For more than 200 years, the Chinese people have experienced war as their daily reality, and a legalistic approach to trying to control people`s worst impulses – controlling people by threatening to severely punish injustice – seemed the best way to deal with chaos. Shang Yang`s legalism dealt with everyday situations, but extended to how to behave in wartime, and he is credited with the all-out war tactics that allowed the Qin state to defeat other belligerent states in order to control China. The three main beliefs at the center of Judaism are monotheistic identity and covenant (an agreement between God and His people). The most important teaching of Judaism is that there is a God who wants people to do what is right and compassionate. Other philosophies advocating for people`s inherent goodness were seen as dangerous lies that would mislead people. The beliefs of philosophers such as Confucius (l. 551-479 BC), Mencius (l. 372-289 BC), Mo-Ti (l. 470-391 BC) or Lao-Tzu (l. c.
500 BC), with their emphasis on the search for good in themselves and its expression, were seen as a threat to a belief system that claimed otherwise. Scholar John M. Koller, who writes about legalism, notes: Turning beliefs into action: To turn legalistic beliefs into action, it could be something like this: 1: strict literal or excessive adherence to the law or a religious or moral code, institutionalized legalism that restricts free choice. 2: a legal clause or rule. Founder of legalism and believed that severe punishments were the only way to control people. -The Code of Law must be drafted and published. Laws should always be more important than individual interests and actions. All persons are considered equal before the law.
Almost all the ideas of Confucianism have been eliminated along with other books. Place and language of worship: There was no specific place of worship or language because legalism was a governmental order and belief system rather than a religion. Hanfeizi introduced the ideas of legalism into Chinese legalism and stressed the importance of a legal system. A possible advantage of a legalistic society is that it is likely to be orderly and stable, one disadvantage is that even for petty crimes, severe penalties are imposed. During the Qin Dynasty, all books that did not support legalistic philosophy were burned, and writers, philosophers, and teachers of other philosophies were executed. The excesses of Qin Dynasty legalism made the regime very unpopular with the people of the time. After the overthrow of the Qin, legalism was abandoned in favor of Confucianism, which greatly influenced the development of Chinese culture. See also: Nine Schools of Thought and One Hundred Schools of Thought When world affairs change, a different way must be implemented.
That is why it is said: “If the people are ignorant, one can become a monarch by knowledge; If the generation is well informed, one can become a monarch by force” (Shang jun shu 7:53; Book of the Lord Shang 7:1-7:2). The one who murders the sovereign and takes his state. does not necessarily climb on difficult walls or pasta in barred doors or gates. He can be one of the ruler`s own ministers, who gradually restricts what the ruler sees, restricts what he hears, takes control of his government and takes command of him, owns the people and confiscates the state. [6]: 97 [14]: 359 [172][173]: 170 If the Lord of men abandons the method (Fa) and reigns with his own person, then punishments and rewards, confiscations and concessions will all come from the spirit of the Lord. If this is the case, then those who receive rewards, even if they are appropriate, will expect more soon; Those who are punished, even if they allow it, will constantly expect gentler treatment. People are rewarded differently for the same merit and punished differently for the same mistake. This leads to resentment. [215] [116]: 129 [216] Legalism is the morality of filtering all claims of official justification by positive law. When the intelligence of the leader is shown, people prepare for it; If his lack of intelligence is demonstrated, they will deceive him. When His wisdom is displayed, people will pass over (their mistakes); If his lack of wisdom is shown, they will hide from him.
When his lack of desires is shown, people spy on his true desires; If his desires are exhibited, they will tempt him. That`s why (the intelligent leader) says, “I can`t know them; it is only by not acting that I control them. [6]: 66 [208][132]: 185 Shen Dao indicates the possibility that ministers are motivated by moral commitment; On the contrary, these exceptional people should not be employed at all. This sentiment is repeated in Han Feizi, a text that expresses with the greatest clarity his conviction that each member of the elite – like every member of society – pursues his own interests (cf. Goldin 2005, 58-65; 2013). There are morally honest officials, but they are extraordinary individuals: “You cannot even find a dozen upright and trustworthy men of service (shi 士), while there are hundreds of officials inside the borders. If only men of service with integrity and trustworthiness can be employed, then there will not be enough people to fill the positions” (Han Feizi 49:451). This realization is the source of the thinker`s great concern about the ongoing and intractable power struggle between the ruler and members of his entourage (see below) and is also a source of Han Fei`s (and other legalists`) insistence on the priority of impersonal norms and regulations in dealing with leader-minister relations.
A strong administrative system should not be based on the trust and respect of ministers; On the contrary, they should be strictly controlled. A political system that presupposes human selfishness is the only viable political system. Shang Yang seemed to act according to his own teachings,[163] and the translator Duvendak described him as “like a bamboo frame holding a straight bow, and one could not get it out of its simplicity,” even though it was spoken by some pre-modern Chinese in defiance of Qin`s case. Although Duvendak wrote in 1928, he believed that Shang Yang should be of interest not only to sinologists, but also to Western jurists. [165] Legalism in ancient China was a philosophical belief that people tend to do evil rather than good because they are motivated solely by self-interest and need strict laws to control their impulses. It was developed by the philosopher Han Feizi (l. c. 280 – 233 BC) of the state of Qin.
However, in united and stable dynasties, legalism was always applied as an auxiliary theory of government in combination with the Confucianism of the emperors over the following millennia.