During the Qin Dynasty, Legalism was used to govern China. It is a Chinese philosophy that emphasizes law and power (Blackwell, Legalism). Legalists believed that the rule of law is supreme and should be enforced very strictly, making it strong enough to control the entire nation (Blackwell, Legalism). The laws were believed to keep individuals in check (Blackwell, Legalism). Under the reign of Shi Huangdi, the first emperor, Legalism had an impact on Classical China. Because he was threatened by Confucianism, media censorship was at a premium (Blackwell, Shi Huangdi). Shi Huangdi ordered all books except those that were considered ‘useful’, which included technical and scientific handbooks, to be burned and destroyed (Blackwell, Shi Huangdi). This would repress people from coming up with any ideas and having an opinion/say, but as the Qin Dynasty started to decline, Legalism went down with it (Blackwell, Legalism). However, Legalist ideology is still taking place in modern China. This is because the people of …show more content…
For example, “The Qin rulers felt threatened by the historical records and political philosophies... All except technically useful books were to be destroyed, and unsupportive scholars were banished or executed” (Burning of books by order of Shi Huangdi). This part from the website states that all but helpful books were ordered to be destroyed because the government wanted to protect the philosophy. Unsupportive scholars were also killed or banished to ensure that Legalism wasn’t threatened. The recent limitations in modern China have the same reason for their actions: making sure that they (the government) are the most powerful and are not endangered. Also, in both modern and Classical China, people are punished to demonstrate the consequences of what would happen to you if you did not act the way you