Han Fei Tzu Legalist Views On Good Government Summary

Han Fei-tzu’s Legalist Views on Good Government, written in the second century BCE, brings to light the ideals and reasoning behind the school of thinking and institution that is Legalism. Written in the second century BCE at a time when China was experiencing multiple wars and political and social upheaval, Fei-tzu attempts to provide an explanation of what and why Legalism should be considered the most pragmatic choice for ruling China. The legalist school of thought was generally unconcerned with replicating a model rom the past. As ideas directly clashed with those of other schools of thought during its time, the Legalist School of Law spoke and taught openly of their beliefs—that neither a virtuous king nor an ethical code would produce a state strong and successful enough to rise from the social turmoil China was facing at that time. These teachings applied most broadly to those who were affected by the wars that plagued China before and during the rule of the Qin dynasty. While fanatically spreading their thought Qin china, the state likewise detested curators of other schools of thought.
As Legalist teachings were first adopted by the Qin dynasty, it is expected that Legalism should spread through the Chinese states. Further promoting their Legalist agenda, the Qin conquered several other Chinese states and unified China after a great period of war. In Legalist Views on Good Government, Fei-tsu tells the reader it is because the ruler of the state does not depend on the virtue of the people or a heavenly order of values to bring the state to uniform order, but rather those who are subjugated to the state not be allowed to do bad. It is because of this openly harsh disposition that led later Chinese to remove the Legalist doctrine. Thought the Legalist doctrine was removed, some of its fundamental values such as administration and criminal laws became a crucial part of later