Legalism In The Ching Dynasty

In ancient China, many different rulers tried to unify and rule the country using a variety 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.

My first point depicts Emperor Qin’s amazing skill as a leader, analyzing Qin’s overall impact in his society. Facts and opinions combined, Emperor Qin had a great influence over China, one that positively impacted the entire country; he unified China, creating a new type of government and standardizing many things for the Chinese.

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

He made everything from currency to law much easier in the countries. He standardised many things that were different in the separate states, which made life easier for travellers. The currency, measurements, weight and script were made the same throughout the country, which simplified what merchants had to go through when selling to other people. He made all the laws the same throughout all the provinces and put all the houses into groups that were responsible for each other's wrongdoing. Qin's way of ruling was carried out for many dynasties after his death, and changed the way China was ruled forever.

The Qin Dynasty used their power to enforce legalism which was accepted by the people and to summarize what it is, is when a ruler treats his people equally and gives everything equally. In document 3 it states that when a ruler gives out rewards everyone got a part of it, but when punishment was given everyone also received it. The strict law were to prevent dishonorable people from living there. An example is people who were disobedient or people who were selfish. The way that the Mauryan Empire used their political power was that an a leader called Emperor Ashoka discontinued the killing of animals and said they may only be killed for good purposed, but one was not found. In document 4 it states that the ruler saw the animals on the same level as people and even gave them medical treatment as they would give to humans. The way that these empires differed from each other is that the Qin Dynasty used legalistic philosophy to keep their empire in check whereas the Mauryan Dynasty used their power to stop the killing animals entirely and treated them like

The Qin and the Han dynasties are both equally important in China’s history. Each dynasty started out with a smaller piece of land than which they ended with, both also had it’s own idea on expansion and isolation of the boarders.The Qin dynasty in 15 years, managed to unite the 7 warring states. They segregated themselves from foreigners and the population had no free will because the if their actions would not help the emperor then they would be punished. The Han dynasty lasting 426 years manage to conquer more land expanding to the size of present day China and farther. Citizens were happy with their lives, so the dynasty had more time to focus on expansion and development of the land. Although the Qin and the Han are different in how they

Even though the Qin dynasty was seen as barbaric and brutal, the Han did implement some of the old Qin institutions into their new government. One of these institutions were the Commanderies. These were administrative divisions of land in which a governor would be appointed by the government and run it as the government or emperor wants it to be ran. This is institution is very useful for knowing how many people you have. When war comes and you need to draft able bodied men to go fight, you will know just how many you will be able to get. Another reason would be for tax purposes. It is also very useful to regulate the trade and growing of certain crops. Even more in depth than that the government can control what the children in the commanderies are taught and what propaganda they are seeing. Qin law is another thing that the Han used from the former dynasty. One example of this practice was the fact that women could bring up cases against men even though the women did not have the same rights as men. Punishments were also

The Qin and Han dynasties changed many things regarding how China was governed. Like when Qin Shi Huang standardized the units of measurement, currency, and the width of roads to ease trade within his country, strengthening the unity between areas. Another change is the Han dynasty’s usage of education. They let all boys receive an education to a certain extent, however, if they wanted to further their education more they would have to travel to the capital. One of the several changes Qin Shi Huang changed how dictators controlled China in many ways how he distributed his land and power. Many of the changes he implemented were used by Chinese rulers for over 2000 years, these changes created a lasting effect on how China was ruled. The Qin

During his reign, Qin prohibited people from following other philosophies and replaced them with his official philosophy, Legalism. His precepts of this philosophy holds that people were naturally born corrupt and selfish, thus developing depicted laws with severe punishments would discipline their behavior. (Mark) Not only he provided tight control over their education, but trusting others besides their emperor was forbidden as well. Life in the Qin dynasty became more restricted and independent due to his morals, and many were unable to live freely without facing any harsh punishments. Eventually, Qin’s crude ruling caused rebellions to occur, leading to downfall for his empire after 15

Emperor Qin Shi Huangdi ruled Ancient China from 221 till 210BC and was the founder of the Qin Dynasty. He came into ruling at the young age of thirteen after his father’s death. He was a very effective ruler who during his reign accomplished unifying China and building monuments such as the Terracotta warriors and the Great Wall of China. Although Shi Huangdi did numerous things to help China and make it better, he also burnt books to destroy records of the past and punished those who did not follow his rules. Even though some of Qin Shi Huangdi’s methods were questionable he impacted China in many ways and was an effective leader because of his desire to unify China and make it better.

Legalism is a very harsh governmental philosophy with strict laws and strict, brutal punishment to enforce the laws. Legalism became prevalent during the Qin Dynasty in China. Qin-Shih Huang as the first ruler of China was the man (emperor) who implemented this way of thinking. He was the first person to unify all eight states of China. Confucianism is really nothing like Legalism; Legalism resembles a dictatorship-like mindset, when Confucianism is freeing and respectful.

An organized society needs a strong ruler, well run government, a powerful military, rewards and punishments for good or bad behavior, and clear laws. Legalism includes all of these necessities to run a well run society. A great legalist ruler will

China has been known to be the world’s third largest nation, and one of the most populous countries amongst the world. “China has become one of the globe’s fastest - growing post - industrial economies since reforms were put into place in 1978 by Deng Xiaoping, and his supporters, and it’s rapid industry growth since then has led to competition with the United States, and Europe. “(“China”). China was a feudal state until the lord of Qin managed to unite the various lords and became the first emperor in 221 B.C.E. (“China”). During Qin ShiHuang’s reign he standardized the script, currencies, weights, and measures, and established the system of prefectures and counties, and began the world- renowned Great Wall. At the end of the Qin Dynasty, Liu Bang, a peasant leader, overthrew the Qin regime in cooperation with Xiang Yu, an aristocratic general. (“Wu”).

Early in the Qin Empire, Legalism reached its peak in Chinese history. This thought of state policy was devised by Shang Yang who came to Qin as a foreign advisor. Qin lacks intellectual people therefore they had to look for a gifted one. Shang Yang was one of those gifted persons and has a lasting power on the Qin Empire. He become a minister and renovated the policies of the government but he simple revived a practice which is already present; legalism. The emperor permitted Shang Yang’s policies and implemented across his realm. Control and fear were the key features of this political system. Also another key element is one’s significance to the empire resulted the building of Great Wall of China, the grand Canal and improvements of roads

The Qin worked tirelessly to strengthen the state as a whole, by recruiting advisors, strategists, and diplomats from other territories and developing their military capabilities. Furthermore, they strengthened the power of their ruler with Legalist measures (which they applied ruthlessly in war as well), which resulted in a law-abiding population. Healthy agricultural production and a large tax base helped bring about a stable society, as well as significant funding and supplies for the king’s military campaigns. Building a