Legalism+2

THE INTERVIEW

Hello folks, today we are interviewing Shi Huang Di about Legalism.

Question: So, Shi Huang Di, why did you think that you needed to use Legalism – strictness, harsh punishment – to rule the people? Did you think that all people were bad or something?

Answer: Well, yes I did think all people were bad and mischievous or something along those lines. I mean, I was so afraid of the people overthrowing me, murdering me, or something like that, that I thought that the only way to prevent those awful things from happening was to keep the people in line. I figured that the only way to keep them in line was to give a decree of harsh punishments to anyone who steps out of line; doesn’t obey his elders, doesn’t pay taxes, is lazy and doesn’t do work, doesn’t obey the laws that I make, and so on.

Question: Why were you so against Confucianism?

Answer: I was so against Confucianism because Confucianism talked about some kind of relationships and being nice, and it didn’t matter if people stepped out of line or not. That’s why I burned the teachings of Confucius (mostly his books), and banished the philosophy completely.

Question: What impact did Legalism have on future dynasties?

Answer: Future dynasties like the Han, which came after the Qin, combined Legalism with Confucianism to make a more peaceful society, with some kindness. The first emperor of the Han, Liu Bang, which most people called Gaodi, Combined the learning, relationships, and peacefulness of Confucianism with some (really just a little) of Legalism’s strictness. He even banished my harsh punishments, I mean wasn’t it enough to banish the punishments. Did he have to mix it with Confucianism on top of that? What a dolt, I mean doesn’t he know that people will always try to kill him, so he should imply strict punishment? Ah, whatever, forget him, it’s all in the past now, so I can’t go change it, back to the questions.

Question: What is Legalism?

Answer: Legalism was a form of rule back when China had dynasties. It was also one of 4 main philosophic schools during the Warring States Period. But, in my heart, I think that Legalism was the only way to show the people who is boss. I mean, I don’t think, and I’m about 95% sure of this, that the people would have followed the laws I made if I didn’t come up with Legalism. They probably would have done whatever they wanted to and thought, “That old Shi Huang Di won’t mind if I steal his jewels, I mean, even if he finds out, he won’t punish me or anything like that.

Question: How did you come up with Legalism? Did your advisors or scholars help you?

Answer: No, my advisors did not help me. I came up with Legalism about one year after I started to rule. When I saw how the people behaved during that 1 year, I thought to myself, “I’m going to have to restrain them somehow. They are ruining my empire.” So I invented Legalism, where I used strictness and harsh punishments to keep the people in line and legal.

Well, that’s it for today folks, see you next time on THE INTERVIEW.



This is where legalism was used in the QIn dynasty. [|http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~inaasim/Foundations/qinmap.jpg]

Legalism Trivia

1) Why did Shi Huang Di think that Legalism was the only way to go? 2) How did Shi Huang Di think of Legalism? 3) Why was, according to Shi Huang Di, Gaodi a dolt?

By Josef Shohet