The Legalist school of reform mission
Legalism is a school of thought that studies the way in which the state is governed, and the law is realized through specific punishments, rewards and punishments. During the Warring States Period, Legalists also called it the study of criminal names and criminal names, with the rule of law as the core of thought, and its ideological source can be traced back to Guan Zhong and Zichuan (?) in the Spring and Autumn Period. 522 BC). During the Warring States period, Li Kui, Wu Qi, Shang Ying, Shen Dao (c. 390 BC, 315 BC), Shen Buxian (385 BC, 337 BC), Le Yi (around 284 BC), Ju Xin (former?) 243 BC) and others vigorously developed it, and then it became a school, and at the end of the Warring States period, Han Fei summarized and synthesized their doctrines, and collected the culmination of legalists. Li Si (284 BC, 208 BC) in the late Warring States period, Sang Hongyang (152 BC, 80 BC) after the Qin Dynasty, Wang Shuwen, Wang Anshi, Zhang Xuan, Zhang Juzheng, Yan Fu, Liang Qichao and other important representatives of algorithms. Legalism is involved in many fields such as social reform, law, economy, administration, organization, and management, and is the school that attaches the most importance to law among the sons of the pre-Qin dynasty. The Legalists and sages have made outstanding contributions to the legal profession and jurisprudence, and have put forward a set of theories and methods.
Xunzi Sexual Evil" said: "The eyes are lustful, the ears are good, the mouth is good, the heart is good, the bones and skin are good, and they are all born in the human nature." "Xunzi Honor and Disgrace" wrote: "Human affection, appetite has a thirst, clothing desire has a beautiful style, a desire to do things has a horse, and a husband wants to accumulate wealth." However, being poor and not being satisfied is human affection. Xunzi believes that it is on the basis of human instinct that people's desire for property possession and profit-seeking are generated. At the same time, he also believes that the common psychology of people is good honor and evil disgrace, and there is no difference from Yao Shun to the common people, and the most glorious thing in the world is to grasp political power. "Xunzi Wangba" said: "The husband is the son of heaven, rich in the world, called the holy king, and the control of people, and the control of people, which is the same desire of human affection." "Xunzi believes that this nature of human beings is unreasonable, which should be corrected with the help of in-depth social practice, that is, 'turning nature into fake'. The pioneers and representatives of Legalism either talked about it before Xunzi or expanded this idea of human nature after Xunzi.
"Guanzi Forbidden Collection" said: "The nature of mortals, you can't avoid seeing the benefits, and you can't avoid the harm." Its businessmen are Tongjia, double the road, night and day, thousands of miles away and not far away, the benefits are also in front. The fisherman's entry into the sea, the sea is ten thousand miles deep, and he is against the current, taking advantage of the danger for hundreds of miles, and those who do not come out of the night are also beneficial to the water. Therefore, where the benefits are, although the mountains of thousands of thousands, everything is up; Beneath the abyss, everything is everywhere. ”
Shang Ying believes that human nature is profitable, and the main manifestation of human nature is people's desire for survival and survival needs. "Shang Junshu Shuchi" pointed out: "The nature of the people, hunger and food, labor and begging, suffering and pleasure, humiliation and glory, the people's feelings are also." Because people have this need for survival, everyone should seek advantages and avoid disadvantages between advantages and disadvantages. "Shang Junshu Shuchi": "The life of the people: the degree and take the long name and take the weight, the right and the profit." Shang Ying believes that human nature is innate, and that human life is a life of chasing fame and fortune, and all human behaviors are subject to the nature of good profit. The application of this theory of human nature is the pursuit of knighthood in politics and the pursuit of land and mansions in economy. The Book of Shang Jun: The Law of Mistakes points out that rulers can use this theory of human nature to achieve their own rule, "There are likes and dislikes in life, so the people can be governed; People have likes and dislikes, so rewards and punishments can be used. ”
The portrait of Han Feizi imagined by modern people.
Han Fei's theory of human nature was partly influenced by Xunzi's theory of sexual evil, and at the same time inherited Shang Ying's view of human nature and profit. Han Fei believes that people's good interests are mainly rooted in people's survival needs, and he believes that the stomach is the foundation, and if you don't eat, you can't live. Everyone has a desire for profit, and any behavior of people is governed by the nature of profit, even between father and son, kings and ministers, it is also for profit. Han Fei cited the practice of infantile indulgence in society, indicating that this idea has evolved into selfishness. "Han Feizi: Six Antis": "Parents are also to their sons, men are congratulated, and daughters are killed. Han Fei believes that the Confucian theory of treating each other with loyalty and benevolence between kings and ministers is unreliable. "Han Feizi Difficult One": "The ministers do their best to fight with the city, and the kings are important to the city." Between kings and ministers, it is not the relationship between father and son, and the count is also out. ”
The development of this Legalist theory of private ownership and market economy is the result of profound thinking about human nature, a great leap in people's self-understanding, the theoretical basis of the Legalist idea of the rule of law, and the theoretical basis for the reform of private ownership of cultivated land by the Legalists.
The Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period were a period of rapid development of China's productive forces, and the change of productive forces naturally meant that the traditional relations of production were not adaptable, and it was necessary to change the relations of production theoretically and practically, so as to conform to the level of productive forces. Therefore, Legalism opposes conservative retro thinking and advocates resolute reform. Legalists believe that history is moving forward, and all laws and systems must develop along with the development of history, and that they can neither retrogress nor stick to the old ways. Shang Ying clearly put forward the proposition of "lawless in the past, not in the present". Han Fei further developed Shang Ying's proposition, proposing that "time changes and it is not easy to cure chaos", and he caricatured the old-fashioned Confucianism as a stupid person who waits for the rabbit.
Honesty is an important part of China's traditional moral norms, with universal standards. "Sincerity", sincerity, openness and honesty. The basic meaning of "faith" is honesty, non-doubt, and non-deception. Legalist pioneer Guan Zhong (c. 723-645 BC) believed that honesty is the key to the world's code of conduct, and how to emphasize honesty was explained from two aspects. First of all, he attaches great importance to honesty and includes honesty in the category of virtue. Second, Guan Zhong extended the moral concept of integrity to the criminal and military fields. Other Legalist ideological elites are also aware of the importance of integrity, actively promote the awareness of integrity, and believe that by making efforts to promote the awareness of integrity, people can become honest. In fact, the general assumption of good faith is also the basis for the good functioning of the Legalist theoretical system. Unfortunately, this is not the case, and it is difficult to ensure full integrity, which is a major loophole in the Legalist ideological system. This means that the Legalist ideological system is imperfect and the foundation is not solid. It is inevitable that major problems will arise when the unreliable Legalist theoretical system is used to comprehensively guide the operation of society. A theory that firmly believes in the evil of human nature would be so conceited that it can be avoided through the rule of law system to act dishonestly for the sake of self-interest.
Legalism emphasizes that "do not be close to each other, do not be special to the noble and lowly, and break off the law". It also requires a lot of courage to come up with such a statement, but this seems to contradict the theory of human nature on which Legalism is based, and it is also incompatible with the Legalist reform strategy that conforms to human nature.
The Legalists of the Qi State inherited and developed Guan Zhong's thoughts, absorbed the learning of Huang Lao, and advocated equal emphasis on law and etiquette, virtue before punishment, and the law was born because of Taoism, forming a relatively moderate theory of the rule of law. The Legalist content in "Guanzi" and the silk books "Jingfa", "Sixteen Classics", "Title" and "Daoyuan" are their representative works. Although later submerged by radical Legalist thought, after the Qin Dynasty, the moderate Legalist system re-emerged into the mainstream. This moderate Legalist system advocated a market economy and mercantilist theories in the economic sphere under private property rights. This system of economic thought was basically accepted by China after the Qin Dynasty, although it was not complete.
* The Legalists of the two countries advocate strict punishment and strict law, oppose etiquette and righteousness, focus on law, art, and potential, reward cultivation and warfare, enrich the country and strengthen the army, and force the world. It was a radical faction among Legalists and became the mainstream of Legalism during the Warring States Period. This radical Legalist theoretical system not only tends to strengthen the centralization of power in the political field, but also tends to strengthen the ability to control in the economic field, so it advocates a state-owned planned economy (excluding arable land resources, arable land is mainly privately owned), such as Shang Ying, Sang Hongyang of the Western Han Dynasty also has similar economic ideas.
* One of the founders of Legalism, Li Kui (455 BC, 395 BC), served as the Marquis of Wei Wen, advocated the "teaching of the best of the land", advocated vigorously developing agricultural production, adjusting the rent of grain, and creating the "leveling" method, taking into account the interests of farmers and citizens. He also collected the criminal laws of various countries at that time and compiled 6 articles of the "Book of Law" (the first relatively complete legal code in ancient China); "Theft Law", "Thief Law", "Prison Law", "Arrest Law", "Miscellaneous Law" and "Possession Law".
Wu Qi (440 BC, 381 BC), who was the same as Li Kui, first carried out military reform in Wei and then carried out political reform in Chu State.
Shang Ying (c. 395 BC, 338 BC) implemented two reforms in Qin, the main contents of which were: opening the frontier and abolishing the well-field system; Recognize the private ownership of land, reward agricultural warfare, and those who are diligent in farming and weaving and pay more corn and silk can change their original status; Those who have military merit may be awarded knighthoods; The county system was implemented, and severe punishment was advocated to eliminate crime. However, he rejected moral education and despised the role of knowledge and culture.
Shang Ying emphasized "law", and Shen Buharm (385 BC 337) emphasized "art". "The sorcerer, because of the appointment of the officer, according to the name and responsibility, the handle of killing, the ability of the ministers, this person is also the master" ("Han Feizi Dingfa"). In order to prevent ministers from manipulating power and playing with the law, Shen Buxian suggested that the supreme ruler must use magic, and the monarch should rule by means of "sole vision", "sole hearing" and "arbitrariness". He believes that "those who see alone are clear, and those who hear alone are deaf." Those who can make decisions can be the lord of the world", and the monarch "rules the world with the right opportunity, so the world is determined by a word, and the world is beautiful when a word is leaned". The words and opinions of the monarch can determine the rise or fall of the state.
Shen Dao (c. 390 BC, 315 BC) was a faction of Legalists who emphasized the rule of "power", advocating that the monarch could "grasp the law and deal with the situation" and "rule the world by doing nothing". Starting from the viewpoint of "abandoning knowledge and leaving oneself", he proposed that "if the Maharaja Legalist leaves the law and bows to the law, the matter will be judged by the law". He took the law as the highest criterion, advocating that "officials do not have personal relatives, the law does not leave love, there is nothing to do up and down, only the law is located" ("Monarchs and Ministers"), emphasizing that "law" must be combined with "power", and regarded the power of the monarch as the power to practice the law, the so-called "wisdom is not enough to convince the public, but the position is enough to tie the sage", but he also believes that the survival of the country is not entirely determined by the power of the monarch alone. "The king of the dead country is not the sin of one person, and the king of the country is not the power of one person." He acknowledged that the "law" is not immutable, and proposed that "abiding by the law and not changing will decline".
Han Fei (385 BC, 337 BC) at the end of the Warring States Period collected the culmination of Legalist thought, integrating the three of "law", "technique" and "potential" into one, and systematizing the theory of the rule of law. He advocated strengthening the centralization of the monarchy's power, cutting off private forces, "using the law as a teaching", strictly rewarding and punishing, and rewarding cultivation and warfare. In terms of the concept of history, he put forward the viewpoint that "if the ancient is not repaired in time, the lawlessness is always permissible", and "if things are different, they will be prepared for change", and divided the development of history into the ancient world, the middle world, the modern world, and the present world. Philosophically, Lao Tzu's doctrine on "Tao" was reformed, believing that Tao is the general law of the development of all things, and reason is the special law of individual things. It is emphasized that people must follow objective laws to carry out their activities. In terms of epistemology, he proposed the method of "reference", which tests people's words and deeds with the actual effect of "function".
The theory of the rule of law of the Legalist school played an important role in the reform of the Spring and Autumn Period and the establishment of a centralized state by Qin Shi Huang, and the radical theoretical system of rule of law became the ruling ideology of the Qin Dynasty and was fully practiced in the Qin Dynasty. As Lenin said, "a step forward in truth is a fallacy", and the flaws of the radical theory of the rule of law were quickly exposed after the unification of China, especially after the death of Qin Shi Huang, and led to the fall of the Qin Dynasty and the arrival of the first troubled era in China. As a result, both political and academic circles paid special attention to the negative impact of the Legalist doctrine, and the radical theory of the rule of law was abandoned by the rulers and basically withdrew from the stage of Chinese history.
After all, a proper legal system is an integral part of the ruling system, and after the Qin Dynasty, the moderate theory of the rule of law has been in operation except for a few times during troubled times.
Although the Legalist ideological system recognizes the great influence of the monarch on the rise and fall of the state, and although it recognizes the selfish instinct of human nature, it is a pity that it only comes to the conclusion of restricting the rights of subjects (** and commoners) (avoiding the harm of the selfish instinct of the subjects), but it makes exceptions for the monarch who also has the same selfish instinct, and does not come to the same reasoning conclusion, and the monarch's power also needs to be limited. In fact, the monarch not only has the same selfish instincts as ordinary people, but also sometimes does not have the ability to run his own country (such as being a minor or not having enough intelligence or knowledge).
The reason why the Legalist system generally advocates strengthening the power of the monarch is mainly to hope that the powerful monarch will promote "law". And the power of the monarch at that time and before it has not been particularly large, the ability is not particularly strong, and the harm of the monarch is still very small, so it is naturally difficult to realize the harm of the monarch's power after it is strengthened.
In fact, human nature is very complex, and human nature not only has a selfish instinct, but also a sense of dedication, a sense of responsibility, or a normal sense of personality that evolved from the era of consanguineous marriage. These important human characteristics are the guarantee conditions for maintaining the healthy operation of society in the field of human nature, otherwise, no matter how strict the rule of law system or the first system, it is difficult to make the society run well.
Here are a few Legalist representatives. Guan Zhong was a famous military strategist, politician, economist, and reformer in ancient China, and was known as the "teacher of sages". Guan Zhong lost his father when he was young, and his mother was in the hall, so he had to pick up the burden of the family prematurely, and in order to make a living, he partnered with Bao Shuya to run a business and failed, and then joined the army, so he said "Guan Yiwu is a soldier". Guan Zhong was worshipped as a protector by China's sex service industry for pioneering the state-run prostitution system.
Han Fei was originally a royal nobleman in Korea, but his theory was not adopted by the king of Han at that time. Under the grief and indignation, he wrote more than 100,000 words of works such as "Lonely Anger", "Five Worms", "Inner and Outer Reserves", "Saying Forest" and "Saying Difficult". Later, these works were transmitted to the Qin State, and after Qin Wangzheng read them, he issued a "Wow! The widow can see this person swim with him, and he will not hate it". However, when Han Fei was on an envoy to Qin, he did not gain the trust of Qin Wangzheng, and was framed by Li Si and Yao Jia, and finally committed suicide in Qin prison. Although Han Fei failed to display his ambitions in his life, he wrote "Han Feizi" that has been passed down through the ages.
Han Fei advocated cultivating "wise and sorcerers" or "capable people". These "wise and capable people" are innovative figures who understand and resolutely implement the line of the rule of law, and they are also fighters who actively support the policy of "farming and warfare" and fight for it. Han Fei elaborated on the qualities and abilities that a "man of wisdom and ability" must possess, and this kind of innovator must be a person who is loyal to the monarch and "has no two hearts", and can "go to private songs, follow the public law", "have a mouth and do not speak privately, and have eyes and not private eyes", and serve the country wholeheartedly The so-called "virtuous minister" and "good general". This kind of innovator should have the qualities of "foresight and discernment" and "perseverance and integrity". That is to say, he should have a progressive view of history and a revolutionary idea in his thinking; Politically astute and observant; He has the strong perseverance and upright character to firmly implement the line of the rule of law. In fact, everyone can see that Han Fei has some conjectures here, and these ideas are obviously not in line with Han Fei's understanding of human nature. If you are interested, you can take a look at "Five Worms", which is really refreshing.
In order to enable the idea of "rule of law" to occupy a dominant position in the ideological field, Han Fei inherited and developed the spirit and measures of Shang Ying's "One Religion", and believed that it was necessary to ensure that "those who speak must follow the law" in China, which means that everyone's thoughts and speeches should conform to the spirit of Legalism and abide by the laws of the country. Under the guidance of this ideology, Han Fei put forward the famous Legalist education program. He said: "Therefore, the kingdom of the Lord of the Ming Dynasty has no simple texts, and the law is the teaching; Without the words of the first king, take the officials as teachers". The so-called "unwritten texts" and "words of unprescribed kings" are in essence to abolish and liquidate the ancient cultural classics and moral teachings, especially the "rites, music, poems, and books" and "benevolence, righteousness, filial piety, and piety" that Confucianism respects, so as to realize his proposition of "taking the law as teaching." Everyone, pay attention, this is not nonsense! After the Qin Dynasty unified China, it did this way, burning books and pit Confucianism!
Sang Hongyang, a Western Han Dynasty legalist figure and financial planner. Born in Luoyang, his father was a local businessman. A political figure during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, specializing in finance. At the age of 13, Sang Hongyang "scheming" into the service for the service, because of the ability to "speak and analyze", won the appreciation of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, was entrusted with important tasks, successively served as a big farmer, a big farmer, a captain of Sosu and a big farmer, and managed the first finance for nearly 40 years. Even Sima Qian, who was very dissatisfied with his financial management skills, had to praise it, saying that in the Hongyang era, "the people do not benefit and the world uses spare". In 80 BC, Sang Hongyang was killed because of a disagreement with the powerful minister Huo Guangzheng.
After all, if they do not pay attention to morality and are based on utilitarianism, they will lack moral deterrence against each other or others, and they will be too tough, almost fighting for their lives, and they will naturally be prone to death. For example, Shang Ying, Han Fei and Li Si.