Transcript Legalism

Classical China
Three Schools of Thought Notes
Essential Questions
• How did Shi Huangdi treat people who
opposed him?
• Under the Chinese civil service system, who
could become government officials?
• Summarize the differences in how Confucius,
the Legalists, and Daoists viewed government.
• Explain Yin and Yang.
• Explain Legalism.
Confucianism - Founder
• Confucius
– Lived from 551 to 479
B.C.E. which was during
the Zhou dynasty
– Lived in eastern China
Confucianism – Main Beliefs
• Social order, harmony, and good government
could be restored if society was organized
around five basic relationships:
–
–
–
–
–
Ruler and subject
Father and son
Husband and wife
Older and younger brother
Friend and friend
Confucianism – Main Beliefs
• Children should practice filial piety, respect
for their parents and elders
– a. Part of the general code still used in Chinese
society
Confucianism - Effects
• Creation of a bureaucracy, a trained civil
service, in China
– Education became important to career
advancement
• The Analects was a collection of Confucius’
teachings and sayings
• Spread beyond China, influenced
civilizations all over East Asia
A Student knows that they are
failing a class. How do they
handle the situation?
• Inform parents and apologize
for not living up to the
standards expected; promise
to try harder
Daoism - Founder
• Laozi
– Believed to have lived in
the 6th century B.C.E.
Daoism – Main Beliefs
• Natural order is more important than the
social order
• Human beings should live simply and in
harmony with nature
• True harmony comes from balancing the
opposite forces of nature
– Yang = masculinity-heaven-active
-Yin = feminine-earth-passive
• Everyone must discover the Dao, “the way”,
for themselves
Daoism - Effects
• Daoists made
contributions to
astronomy and medicine
• Influenced Chinese
thought, writing, and art
• Encouraged rulers to rule
less harshly
• Simple Life and inner
peace
• Harmony with nature
A Student knows that they are
failing a class. How do they
handle the situation?
• Not worry about it and hope the problem
will go away. (A Daoist more probably
would try to recognize why they are failing,
and do something to change their behavior
if it would make them happier)
Legalism - Founder
• Hanfeizi
– Lived from 280 to 233
B.C.E. which was the end
of the Zhou dynasty
Legalism – Main Beliefs
• Highly efficient and powerful government
is the key to social order
• Governments should control thinkers and
their ideas, and enforce strict laws with
rewards for good behavior and harsh
punishments for bad behavior
• Rulers should have absolute power and be
backed by the military
Legalism - Effects
• The Qin dynasty seized control of China
and admired Hanfeizi’s writings, they
adopted strict Legalist ideas
• Many people were put to death for
disloyalty and other crimes
A Student knows that they are
failing a class. How do they
handle the situation?
• Inform parents, expect and
accept punishment
What is Confucianism?
• CONFUCIANISM: For a peaceful society
of virtuous people, rule by example. A ruler
must have virtue himself, like a good father.
Family relationships are very important in
society. Do not do to others what you would
not like done to yourself.
What is Legalism?
• LEGALISM: Rule by strict laws. People
are not good by nature and they therefore
require a great deal of discipline and
regulation. All power should rest in the
hands of the ruler.
What is Daoism
• DAOISM: Human nature is neither bad nor
good. People should just live simple lives in
harmony with nature. Politics is senseless
Scenario #1
• Friend: Your close friend is cheating on
his/(her) girlfriend/(boyfriend), who is also
one of your closest friends. What do you
do?
Scenario #2
• Teacher: You catch a student cheating on
an exam. What do you do?
Scenario #3
• Parent: Your child has been caught
smoking weed. What is his/her punishment?
Scenario #4
• Chief of Police: Your city has recently had
an increase in crime, specifically burglary
and property damage. How do you go about
decreasing the crime rate?
Scenario #5
• President: Your economy is suffering and
people are getting angry with the job loss
and the increase in living prices. How do
you go about fixing the problem?
Classical China
Chinese Empires Notes
Qin dynasty - Leaders
• Qin Shihuangdi, “First Emperor of Qin”
– Used Legalist ideas to control warring states
and unify China
– Used military might, spies, bribery, and
alliances to conquer rival states
– The Qin dynasty collapsed shortly after he died
• Li Su, the prime minister
Qin dynasty – Life in the empire
• Divided territory into 36 districts
– Each had three officials who governed:
• One controlled the army
• Another controlled the laws and agriculture
• The third reported to the emperor
• Murdered hundreds of Confucian scholars
and burned “useless” books
• Standardized writing, law, money, weights,
and measure to make trade easier
Qin dynasty – Great Wall of China
• Built to protect the Qin dynasty from
attacks by northern nomads
• Took 10 years to construct the 1,400 miles
of wall
• Made of layers of earth pounded into
wooden frames that held everything
together
• 300,000 men built it, some soldiers and
some peasants who were forced to work
Han dynasty - Leaders
• Liu Bang
– A rebel who had gained control of the Han
kingdom and conquered the Qin army
• Empress Lü
– Took over control when Liu died in 195 B.C.E.
– She was one of his wives
Han dynasty – Government
• Established a centralized government, a
central authority controls the running of a state
• Hundreds of commanderies, local officials of
provinces, reported to central government
• Lowered taxes, softened harsh punishments,
moved away from Legalism
• Civil service system, civilians obtain
government jobs by taking examinations
Han dynasty - Accomplishments
• Paper was invented in 105 B.C.E., this made
books cheaper and education spread
• More efficient plow, iron tools, the
wheelbarrow, watermills to grind grain
• Government had monopolies on salt mining,
iron forging, coin minting, alcohol brewing
– Monopoly: complete control over the production
and distribution of certain goods
Han dynasty - Accomplishments
• Doctors discovered a type of wine that
could be used as an anesthetic
• Invented the seismography, which detects
earthquakes, and the magnetic compass
Han dynasty - Decline
• The gap between rich and poor increased
due to land taxes
• A series of inexperienced emperors replaced
one another from 32 B.C.E. to 9 C.E.
• In 220 C.E. the Han dynasty dissolved into
three rival kingdoms