Legalism is the name of a political and social philosophy of ancient China . The most famous Legalist philosopher was a Chinese man named Han Feizi << hahn fay dzuh >> who lived from about 280 to 233 B.C. Han Feizi used the views of earlier Legalist philosophers to create a theory of government . Legalism strongly influenced later Chinese views about government and politics.
When Han Feizi was young, his teacher was a well-known Chinese Confucian philosopher named Xunzi << shyoon dzuh >> (see Xunzi ). Confucian philosophers believed that the best societies helped take care of people’s needs and helped people become kind and virtuous. They thought the best way to achieve these goals was to have a kind and virtuous ruler. But Han Feizi and other Legalists disagreed with the Confucians. They thought the best societies had wealthy and well-organized governments, the right laws, and strong military forces.
One of the main ideas of Legalism is that moral goodness cannot solve political problems. Han Feizi believed that a society needs a powerful ruler. It was more important for a ruler to know how to control and influence people than to be morally good. It was also important to have clear, effective laws and many government employees working for the ruler. Han Feizi thought people should compete for government jobs based on objective qualifications and that officials should have to meet strict standards of performance. His ideas about government jobs influenced societies around the world.
However, the kind of society the Legalists wanted was rigid and oppressive. The Legalists thought governments should control people through rewards and punishments. Han Feizi believed people should have one of two jobs—farming or military service. He criticized groups of people who he thought were politically dangerous or useless, including artisans, merchants, and scholars. He thought these groups should be suppressed or wiped out. Anyone who did not obey the law and work to strengthen society was unwelcome.
Legalism became popular and influenced the government of the Qin << chihn >> dynasty (221-206 B.C.). The Qin emperor Shi Huangdi was the first emperor of China. Legalism was also popular during the Han << hahn >> dynasty (206 B.C.-A.D. 220). After the Han dynasty, Legalism died out as a school of thought in China. By that time, many Legalist ideas had become part of the Confucianism of Chinese emperors and governments. Some Legalist ideas remain influential in China and other countries. See also Han dynasty ; Qin dynasty .
