The Influence Of Legalism In China

Legalism is a Chinese political philosophy that emphasis’s obedience to the law above all else. It was developed in 4th century BCE by a Qin statesman Shang Yang in the Warring States Period, and was implemented as the official state policy of the Qin Dynasty (Mark 2017). The basic premise of Legalism is that any political system based on virtue is inherently flawed since humans are not virtuous. To counter this problem Legalism attempts to quail human corruption by implementing strict regulations on their behavior via the law. Legalism in practice provided a plethora of great benefits to the larger society such as providing the Chinese people with a clear legal code that was fairly implemented across all levels of society and instituted an
efficient central bureaucracy, making China capable of accomplishments never possible before. However, these benefits did not come without downsides, the Legalist state was attempted to completely stamp out traditional value systems such as Confucianism and Daoism as well as made it one of its primary goals to keep the common people from prospering. The philosophy of Legalism had many aspects that were constructive to Chinese society.
One of the most important things of legalism was the legal innovation that all people were equal under the law. Lord Shang wrote in The Book of Lord Shang that, “…from ministers of state and generals down to great officers and ordinary folk, whosoever does not obey the king’s commands, violates the interdicts of the state, or rebels against the statutes fixed by the ruler, should be guilty of death and should not be pardoned (Shang & Duyvendak 1928 142).” As Americans we may falsely assume that equality before the law (the driving principle behind our fourth amendment) is a Western concept but here is an early version of that same principle in Ancient China. Another facet of Legalism that aided China and whose legacy influenced China for millennia to come was Legalism’s efficient bureaucracy. During the short life of the Qin Dynasty, the decentralized feudal system was replaced by a central well-disciplined bureaucracy (Shang & Duyvendak 1928 70). Due to this new system, feats that would require the efforts from the whole of China were now possible. In the fifteen years that Qin Dynasty reined, the Great Wall, the Grand Canal, and a new road system was constructed (Peralta 2014). Legalism greatly aided China by administering justice fairly across China and by giving China a strong, central bureaucracy whose legacy still shapes China
today. While Legalism did provide solutions to many of China’s problems, its downsides were significant. Legalism oppressed the traditional values of Confucianism and Daoism. These ideologies were outlawed and over 400 Confucian philosophers and scholars were executed (Mark 2017). These practices were extremely unpopular with the people and Confucianism was reinstituted almost immediately after the fall of the Qin. However, these policies were forced upon the people all the same since it was the prevailing ideology of the bureaucracy and military (Mark 2017). Perhaps the most problematic issue with Legalism is its insistence that keeping the common people from prospering is of the utmost importance. Lord Shang went as far as to write, “A weak people means a strong state and a strong state means a weak people. Therefore, a country, which has the right way, is concerned with weakening the people (Shang & Duyvendak 1928 153).” In legalism a “weak people” meant that they were poor and humiliated. Shang believed that if people were kept poor than they would be more ambitious to reach the goals established by the state and if they were humiliated they would desire rank when in war. Also, Shang came to the conclusion that if people lived a happy and pleasurable life than they would be less willing to die in combat (Shang & Duyvendak 1928 153). The advice given by Lord Shang can be useful today to resist tyrannical governments. By flipping his theories on their heads, it can give us useful insights on what a government looking to control people does. So if people do not wish to be tyrannized, any attempts to limit the prosperity that they may achieve or any attempts to make the people timid should be opposed. Legalism has had a profound effect on the historical development of China despite only being true government policy for less than 20 years.
Legalism brought equality under the law and an effective centralized bureaucracy to China, while at the same time sought to stifle opposing traditional philosophies and oppressed the common citizens. To understand China today, it is vital that one must have a thorough understanding of the ideas and concepts of
Legalism.