Legalism

1. Where it spread to and why

1.1. Legalism was most prominent during the Qin Dynasty (221- 207 B.C.E)

1.2. Legalism had a strong military system that was formed by the strict laws. The military was able to conquer the nearby villages and expand to form the Chinese Empire.

1.3. Legalism faded with the end of the Qin Dynasty and the beginning of the Han Dynasty, which was centered around Confucianism. Legalism didn't spread very widely and was put in the shadows by Daosim and Confucianism.

2. Sacred Texts

2.1. One of the founders of Legalism, Shang Yang used the Book of Law written by Li Kui, for legal elements in his theory.

2.2. Legalism does not have a book or scared texts.

2.3. Political leaders create strict laws. If laws were not followed then you would receive harsh punishments.

3. Video

4. Gold-handled sword from the Qin Dynasty.

5. Statue of a soldier from the Qin Dynasty.

6. Political and Social Impact

6.1. Social :The founder of the Legalistic school was Hsün Tzu or Hsün-tzu. He thought humans are inherently evil and inclined toward criminal and selfish behavior. The legalists believed that an attempt to improve education by noble example and to have a controlled government in order for people to live. A solution to this problem, the ancient sage-kings invented morality. Since morality does not exist in nature, the only way of making humans behave morally is through habituation and harsh punishment

6.2. Three elements of proper government were ~Power and position                                     ~Administrative techniques and Methods   ~A comprehensive system of laws

6.3. The Han dynasty that took over control of the empire adopted the Qin innovation of a professional bureaucracy to run the empire

7. Origins and Founders

7.1. Created during the Warring State Era, which lasted from 475-221 B.C.E. This was an important period in Chinese history where many new philosophies were founded.

7.2. The main founder of the belief system was a Chinese philosopher named Hanfeizi. His policies were further developed by philosophers Shang Yang and Li Si.

7.3. The policies of Legalisms led to the Qin Dynasty. Shang Yang was an important leader of the Qin Dynasty.

7.4. Hanfeizi

8. Core Beliefs

8.1. The chinese belief of Legalism revolved around the belief that social order must come before all other human concerns.

8.2. In the eyes of a Legalist, the attempt to improve the morality of humans by education, noble example and ethical precepts are useless. Rather, they believed in harsh and strict punishment with a sturdy government that kept total control of their carefully devised law, along with an overruling police force that was allowed and even encouraged to punish mercilessly for even the most minor infractions.

8.3. Similar to Puritanism, Legalists thought that the human race is inevitably evil and will make poor, selfish choices if left unchecked.

9. Map