Mohist and legalistic thought is not based on entities, transcendenal or universal, but on parts or roles (“names”),[107] and is therefore associated with the Confucian correction of names, which probably dates back to Mozi`s development of the Fa. [14]: 348-349 [95] For the most part, Confucianism does not deal with the Fa (although Han Confucians adopted the Fa as an essential part of administration). although the idea that the standards themselves are older,[108][14]:348-349 Fa is theoretically derived from the Confucian Li. [109] Although Han Fei`s Xing-Ming recommends the use of Shen Buhai`s techniques, they are both much narrower and more specific. The functional dichotomy involved in Han Fei`s mechanistic responsibility is not easily implicated in Shens and may be more consistent with the later thinking of the Han Dynasty linguist Xu Gan than that of Shen Buhai or his alleged teacher Xun Kuang. [255] The Qin Dynasty lasted shortly after Shi Huangdi was buried in his ornate tomb, guarded by thousands of clay soldiers. Peasant uprisings broke out, followed by uprisings led by the lords of the six kingdoms that Shi Huangdi had conquered. In 206 BC. The last ruler of Qin surrendered to a rebel army and was beheaded.

The rebels then burned Xianyang, the capital of Qin. The brutal techniques and tyranny of the first emperor led to resistance among the people, especially among the enlisted peasants and peasants whose work built the empire. After the death of the first emperor, China plunged into a civil war, exacerbated by floods and droughts. In 207 BC. Qin Shi Huang`s son was killed, and the dynasty completely collapsed. Chaos reigned until 202 BC. A.D., when Gaozu, a minor official, became a general and reunified China in the Han Dynasty. The Qin union of 221 BC. J.-C. may have become the triumph of legalism.

The rise of Qin State began with Shang Yang; And by following its “agriculture and war” approach, this state has become rich and powerful enough to subdue its formidable enemies. Many aspects of Qin`s policy before and after imperial unification – such as the creation of an intrusive government apparatus, strict surveillance of officials, the use of impartial laws and regulations, etc. – were devised by Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, Han Fei and others. And this policy brought unprecedented success: after five centuries of endless war, the entire empire was united “under the sky” under one ruler! Proud of his success, the first emperor (221-210 BC) visited his newly acquired empire and erected stone stelae at the sites of the sacred mountains. In the stelae, he boasted of bringing unity, peace, stability and an orderly regime (Kern 2000; Pins, 2014b). The dreams of generations of pre-imperial thinkers came true, and this was done primarily by following the recipes of those we now call “legalists.” In the Han Dynasty, government secretaries responsible for recording decisions in criminal cases were called Xing-Ming, which Sima Qian (145 or 135 – 86 BC) and Liu Xiang (77 – 6 BC) attributed to the teachings of Shen Buhai (400 – c. 337 BC). Liu Xiang even went so far as to define Shen Buhai`s doctrine as Xing-Ming. [6]: 72, 80, 103-104 [191],[192] Shen actually used an older and more philosophically common equivalent, ming-shih, and combined the “legalistic doctrine of names” with the debates about names and reality (ming shih) of the School of Names – another school that evolved from the Mohists.

[193] [194] Such discussions are also important in Han Feizi,[195] and the first literary event for Xing-ming, in Zhan Guo Ce, also refers to the school of names. [196] 2. When you go back to the U.S. today, do you think the government should have the power to censor material it deems dangerous, such as books, magazines, movies, music recordings, artwork, or software? Cite certain types of material that people think are worthy of censorship and explain your position on each. The Lord High Secretary of the Salt and Iron Discourses uses Shang Yang in his argument against the dispersion of the people, stating that “in an age of anarchy, a wise man cannot order things as he wills”. He remembers Lord Shang`s chancellery as a firm chancellery in establishing laws and creating orderly government and education, which resulted in profit and victory in every battle. [287] Although Confucianism was promoted by the new emperors, the government continued to be run by legalists. Emperor Wu of Han (140–87 BC) forbade legalistic scholars from holding official positions and founded a university for the study of the Confucian classics,[288] but his most reliable policies and advisors were legalistic. [289] Michael Loewe called Emperor Wu`s reign the “pinnacle” of modernist (classical legalistic) politics and looked back on “adapting ideas from the pre-Han period.” [290] An official ideology that covered legalistic practice with Confucian rhetoric was to persist throughout the imperial period, a tradition commonly described as wàirú nèifǎ (Chinese: 外儒內法; lit.

“outwardly Confucian, internal legalistic”). [291] 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 and conducted national political and military campaigns along these lines to achieve victory.