How Did Confucius Admire Written Laws

During the period of the Seven Warring States at the end of the Zhou Dynasty

during the Zhou Dynasty, China was experiencing a great deal of political turmoil. A major part of this era was called the Period of the Warring States. It was a time when there were numerous wars that occurred due to the conflict that existed between seven states. (Watkins, 2013) These warring states were the Han, Wu, Zhao, Chu, Qi, Yan and Jin. According to Jerry H. Bentley and Herbert F. Ziegler of the book Traditions and Encounters, “This period forced some people to reflect on the nature of society, and the roles of humans beings within society.” The authors continued saying that it forced others to “identify principles that would restore political and social order.” (Bentley & Ziegler, 2011) The principles of Confucianism were established and followed in order to help the citizens of China to live and govern their communities more efficiently. Through Confucianism, Confucius helped legitimize China’s rule and bring about order in the mist of turmoil. The effects of Confucius’ principles are still seen and felt today in many aspects of modern day Chinese society. Veritably, there were points throughout Chinese history where Confucianism affected almost every aspect of life in China. Confucius has impacted the development of Chinese thought and culture in various ways from education to politics, to familial relationships.

Legalism was very different from both Confucianism and Daoism because Legalism was the belief that people needed to be controlled because they were evil. Legalism is found in China and was founded by Han Feize. While it is unknown when Legalism was established, it is known that Han Feize was born in 280 B.C. so that gives a general time when legalism started. Legalism didn’t deal with much religious concerns but was more of a political philosophy instead. Citizens were seen to be responsible for actions of one another. A person who is considered guilty, their relatives and neighbors should be punished as well. This was a way to make sure that the laws are followed. The laws are strict with harsh punishments. People who spy on others and report anything that they do wrong to the authorities are thought to be doing right of the law. Both Legalism and Confucianism are belief systems within a group of people, not religions, and both are intended to lead to an orderly way of life, how they approach their teachings are complete opposed.

The idea of ruling a powerful government based on the principle of using two conflicting ideologies at the same time appeared foreign to most dynasties of early China. In early Chinese times, after the Period of the Warring States, two ideologies emerged: Legalism and Confucianism. Legalism stressed a strong central government that expressed harsh laws while Confucianism had a decentralized government, placing trust in conscientious and learned individuals to work together to solve political issues. These two schools of thought were in stark contrast to each other and, up until the Han dynasty, had never been combined with each other through government policy. The Qin dynasty, for example implemented a strict Legalist government while the

They want to emphasize individual virtuous behavior, both by the ruler and the ruled as well as highly recommending obedience and respect, “people should know their place, even under bad rulers.” Even the Han emperors decided to implement Confucius ideas after looking at their doctrine called The Analects. The book shows Confucian political value and social order which states that the aristocrats and the educated are of the highest degree, and then comes farmers, and finally, the merchants. Although both Confucianism and Legalism call for governmental hierarchy, Confucianism possessed an optimistic view of human potential while Legalists believe that a powerful government is necessary along with a carefully devised law rewarding for good deeds and punishing for bad

The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee takes place in Tang Dynasty China and it revolves around Judge Dee (Dee Goong An). Judge Dee was a magistrate (or a judge), who solved different crimes around China. In this book, it includes three main crimes and Judge Dee examines them all. Judge Dee included both Legalist and Confucian methods to help move along each case and eventually solve them. He used these different techniques to help him solve each case, but three certain Confucian values helped him truly become a good magistrate. The three Confucian values were Ren, Xiào, and Li. Judge Dee used all of these values in order to become a good magistrate.

In the book Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An), the main character is Judge Dee, a magistrate in China’s Tang dynasty. The roles of a magistrate include, but are not limited to, being a judge, detective and police officer. The book follows three of Judge Dee’s cases, the Case of the Double Murder at Dawn, the Case of the Strange Corpse and the Case of the Poisoned Bride. In order to be a distinguished and powerful magistrate, one must lead with Confucian and Legalist values. Judge Dee is an effective magistrate because he blends both Confucian and Legalist values seamlessly, and is well aware of the Tang dynasty’s social hierarchy.

Life in the ancient kingdoms of China, India, and Greece were very different from those in modern society. Most of these kingdoms had different sets of rules that were believed to bring peace and harmony into everyday life. In Ancient China,there were three philosophies that were dominant in the region: Legalism, Daoism, and Confucianism. In ancient India, there were two philosophies that were practiced: Buddhism and Hinduism. In ancient Greece, Plato’s and Socrates’ philosophies were the ones that were respected the most. The ideal ruler was shaped due to the influences of classical philosophies of India, China, and Greece according to the enforcement of the laws, the relationship to the people, and the ideal qualities of the ruler.

During the period of ancient chia there were many philosophers who saw their own views upon the ways of which china was to be run. With the time there were many rulers which lead their views on china’s government and its exploits and so with these views came counterviews. There were those who saw a new way to run china for bad or for worse such as two famous philosophers named Confucius and Han Fei. Confucius wanted china to be run with peaceful yet firm rules and restrictions whereby the people of chia would act in such a way that was thought to be most moral and respectful. A quote from the analects of Confucius (Doc 1.) says “Lead the people with governmental measures and regulate them with laws and punishment, and they will avoid wrongdoing but will have no sense of honor and shame.

Belief systems are philosophies or religions that influence people’s lives. Many philosophies throughout the history of China have greatly influenced the daily lives of it’s people. Chinese philosophies held many important beliefs that both positively and negatively impacted the daily lives of China’s people. Two examples of these philosophies and their impact on the people of China’s daily lives are Legalism during the Ch’in dynasty, and Confucianism during the Han Dynasty.

In both China and the United States, the judicial system is composed of courts that contain several different levels. However, there is a basic structural difference between the Chinese and American legal systems. In America, the three branches of government are supposed to be separate, so that the court system is supposed to be beyond party politics and partisan antics. This separate system of checks and balances does not exist in China. On the contrary, the judicial branch is not independent. It is meant as an extension of the government, and therefore of the single political party with any power in China. The distinction between American judicial independence and Chinese judicial dependence may be one of the most critical differences between the two systems because the American judicial branch is meant to act as a check and balance with the other systems, while China's three-part system has the same branches but lacks the same independence.

Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, arose many intellectual thinkers that brought such a profound impact in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Even to this day, their influence can be seen on the many matters of China. Confucianism became the paramount school of thinking and later significant philosophies such as Daoism and Legalism gained immense recognition as well. Each party had their own proposals for creating an idealistic political society where the many problems they faced in their everyday lives could be eliminated. All three approaches were very distinct but at the same time, they contained similarities as well. In my reasoning, I find that Confucianism and Daoism

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. It would not be surprising if a Confucian, a Daoist and a Legalist had praise and dislike for how Rome was ran.

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. “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

Secondly, Confucius viewed rules and laws as harmful. He argued that people led by laws and punishments will try to avoid punishment but lose the sense of shame. If they are led by virtue and guided by propriety, they will preserve their sense of shame and become good citizens5. He saw a country as an extended family and a ruler should take care of his citizens like a father would take care of his children. The ruler as the “father” would need to set a proper example for the right ethics to flow down5.