The Book of Lord Shang (Shangjunshu)

A collection of essays associated with Shang Yang, the 4th-century BCE minister whose reforms made the state of Qin strong enough eventually to unify China. Most chapters were probably written by his followers over the following century; of its 26 chapters, 24 survive. The opening chapter stages a debate before Duke Xiao of Qin in which Shang Yang argues that laws must change as times change, rather than follow ancient models. The book's programme is to focus the people on two activities, agriculture and war, by making these the only routes to wealth and rank. It calls for clear laws, heavy punishments even for light offences, generous rewards for military merit and mutual responsibility among households, and openly argues that the state grows strong when the people are weak. It attacks Confucian learning, eloquence and commerce as distractions. Critics from the Han Confucians onward have condemned it as a blueprint for ruthless state power.

It is the boldest early statement of state power as an end in itself, and a useful text for thinking about incentives, total mobilisation and the logic of authoritarian control.