Under what social and historical conditions did "saints" appear?
The emergence of "miscellaneous schools" is closely related to the social and historical situation at the end of the Warring States Period: a unified and centralized feudal country is about to emerge, and schools of thought representing different classes and strata are beginning to merge. Some people of insight within the feudal ruling class have realized that it is not enough to rule with only one thought and theory. They must adopt the ideas of various schools, especially Confucianism, Legalism and Taoism. Lu's Spring and Autumn Annals is the representative work of this view. Since Shang Yang's political reform, Qin has been practicing the rule of law. While advocating the rule of law, Lu Chunqiu loudly declared that he should attach importance to the Confucian rule of virtue and use both morality and punishment. As for the monarch, Lu Chunqiu suggested that everything else should follow the example of Taoist inaction, except making great efforts in selecting officials and employing people. It can be said that the general plan of governing the country designed by Lu Chunqiu is more conducive to long-term stability than the single governance mode promoted by Qin at that time.