Faculty Research Working Papers Series The Internal Morality of Chinese Legalism Kenneth Winston June 2005 RWP05-041 This paper can be downloaded free of charge from the Social Science Research Network at: http://ssrn.com/abstract=757354 The views expressed in the KSG Faculty Research Working Paper Series are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect those of the John F. Kennedy School of Government or Harvard University. Copyright belongs to the author(s). Papers may be
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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
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Chinese thinkers emerged due to the unsettling instability and change that surrounded China. Both Confucianism and Legalism emerged during the period of the Hundred Schools of Thought (6th century~221 B.C.) to debate several philosophical questions in order to centralize China such as: What should human beings accomplish? How should society be organized? Who has the authority to rule? However‚ both Confucianism and Legalism were different as they had different ideas on what was important. While Confucianists
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Running head: THE CH’IN DYNASTY AND LEGALISM IN ANCIENT CHINA The Ch’in Dynasty and Legalism in Ancient China The Ch’in Dynasty and Legalism in China The philosophical principles that Legalism was based upon‚ set it apart from other Chinese philosophical views. These differences appealed to the rulers of the Ch’in Dynasty as they began the unification of China‚ which gave rise to the first Empire of China. Legalism was based on the premise that humans are inherently evil. A basic punishment
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good leader that knows how to rule. Some people think that we should go back to the old rules and be strict. Well back in China they had 500 years of war which caused them to throw the whole country in disorder.Along with war‚ Mandate of Heaven and Feudalism. Now the Mandate of Heaven was a power that controlled human destiny.Also the King was the son of Heaven according to China and as long as he governed his people well‚ Heaven gave him the right to rule. Unless he didn’t govern well‚ the Heaven
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31 Zalenski 2A October 18‚ 2011 Confucianism and Legalism Confucianism and Legalism were two philosophies developed by scholars as solutions to a period of disorder in China. Confucianism and Legalism are similar in that both originated during the Chinese Classical Period; however‚ they are different in government because Confucianism focuses on having an orderly‚ respectful‚ and successful ruler‚ while Legalism focuses on having an forceful and omnipotent ruler. In addition‚ education
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Professor English 101 5 March 2014 Legalism in the Church In today’s society‚ Legalism is a major issue within the church. Legalism is the idea that good works and keeping God’s commandments will help you enter into the Kingdom of God. Yes‚ it is good to keep God’s laws‚ and yes‚ Jesus spoke‚ “If you love me‚ then you will keep my commandments” (English Standard Version‚ John 14.15)‚ but He did not say that keeping these commands would help you achieve salvation. Legalism is not only a false doctrine
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Confucianism and Legalism Ancient China’s system of government was very erratic‚ and as the mandate of heaven changed hands‚ so did the ruling body. The conflict at the end of the Zhou Empire was a result of the end of the dynastic cycle; corruption infiltrated the government and the system fell apart to war between states for power and peasant revolts. This lead a philosopher named Confucius to develop a set of ideals to live by. These codes were built on such virtues as honesty‚ trust‚ responsibility
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and Contrast: Confucianism and Legalism 9/29/11 Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warfare during Chinaʼs Period of Warring States‚ two new philosophies emerged. Legalism and Confucianism were two of the philosophies intellectual thinkers developed to try and stop the mayhem of China before it could be conquered by a greater nation. “Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as and Legalism gained immense recognition as
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Daoism‚ and Legalism as a governing system. The most effective system would be Legalism‚ because it’s stable‚ strict and strong. Which would led to a powerful nation. The people of the nation would be fully devastated because of the disorder in their country. In order to have their luxurious lives back‚ they would make as much effort‚ to help with the recovery. Legalism would bring stability back to a devastated nation. For example‚ in the past Legalism brought back stability to China‚ after
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