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How Did Shi Huangdi Use Legalism During The Qin Dynasty

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Legalism is a type of "Classical Chinese philosophy" (Legalism and Chinese Philosophy) that grasped strong eminence during the bold, storming, Warring States Era (475 BCE–221 BCE). Legalists struggled to improve the human lifestyle by noble examples, education, and moral/righteousness laws or rules. During the Qin dynasty, it was needed for a strong government in addition to a carefully designed set of rules and principles. Qin Shi Huangdi, "first emperor" (Legalism) with this was a defending force that would factually, enforce these rules/laws and punish severely in even the most minor violations or mistakes. Throughout the years and understandings, the conceptual/elements of Legalism has been decaying, and starting to become more lenient …show more content…

According to Qin Shi Huangdi, there were "three main precepts of these Legalist philosophers" (Legalism, Fajia). The first aspect was strict and publicized rules. This allowed for anyone not to make any mistakes. The second rule was controlling all purchases in order to maintain the economic side. Qin thought that the laws of legalism were the central governing idea of unification of China. Although he had lots of negative viewers thinking that today would be a totalitarian society, he did not stop. Since he did not believe/like the beliefs of Confucianism, he persecuted Confucian scholars. Ruler Qin also thought humans were naturally evil and selfish. If anyone created a conflict or problem they would be treated with severe or harsh punishment. To not create such chaos or conflicts, Qin created the idea of morality which was the distinguish between right and wrong. During the Qin dynasty, Ch'in believed it was more important for one strong ruler to be followed/taught by the people and teach them "a philosophy that would strengthen the government that was in power and cause people to follow the laws much more closely" (Legalism in Ancient China). More power led to the idea of strict and clear rules. This made the people look out more and not make any mistakes to maintain a "flowing" or well-maintained society. Ch'in also thought people did not need to read so he burned many important books, but not all. He also thought the state/country was more important than the people he was ruling at the time in

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The government became a bureaucracy he strengthen the military, and made giant technological advances. Qin developed legalism forcing his power of the government on people, only forcing his power that enabled him to build his tomb. If his people did not follow these rules they would have been severely punished. Like other second wave civilizations China absorbed the religion of

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The main theme that entangles itself in all of the source material is the idea of how governments should be run in such a powerful empire, such as Imperial Rome and the Han Dynasty. Starting with the first source, it is evident that the first Qin emperor believed that only the orthodox teachings should be tolerated, which meant that the works of the Five Classics and its teachings were to be extinguished. The next primary source serves as a supplement to explaining the fall of the Qin dynasty due to its warring ideas and Jia Yi argues that if Confucius teachings were implemented then the dynasty would have still been intact. The third source explains how the Qin dynasty was unjust in its equal appropriation of punishment against criminals regardless of motives or social class. Essentially, Dong Zhongshu believed that a dynasty could not be successful if it failed to establish a fair and righteous justice system for its citizens.

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Qin Shi Huangdi was the first emperor to unify all regions of China into one single empire, taking drastic steps and measures to achieve this aim. He conquered six kingdoms and survived many attempts on his life. Through his barbarity and brutality, he had earned himself the title of the most successful and influential man of China. The State of Qin believed in a political philosophy called Legalism, which justified strict and centralized control and using the people to strengthen Qin. They believed that part of strengthening his rule was to force everyone to simply obey, not speak out against him and by decreeing even how people could write, what they could believe and what they could do.

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The foundation of Legalism which he forced his subjects to conform to lead to the development of Chinses civilizations because the Qin dynasty was able to use it to unify China and inspire the Han dynasty. Although Emperor Zheng led the Qin army to fight with the same weapons as their rivals, but because of their meritocracy, they were undefeated. The meritocracy allowed soldiers and officials to be promoted strictly on the of accomplishment no matter the ranking of your family. Similar to Ashoka's way of providing people with the hopeful possibility of a change in status to get what he wanted, Zheng follows the same principle. A skilled soldier may rise to become a general, but the one lacking in skill may remain a common footed soldier.

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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 reigned over a small period but made great/bad changes to Ancient China. The first emperor of the Qin Dynasty was Qin Shi Huang, a legalist. The Qin Dynasty was full of legalist changes. Qin Dynasty was changed by Qin Shi Huang by introducing legalism, making laws, and standardizing money for Ancient China. The Qin Dynasty was full of legalist change.

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Burning of the Books: Historical Analysis Between 221 BCE and 209 BCE China was ruled under the Qin Dynasty; a time where many of China’s civilians lived under the harsh rule of a legalist government and their Qin ruler, Qin Shi Huangdi. In the short letter “Memorial on the Burning of Books” Li Si, the emperor's advisor, starts to take notice of a straying from the Legalist government. Li Si claims that Legalism is what keeps the people of China in control. With this being said, Li Si also acknowledges that there are many people who criticize Legalism, branching out to other schools such as Confucianism and Daoism.

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One of the difference between the Qin and the Han dynasty is that Qin dynasty practiced Legalism and the Han dynasty practiced Confucianism. For the Han dynasty, in Document 3, states that they had a exam system of giving opportunities for everyone across the dynasty who has outstanding moral and learning to have a chance to have a role in the government, which shows that the Han dynasty emperor gave more opportunities to the commoners. For the Qin in Document 2, says that the people follow the rules, and there are no trouble because the people understand what happens when they do not follow the rules, which leads to punishments. Which shows that the Qin dynasty had strict rules for people to just obey for the government and have no say. Taking

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The ruler Han Gaozu changed many laws and polices and “promoted the welfare of its subjects”(p.81) unlike the ruler Qin. After the Han Dynasty there was not another great dynasty four hundred years later after the fall of the Han

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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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While he wasn’t very popular when he was alive, his teachings eventually gained popularity and evolved into what we know today as Confucianism. Confucianism can be described in many different ways; for example, it can be called a religion, a way of governing, or just simply a way to live your life. Through his writings and teachings Confucius taught what he believed they way that people should live their life or at least how people should strive to live their life. Confucius and his disciples focused on many things though his teaching in the Analects, one being goodness. The teachings of Confucianism focused heavily of respecting and being kind to one another.

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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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