While the social and spiritual teachings of Confucius are now synonymous with traditional Chinese society itself, the first imperial dynasty, the powerful Qin state (221 to 206 B.C.), employed the harsh ideology of legalism. According to the proponents of this strict form of governance, a monarch should seek to acquire as much political power as possible and apply strict laws to dominate all of society.
China’s first great era of disunity, known as the Warring States Period, saw the rise of many schools of thought, including legalism and Confucianism. Various local rulers sought the advice of philosophers, teachers, sages, and scientists to aid their quests to lord it over the whole nation.
During this time, the state of Qin was a remote region on the fringes of Chinese civilization lying in the mountains that hug the west banks of the upper Yellow River. In the fourth century B.C., Qin’s ruler Duke Xiao began a search for capable men to help him lead his land and people to greatness.
Shang Yang was the man who brought legalism to Qin State, which would eventually conquer six other kingdoms to unify China. Unable to find employment as a government minister in his native state of Wei in central China, Shang ventured to the west to heed Duke Xiao’s call.
Advocate of Tyranny
The origins of legalism are varied, but Shang Yang was the first to develop it as a distinct political ideology. Taking the Canon of Laws, written by the scholar Li Kui, as his guide, Shang Yang met with Duke Xiao and was able to convince the leader to make him an important minister for Qin.
One of the defining traits of legalism was its rejection of any morality not determined by the ruler through his laws. Shang and the successors in his school of thought believed that human nature was chiefly cunning and self-serving in nature. What the Qin minister wanted was obedience.
