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 considered threatening to a belief system that claimed otherwise. Scholar John M. Koller, who writes about legalism, notes: Hanfeizi introduced the ideas of legalism into Chinese legalism and emphasized 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. 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.
People desire wealth and glory; They are afraid of punishment: this is their basic temperament (Qing 情). This disposition is not to be changed, but well understood and then manipulated: “If a law is established without examining the disposition of the people, it will not succeed” (Shang jun shu 8:63; Book of the Lord Shang 8:3). In order to direct the population towards efforts that benefit the state, namely agriculture and war, even if they consider them “bitter and dangerous”, a combination of positive and negative incentives should be created. The entire socio-political system represented by Shang Yang can be seen as the implementation of this recommendation (Pines 2016b). 1: Strict literal or excessive compliance with the law or with a religious or moral code of institutionalized legalism that restricts free choice. 2: a legal clause or rule. The basic premise of [legalism] is that people are inherently inclined to commit wrongdoing and, therefore, the authority of laws and the state is necessary for human well-being. This school is against Confucianism, because Confucianism, especially according to Mengzi, emphasized the goodness inherent in human nature. (208) Almost all the ideas of Confucianism have been eliminated as well as 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. It is believed that Han Feizi was a disciple of the Confucian reformer (and the last of the Five Great Sages of Confucianism), Xunzi (l. c.
310-c.235 BCE), who departed from the central commandment of Confucianism that people are fundamentally good, and asserted that they were certainly not, because if they were, they would not need instruction in goodness. The modern Taoist diet essentially respects the basic theory of yin-yang and the 5 elements that rely heavily on unprocessed whole grains, fresh vegetables and very little meat. However, fish and other seafood should only be eaten once a week due to the large amount of yin. 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. Legalism became the official philosophy of the Qin Dynasty (221 – 206 BC) when the first emperor of China, Shi Huangdi (r. 221-210 BC), came to power and banned all other philosophies as corrupting influence. Confucianism has been condemned in particular for its insistence on the fundamental goodness of man and its teaching that people should only be gently guided to the good in order to behave well. 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.
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. Poems, documents, rites, music, kindness, self-cultivation, benevolence, righteousness, belligerence, caution: if the state has these ten, the superiors cannot bring [the people] to participate in defense and struggle. If the state is governed after these ten, then the enemy, when it arrives, will certainly be dismembered, and if the enemy does not arrive, the state will certainly be impoverished. If the state annihilates these ten, then the enemy will not dare to arrive, and even if it does, it will certainly be repulsed; If an army is raised and sent into the field, it will certainly conquer [the land of the enemy]; If, on the other hand, the army is restrained and does not attack, the state will certainly be rich. (Shang jun shu 3:23; Book of Lord Shang 3:5) These states fought against each other again and again, but none of them could gain an advantage over the others until King Ying Zheng adopted Qin Han Feizi`s philosophy of legalism and Shang Yang`s concept of total war, conducting domestic and military political and military campaigns along these two lines to achieve victory. The ancient rules of chivalry that Chinese armies had always considered were ignored by the Qin as they broke one state after another. When the last of the free states was conquered, Ying Zheng declared himself the first emperor of China: Shi Huangdi.
Therefore, constant reforms and corresponding adjustments are needed. However, the days of the domination of legalism in China were over. Koller writes: “The long-term effect of the legalistic emphasis on laws and punishments has been to strengthen Confucianism by making legal institutions a vehicle of Confucian morality” (208). The void left by the rejection of legalism was filled by Confucianism, which offered Chinese culture a much more practical and comprehensive view of humanity and how people could live together peacefully. The ideals of legalism were born about 3,000 to 4,000 years ago by judicial officials of the Xia and Shang dynasties in China`s history. Unlike Confucianism, Taoism, or Mohism, legalism did not have an exact founder. The Great WallDo you already know that you knew? When Emperor Qin Shi Huang ordered the construction of the Great Wall around 221 BC. J.-C., the workers who built the wall were largely soldiers and convicts. 24 August 2010.
Two of the leading philosophers of legalism in China were Han Fei (280 BC – 233 BC) and Li Si (284 BC – 208 BC). | authority Chinese Philosophy: | Ethics Chinese Philosophy: Mohism | | Hanfeizi Xunzi To prevent misconduct and stop transgressions, there is nothing better than making the penalties severe. If the punishments are severe and [the criminals] are inevitably captured, then people dare not try [to break the law]. Therefore, there are no punished people in the state. If there are no punished people in the state, it says, “Clarifying punishments [means] no executions.” (Shang jun shu 17:101; Shang jun shu 17.3) If a king reigned unjustly, he could lose this approval, which would lead to his overthrow. The reversal of natural disasters and famines was seen as a sign that the ruler had lost the mandate of heaven. The legalists` strong adherence to the principles of monarchism is self-evident; But it is not free of multiple tensions and contradictions. These are fully embodied in Han Fei`s thoughts. Han Fei shared the vision of his predecessors of the ruler as the pivot of the socio-political order, as the only guarantor of stability and prosperity for his subjects; But he was also very aware of the sovereign`s inadequacy. The very fact that the monarch – unlike his officials – owed his position only to the family tree meant that, in most cases, this position would be occupied by mediocrity. Several historical examples scattered throughout Han Feizi clearly show how devastating the sovereign`s incompetence could be (Graziani 2015).