Lessons of Legalism in Qin China

Paper Summary:

This paper discusses the Qin Dynasty and how it ended the warring states period by using legalism to inflict a rule of law that forced the public to comply with Emperor Shihuangdi's agenda of public works and expansion. By saying the law was all that mattered, abuses were to be ignored, as they did not pertain to the ruler. The paper points out that the people knew Shihuang was a madman, however, because of his persecution of Confucian scholars, nobles, business people and everyone that questioned his rule. This caused his empire to collapse after his death and to be replaced by the Han Dynasty, which dispensed with enforced legalism.

From the Paper:

"The brief Qin Dynasty brought China's first consolidation and shifts towards a state bureaucracy at odds with the feudal order of old. Also, Qin Shihuang (246-210 BC) was the first to refer to himself as an emperor as opposed to ruler after he subdued the rivals of the Warring States period. Qin control depended on legalism and a tough centralized government that quickly rejected any other philosophy. As China would see again in her long history, a period of chaos gave way to a rigid Qin regime that tried to force straight much that had gone asunder (Bodde, 1966)."

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