Confucianism And Legalism - 1556 Words

The law in which the Qin constructed was harsh and unjust. They abolished the Zhou-ist feudal system, replacing it with controlled local administration. The term in which this practice is called is Legalism; the belief in which people are born with evil tendencies. The government demanded total subordination of the people to the ruler. Although there is no commonly recognized founder, there is one person who is credited for the establishment of Legalism: Shang Yang, an important statesman during the Warring States Period for the Qin. â€Å"The policies and measures initiated by Shang Yang were all designed to strengthen the state at the expense of the common people and the nobility, to subjugate the society under state domination.† Through†¦show more content†¦This system was to keep everyone in their place and avoid rebellions and uprisings. There were reports of subordination put into place once every three months, summaries every six, and permanent records every tw elve. There was a doctrine fixed into law, called the Six Parasites. This is however a textual problem, there are actually sixteen. These â€Å"parasites† were rites, music, odes, history, cultivation, goodness, filial devotion, brotherly love, sincerity, trustworthiness, uprightness, integrity, humaneness, rightness, criticism of army, and lastly being ashamed of fighting. To violate any of these laws against the â€Å"six† was subject to punishment. Death to any criminals and any officials who allowed crimes, their punishments were carried out to their families and three generations after. â€Å"When punishments are imposed, they shall not be applied to the guilty party alone.† Punishments were severe. Small crimes were punished severly to make sure the punishment was understood and not repeated, especially if it were a larger crime. When Shang Yang wrote, â€Å"...if they let their ambition go too far, they will become too strong†¦Ã¢â‚¬  it is interpreted tha t knowledge and aspiration for a better life can be power and lead to rebellion against the government. â€Å"More consequential victims were the critical thinking of Legalists and the spirit of ruling by law, blamed for Qin’s demise and condemned for two millennia by Confucians advocating the rule by menShow MoreRelatedConfucianism vs Legalism2475 Words   |  10 Pagesideologies, Confucianism and Legalism. Towards the later part of ancient China (e.g Han dynasty), states started to adopt a mixture of Confucianism and Legalistic ideology. Why did Legalism and Confucianism fall off? In this paper I will explore and provide my own insights on the shortcomings of both ideologies; how Legalism was more persuasive in getting people to accept their ideas and more effective as an ideology and how Confucianism lost out in both aspects. Persuasiveness of Legalism The centralRead MoreConfucianism, Daoism, and Legalism976 Words   |  4 Pagesvariety of methods – Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism to name a few. Each philosophy had its own set of rules of how people should act both in public and privately. The overall goal of each philosophy was to set a standard of acceptable living that would ensure harmony and success for the society. However, each was different and thus had different results. The best way for the people of China to succeed in a harmonious, respectable society occurred when both Confucianism and Legalism were combined. Read MoreConfucianism, Daoism, And Legalism1688 Words   |  7 Pages Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism, are three Chinese ideologies in Classic China that held influence on how society should be, how to achieve order and what made government strong. Anyone that was a practitioner of these three philosophies would have had no idea how the Roman Republic or Empire worked in those regards. 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