School
Legalism
Legalism (fajia) is the Chinese political philosophy that a ruler should govern through clear laws, rewards and punishments, and control of officials.
It developed in the Warring States period with Shang Yang, Shen Buhai and Shen Dao, and was synthesised by Han Feizi in the third century BCE. Its ideas guided the Qin state, which unified China in 221 BCE. Legalists argued against relying on the virtue of rulers, as the Confucians did. The label is a later classification, and some scholars question whether these thinkers formed a single school. On this site it answers questions on political philosophy (6.4), the place of law and the logic of obligation.
Thinkers of this school
Guide: Schools of Philosophy: The Main -isms and the Questions They Answer
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“The best ruler is barely noticed” is compatible with abandonment, and the Legalists exploited exactly that
Chapter 17 of the Daodejing ranks rulers. The best are those whose people barely know they exist. Next come those the people love and praise; then those they fear; then those they despise. And when the work is done, the people all…
Started by Chen Yuting6 replies -
The fall of Qin refutes Legalism itself, not merely its excesses
I read Han Feizi mostly to understand why the most effective political theory of early China produced the shortest-lived dynasty. The Legalist tradition, from Shang Yang's reforms in the state of Qin in the fourth century BCE to Han Feizi's synthesis in…
Started by Chen Yuting5 replies -
Han Feizi was right that good government cannot wait for good rulers
I spend most of my time with the Mohists, but I read Han Feizi to understand why the Confucian picture of government lost so many arguments in the Warring States period, and I want to defend one of his central claims. The…
Started by Chen Yuting6 replies -
The Qin collapse did not refute Han Feizi; the Han dynasty quietly proved him right
I read Han Feizi to understand why the Legalists won, at least for a while. The standard story is a morality tale. The Qin adopted Legalism wholesale: uniform law, harsh punishment, rewards for service, no reliance on the ruler's virtue. They unified…
Started by Chen Yuting5 replies