A hundred schools of thought contend as a legalist, which is an important school in China's history that advocates taking the rule of law as the core idea and enriching the country as its own responsibility. The history of literature and art in the Han Dynasty is listed as one of the "nine streams". Legalists are not pure theorists, but activists who actively join the WTO, and their thoughts also focus on the practical utility of law.
Legalist thought includes ethical thought, social development thought, political thought and rule of law thought and many other aspects. Legalist ethics refers to the concept of honesty, justice and benefit based on the concept of human nature.
Legalists matured very late, but formed very early, which can be traced back to officials in Xia and Shang Dynasties and matured in the Warring States Period. During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was also called the study of criminal names. After the vigorous development of Guan Zhong, Zi Chan, Wu Qi, Shang Yang, Shen Dao, Shen Buhai, and Drama Xin, it became a school of its own.
At the end of the Warring States period, Han Fei summarized and synthesized their theories, which were masterpieces of Legalists. Its scope involves social sciences such as law, economy, administration, organization and management, social reform, law, economy, finance, currency, international trade, administration, organizational theory and operational research.
School source
The source of legalism can be traced back to the officials in Xia and Shang Dynasties. "Han Shu" said that "the Legalist school was established as a guardian."
In the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong of Qi State, Guo Yan of Jin State and Zi Chan of Zheng State. They promulgated laws and penalty books, reformed the land tax system, promoted the process of feudalism, and became the pioneers of legalism in the Spring and Autumn Period.
Philosophically, they expressed some materialistic views. Guan Zhong and his successors put forward the viewpoint that "the sky remains unchanged, and the earth is not easy to make", while Zi Chan put forward the proposition that "the sky is far away, the people are close, and it is unattainable", acknowledging that nature has its objective laws and opposing the concept of the induction between man and nature.
During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, society also entered a new era of "valuing personnel", "private learning" and "a hundred schools of thought contend". There, the traditional theocracy concept and theocracy thought were violently impacted and criticized by the thoughts of "virtue" and "benevolence", and the thoughts of "ceremony" and "law" became the important foundation of social ideology; The "scholar" class appeared and private schools flourished.
These "scholars" have cultural knowledge, political strategy and military talent. Their activities are not restricted by national boundaries, and they are treated with courtesy by the rulers wherever they go. In this sense, active scholars have laid the foundation for the prosperity of ideology and culture.
Since then, personal writing has become a common practice, and schools of thought such as Taoism, law, fame, military, yin and yang, agriculture and miscellaneous have appeared one after another, forming an unprecedented new atmosphere of "a hundred schools of thought contend". There are already many books in people's hands, academic culture has begun to enter the people, and the cultural and scientific level of the whole society has been popularized and improved. ?
The Warring States period is an era of great change. The popularization of ironware has greatly improved production efficiency and made individual families become basic production units. During the Warring States Period, Legalists, Wuqi, Shang Yang, Shen Buhai, and Drama Xin successively reformed laws in various countries, abolishing the hereditary privileges of nobles, and enabling civilians to gain military achievements and become new landowners by reclaiming wasteland.
Giving China people a chance to be officials disintegrated the hierarchy of the Zhou Dynasty. Fundamentally shaken the aristocratic regime maintained by blood. The political spokesmen of the common people are legalists, and their political slogans are "ruling the country according to law", "being unkind, neither humble nor humble, divorced from the law", "from top to bottom, the law is not expensive, the rope is not bent" and "the punishment does not evade the officials and does not leave people behind."