Do Legalists really advocate governing the country according to law?

Legalist thought does advocate governing the country according to law, but this is an extreme practice. Legalist thought overemphasizes the role of the legal system in governing the country, ignores the normal law of people's physical and mental development, and ignores the status of rule by virtue. Man is an animal with feelings, not a machine without feelings, and there is humanity outside the law. It is arbitrary and subjective to govern the country by relying entirely on the legal system, ignoring the development of human nature and the cognition of the world. Legalism was born in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, which is a transitional period between slave society and feudal society. People are looking for a way out of the next era, a hundred schools of thought contend, and a number of outstanding ideological figures emerge to put forward their own thoughts on the world and the times. Legalist thought came into being under this historical background.

Shang Yang's political reform is a national reform with legalism. Shang Yang and Han Feizi are both representatives of Legalists. Li Si, the prime minister of Qin State, formulated the development strategy of Qin State and continued to govern the country by legalists. Legalist thought regards man as a completely rational individual, and every action has logic and purpose. Starting from the inherent logical relationship of human beings, it formulates laws to restrain human behavior, embodies the dominant position of the country, and educates people by compulsory means.

People not only have rational thinking, but also have perceptual thinking. People's behavior is not only influenced by logical thinking, but also dominated by personal sensibility. Legalist thought ignored personal perceptual thinking, including ethical thought, social development thought and political thought, and formed its own complete ideological system, which had a far-reaching influence on feudal dynasties for thousands of years. Now, China can also see the shadow of legalist thought when formulating laws and regulations, which is an important part of China's thought and culture.

Legalist thought? Rule of law? With what? Power, skill and power? Rules are fundamental. People's personal feelings are not important here, and human nature is excluded. Law is regarded as a compulsory tool for social rule. In ancient times, it served the ruling class completely and embodied the will of the ruling class. ?