Legalist thought dominated the reforms of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period? Let’s talk about the differences between Qilu Legalism and Qin and Jin Legalism

Article | Feiyu said that historical laws are responsible for controlling things, and things are famous for merit. When a law is established, it is difficult. If it is difficult, it will be accomplished, so it will be established. If it is accomplished, it will be harmful. When it is accomplished, it will be harmful. If there is a lot of merit, then do it. There is no difficult method and harmless merit in the world. ——"Eight Comments of Han Feizi" The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were in a period of great changes and turmoil. In order to survive and become stronger, the monarchs and ministers of various vassal states all thought hard about ideas that could govern the country. In addition, with the emergence of private schools, different schools of thought also emerged. It came into being. During this period, society was undergoing great changes, and the country was gradually moving from great divisions to great reunification. In response to this change, different schools of thought violently collided. Countless scholars began to write books and elaborate on the ideas that represented their own class or interests and political opinions. As for the final result, this period is not so much a period of great prosperity for a hundred schools of thought as it is the process in which Legalist thought gradually formed and eventually became dominant. However, in terms of the time when the school's thoughts matured, Legalism was undoubtedly the latest. This is because Legalism's thoughts could not truly mature until the Warring States Period, when the power of the common people began to expand rapidly. Although Legalist thought dominated the reforms of the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, there were different thoughts within Legalism. In this article, Feiyu will discuss in detail the differences between Qilu Legalism and Qin and Jin Legalism. But before that, we must first start with Let’s start with the origin of the birth of Legalist thought. The birth of Legalist thought. The Confucians flowed from the officials of Situ, the Taoists flowed from the historians, the Yin-Yang family flowed from the officials of Xihe, the Legalists flowed from the officials of Li, and the famous scholars flowed from the officials. As for ceremonial officials, those from the Mohist family flowed from the Qing temple guards, while those from the Zongheng family flowed from the officials who were pedestrians. ——"Book of Han·Yiwenzhi" Judging from the above-mentioned records in "Book of Han", the emergence of Legalism is based on the management of officials. So what is the management of officials? According to the "Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Chen Chong Biography": When he was a Liguan, he discussed suspected prisons several times, which means that the Liguan was an official in charge of resolving disputes and ending prisons. The "Book of Northern Qi·Xunli Biography" also records: The officials are afraid and no one dares to disobey, which means that the power of the officials is very great and people are afraid of it, and no one dares to disobey. According to these two records, the war scenes of the Warring States Period also show that Li Guan was an official in charge of justice in ancient times. However, the emergence of Li Guan can be traced back to the Xia Dynasty, but the Li Guan at that time was called "" Dali" , and later generations of Dali Temple gradually evolved into official signatures. It was from this that in the Spring and Autumn Period, Guan Zhong of Qi State started a wave of reform of the tax system. A series of systems made him the forerunner of the Legalist school, and later generations respectfully called him the "Legalist pioneer". Of course, Guan Zhong was also the founder of the Guan Zhong School and Qi Legalism. The ideological core of Qilu Legalism. Yousheng Law means obeying the law, and the law is the king. The law-abiding people are the people. - "Guan Zi·Ren Fa" In the ancient Legalist school of thought, Qi is the ruler. Legalism can be said to be a unique school. Since Jiang Ziya assisted King Wu of Zhou to establish the Zhou Dynasty and was granted the title of vassal, Qi's "ritual" system has followed it like a shadow. Therefore, in the process of the formation of Legalist thought, Qi Legalism formed As the saying goes: Taigong entrusted Qi, simplified etiquette and followed the customs, established laws and regulations, and used both etiquette and law. With the continuous enrichment of Qi Legalism's thoughts, Guan Zhong also had its own core, which was to emphasize both technique and momentum. , and attaches great importance to law and teaching. "Guanzi Mingfa" records: When the kings governed the country, they did not want to be outside the law, nor did they benefit within the law. This means that the country must be governed by the law, not by the law. Governing the country based on personal preference is the "law" emphasized by Qi Legalists. "Guanzi Fafa" records: The reason why a mortal king is a king is because of his potential, which means that the reason why a monarch can control the world is the function of his potential. Only by turning power into authority can we better govern the world. This is the "power" emphasized by Qi Legalists. "Guanzi·Xinshu" records: The rule of the heart is the rule of the country, the rule is the heart, and the peace is the heart. , which means that the country can be governed well by relying on mental skills. Of course, the mental skills here are the monarch's "" skills to govern", which is the "" skills" of the Qi Legal family. "Guan Zi Discipleship" recorded by Duke Huan of Qi and Guan Zhong : When a teacher teaches, the disciples should be gentle and respectful, be humble, receive the utmost, follow what is good when they see it, and obey when they hear the truth. It means that the teacher teaches the disciples, and the disciples can learn well as long as they are humble, and do good things when they encounter them. When encountering courage and righteousness, do your best. This is the ""teaching" emphasized by Qi Legalists. The core idea of ??Qin and Jin Legalists.

The Legalists do not differentiate between relatives and strangers, nor do they differentiate between high and low. Once they are separated from the law, the kindness of relatives and respect will be gone. It can be used for a short time, but it cannot be used in the long term, so it is said that ""Strict but little kindness"". - "Historical Records" ·Preface to Tai Shigong" The founder of Qin and Jin legalism was Li Kui. His reforms during the Wei Wenhou period allowed Wei to dominate the early Warring States period for more than a hundred years. The Dharma Scripture he promoted during the Wei reforms became the foundation of Qin and Jin legalism. It is a pity that this work has been lost, but this is not important, because his ideas were inherited by the later Shang Yang and implemented more thoroughly in the Qin Dynasty. Compared with the Qilu Legalists, the Qin and Jin Legalists only Pay attention to "" method", "" force" and "" technique". Specifically, Shang Yang attaches great importance to law, is careful to emphasize situation, and Shen Buhuang attaches great importance to technique. It can be seen that in the thoughts of Qin and Jin Legalists, " " In fact, not only do they not pay attention to "teaching", but they also continue to pursue the policy of "stupiding the people". Shang Junshu "Shang Junshu Ken Ling" records: If the people do not value learning, they will be stupid; if they are stupid, they will have no diplomacy; if they have no diplomacy, they will The national security is not in danger, which means that the people do not think that knowledge is useful, so they will not learn, and they will become stupid. When the people are stupid, they will not go to other countries for exchanges, and they will be able to farm with peace of mind. In addition, in " In "Book of Shang Jun: Weakening the People", Shang Yang further emphasized: When the people are weak, the country is strong; when the people are strong, the country is weak. There is another difference between Qin and Jin Legalists and Qilu Legalists, and that is in the "" punishment". In the book, Qi and Lu legalists emphasized "lenient punishments and less prohibitions", while Qin and Jin legalists emphasized "heavy punishments for minor crimes". "Shang Jun Shu Shuo Min" records: Therefore, in execution of punishment, the lighter punishment will be given more emphasis, and the lighter punishment will not be punished. If you live, there will be no way to deal with the serious ones. This means that the punishment should be severe for minor crimes, so that people will not even commit minor crimes, let alone commit serious crimes. Feiyu said: Due to the development of productive forces, the economic foundation that maintained the slavery system tended to collapse, and the Legalist ideas of strengthening the centralization of monarchy and advocating the rule of law adapted to the process of the social system gradually transforming into a feudal nature. Therefore, Legalist ideas dominated Reforms in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. What are the differences between Qilu Legalists and Qin and Jin Legalists? Punishment, for that matter, although both are Legalist ideas, they are quite different. When it comes to the Warring States Monarchs, you might ask whether the Qin State unified the six Shandong countries, does that mean that the Legalists of the Qin and Jin Dynasties are going to do it? Is it more powerful than Qilu Legalism? Not necessarily, but the Legalism of Qin and Jin is more suitable for the rise of Qin. Legalism is an important school among the hundreds of schools of thought that advocates governing the country according to law. It is not like some other schools. It only focuses on empty talk and advocates the use of practical actions to achieve the goal of enriching the country and strengthening the army. It is a veritable action school. It can be said that Legalist thought became perfected and matured precisely because of the wars and disputes in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period. What do you think? References: "Historical Records", "Han Feizi", "Shang Jun Shu", "Guan Zi", "Han Shu", "Northern Qi Shu", etc. (The pictures in this article are from the Internet. If there is any infringement, please contact us to delete them. ) END