political obedience came above everything else.
➢ Han Fei wrote that all the common people should farm, and there should be
no scholars or teachers.
➢ He believed that giving to and helping the poor was unwise and unfair. And
that collecting taxes from the rich for the poor is “robbing the diligent and
frugal and indulging the extravagant and lazy.”
When and Where did Legalism occur in
China?
● The concept of
Legalism was started
in the state (or land)
of the Qin Dynasty.
●
Legalism mostly began and
ended with the Qin
Dynasty (221-207 B.C.E.)
About 15 years.Many
principles of Legalism are
still practiced throughout
the world today, even
some of the torture
methods.
Why was Legalism practiced and how was it
enforced?
❏ Legalism was practiced because the leaders believed that humans are
naturally selfish and greedy.
❏ So they made strict laws and harsh punishments called Legalism. People
with perfect behavior received rewards.
❏ They believed a society could only have harmony through strong state
control and absolute obedience to authority.
The Legalist leaders enforced Legalism by very strict laws and harsh
punishments. They used their armies to threaten the people, and tortured
those who were not perfect to the law.
In the end, the Legalists were so brutal that the Qin Dynasty was overthrown,
and Legalist philosophy was not used or liked in China.
Examples of Legalism
Today
In 1994, Michael P. Fay, than age 18, was sentenced to four months
in prison and four strokes of the cane in Singapore for vandalism and
stolen road signs.
http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1994-0516/news/9405160007_1_michael-fay-singapore-punishment
http://www.nytimes.com/1994/06/26/us/us-student-tells-of-painof-his-caning-in-singapore.html
Legalism Throughout the Years
Though Legalism is very unpopular with
most people, some still do practice
Legalism; though not quite as extreme.
They believe in upholding the law perfectly,
and may discriminate those who do not.
Sources
ancientstandard.com
britannica.com
izquotes.com
ancienthistoryblog.com
appletmagic.com
articles.chicagotribune.com
nytimes.com