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Comparing Confucius And Legalism In China

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When the Qin Dynasty came to power in 221 BC, it found itself ruling over a land where the teachings of Confucius had been spreading for almost 300 years. Qin attempted to rule China using a new philosophy called Legalism. Both were widely different in their views on political, familial, and social issues. However, these philosophies greatly influenced and unified early Chinese empires; some even became official state ideologies. The role of the government was extremely important in the eyes of Confucians. If your ruler was moral, in turn, his subjects would be prosperous. The government only existed to benefit and support the people, not the other way around. This ideology stresses the importance of community and promotes a giving culture. However, Legalists have an opposite view on the role the government should take. They believe in a society that the government should come before everything and that the people are meant to serve the …show more content…

It’s a rule that prevents hateful or criminal actions in a realistic and empathetic way. Many religions and cultures have their own variation of this law of reciprocity, making it a widely respected belief. Opposing to this, Legalists do not believe that human empathy is at all important in society. Legalism views the law above the people, and in a black and white society, this form of judgment without compassion is achievable. However, since the world isn’t black and white, this only creates a “Big Brother” culture that promotes its citizens to turn on each other and feel threatened by their own government. This responsibility to the law was also pushed onto households ethics. If any member of your family had disobeyed the law it was your duty to turn them into the government. Unlike Legalism, Confucianism understood the value of family and it’s priority over

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Erick Roque Chinese Legalism History Report Background Information According to the website, Legalism - Ancient History Encyclopedia, it says that the Chinese legalism now became the official philosophy of the Qin Dynasty. After the website says that, it has parentheses that says numbers. I think it means the years (221 - 206 BCE). The person who wrote this was named Emily Mark.

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The Han Dynasty is predominantly concerned with laws and education when trying to regulate their citizens. They use Legalist and Confucius teachings as a baseline for how they rule. Furthermore, emperor Han Wudi created the Confucian Education System to teach future government officials discipline and loyalty to elders, especially the emperor. This lowered the chance that bureaucrats would betray them. While men doing government services were disciplined, the government used strict laws and their military to maintain order in the community.

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The Qin Dynasty was ruled by a legalist who came to power and strongly led China. Qin Shi Huang worked tirelessly to try and come to power for the vision he had, never had China been so vast and powerful. He built magnificent palaces for himself, constructed defenses, directed campaigns, and traveled on extensive tours just to come up with the power to rule China and follow his vision. Source 3 shows that Qin Shi Huang took over

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However, historical accounts should be taken with a grain of salt. Our only concrete sources about the Qin dynasty come largely from Han historians. Qin Shihuang's legalism, which believed strict rule was necessary because people inherently could not be trusted to govern themselves, was explicitly opposed to scholars' Confucianism, which believes that humans can and should try to improve themselves. From Qin Shihuang's legalist perspective, these views held by scholars were divisive, and consequently, scholars were persecuted in different ways, as seen below.

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Confucianism vs Legalism The Ancient Chinese had interesting ways of thinking. Legalism beliefs were a more negative way of thinking than the beliefs of Confucianism because if one did not believe in Legalism, they were tortured, killed, or enslaved (HB). Confucius thought more positively and he said: “Wherever you go, go with all your heart” (BrainyQuote). Confucius was the scholar and philosopher who founded Confucianism.

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54 Words | 1 Pages

Three perspectives of bringing peace to society was Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism. In people’s lives peace in society is very important. People were longing for no violence and expected to be treated well. They wanted to feel comfortable and stable. Because they were searching for peace and order, they wanted rules to be enforced.

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Ancient Chinese philosophy before Lao-Tzu and Confucius was Legalism laws. What exactly is legalism laws and how was it used to regulate and control society? The legalism laws were developed by Han Feizi and became the official during the Qin dynasty. During that era, it was believed that humanity was selfish and evil therefore needed these laws to maintain social order.

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The purpose of this was to show people how to be in harmony with their place in life. Legalism is a ruling made by Shi Huangdi, who was a strict ruler in china. The purpose of this ruling was to get the people of china to follow the rule, and if they didn’t there was a very harsh punishment. Although confucianism and legalism have some similarities, but the differences between the two are amazingly clear.

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Confucianism has not only affected China and Asia socially but also politically. Everyone has a role and it is their job to fulfill that role and do it as well as they can. Let the ruler be the ruler, you have your own rule and what you have to do, let the subject be the subject. Showing importance in your role is very important and can make or break the society. Document one suggests that the society will fall apart and not run successfully if the subjects don't fulfill their role.

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Thomas Hobbes described that life in a state of nature would be “solitary, poor, nasty, brutish, and short.” In addition, no one would be able to survive in an Anarchy society where there is no order and the safeguard of others is at risk. Therefore, governments require for citizens to surrender some freedom to obtain the benefits of the government. Thus, the government has preserved its two major purposes: maintaining order and providing public goods to the public and an uprising purpose of promoting equality. The main and oldest purpose of government is to maintain order by establishing laws to preserve life and protect property.

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Some argue that this approach can be oppressive and stifling to individual freedom. However, others argue that legalism was necessary in ancient China to maintain order in a time of great turmoil and strife. One of the most significant aspects of legalism is its emphasis on the importance of a strong and centralized government. Legalists believed that a strong government was necessary to enforce laws impartially and to administer punishments fairly.

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There were many strict laws and views. The philosophy taught that humans were naturally selfish. Because of the fact that human nature is selfish rulers must be strong and use force to govern the people. There were three main components of Legalism that are Fa which is the laws themselves, Shi which were the men in power, and Shu which was the current ruler’s instruction (Pines). They must use strict laws and punish law breakers harshly.

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Confucianism thought that a ruler should be like a father by setting good examples for the people of China. He also thought that a ruler should be honest, good, and wise in order for the people to follow him. “But he said the best way to rule was through an honorable government and right relationships”

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Introduction to Genetic Testing: Currently, genetic testing is a voluntary test. It is taken to identify the presence of a gene that causes disease or to identify mutations that can lead to a disease. Chromosomes, proteins, and genes are tested through several different methods, including molecular, chromosomal, and biochemical methods. Some have argued that it should be required for all babies.

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While Confucius would emphasize the good of the old sage-kings, Han Feizi emphasized that it was not virtue that allowed any sage-king (which the Legalists hardly believed in to begin with) but rather a combination of “timeliness of seasons, the hearts of the people, skills and talents, and position of power” (Chan p. 254). Without these attributes, no amount of virtue can resolve disorder. Legalists, rather than focus on resolving disorder with virtue and filial piety, would therefore look at a leader’s ability to enact law and enforce statecraft. Han Feizi writes “if the ruler has no statecraft, he will be ruined . . . if ministers are without laws, they will become rebellious.

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