Qin State vs. the Qin Dynasty

The Qin State rose to power during the Warring States Period;

The Shang Yang Reform paved the way for its new status;

Rome wasn’t built in a day.

The Qin Dynasty (221 BC–206 BC) marks a new era: Imperial China;

This lasted all the way to the Qing Dynasty (1644–1912).

Though the Qin Dynasty didn’t last very long, its political structure and its ideology turned out to be everlasting and consequential.

Shang Yang Reform ca. 390-338 BC

a Chinese statesman and political philosopher. He was one of the founders of Chinese Legalism and organized the rise to power of the Ch'in dynasty.

The first reform: 359 BC; The second reform: 350

BC;

Content of Shang Yang’s Reform

Establish the county system--31 total for a stronger centralized government 中央集权 ; county magistrates are appointed directly by the central government;

Household Registration system 户籍 and chain punishment 连坐 to tighten the leash;

Grown up sons must live independently, which enlarged the population for tax purpose;

Land Reform His most famous

economic reform was the abolition of the idealized system of landholding known as the "well-field system," in which a section of land was divided into nine portions, tilled by eight families in common, with the produce from the ninth portion reserved for the overlord--廢井田

【 fèijǐngtián 】

開阡陌【 kāiqiānmò 】crisscross footpaths between fields.

Basically get rid of boundaries, carrying out private-ownership by commoners.

This is a further development in Guan Zhong’s land reform;

Private ownership marks a break from that of the Zhou Dynasty in which 分封制

【 fēnfēngzhì 】 the system of enfeoffment dominated, (of the Western Zhou Dynasty, c.11th. century-771 B.C., investing the nobility with hereditary titles, territories and slaves).

重农轻商 来自商鞅【 zhòngnóngqīngshāng

láizì shāngyāng 】

Central to Shang Yang's economic theory was an [over] emphasis on agriculture and a rejection of "nonessential" activities such as commerce and manufacturing. He proposed that anyone engaging in secondary professions be sold as slaves; different from Guan Zhong’s model.

In ancient China, merchants and businessmen suffered a bad reputation. Nowadays, many college students flood into business schools…

Double-Edged Military Reform Establish a 20-rank

military system on the one hand, and on the other hand, eliminate the old tenure system (which fundamentally challenged those princes).

取【 qǔ 】 cut “ear” off to claim credit

The goal is to set up more centralized government.

据《漢書》記載：“商君為法于秦，戰斬一首賜爵一級，欲為官者五十石”。

According to Han shu or Book of Han, Shang code regulates that someone could be promoted by one rank for one chopped-off head in battle or promoted as a minor officer whose salary is 50 shi of grain; a unit of dry measure for grain (＝ 1 hectolitre)

Shang Yang’s Legal CodeIts Appeal lies in Equality

Central to Shang Yang’s new law is equality by which a prince be punished the same way as a commoner.

王子犯法与庶民同罪 a prince who commits a crime will be punished the same way as commoners.

Once the crown prince Ying Si 嬴駟 or Zhao Si 赵 驷 committed a crime—he killed someone (during a

tax season when some cheating was involved), he was sent to an exile; and his teachers Ying Qian and Gongsun Jia was punished by 劓刑【 yìxíng 】

劓【 yì 】 cutting off the nose (a punishment in ancient China)

Ying Si vs. Shang Yang Ying Si 赢驷 was the son of Duke Xiao 秦孝公 , and

succeeded his father as ruler of Qin after the latter's death. When Ying was still in his adolescent years as the crown prince, he committed a crime and was severely punished for it. Shang Yang was implementing his reforms to the laws of Qin then, and he insisted that the crown prince should be punished for the crime, regardless of his royal status. Duke Xiao approved of the draconian punishments and Ying Si's tutors, Prince Ying Qian and Gongsun Jia, had their noses cut off, for neglecting their duties in educating the crown prince, while Ying Si was banished from the royal palace.

Shang Yang, a Chinese Draco

It was believed that Ying Si harbored a personal grudge against Shang Yang and when he came to the throne as King Huiwen of Qin, Ying Si had Shang Yang put to death on charges of treason. However, King Huiwen retained the reformed systems in Qin left behind by his father and Shang Yang.

Draconian punishmentshttp://dictionary.reference.com/browse/Dr

aconian?s=t /translation function

–adjective 1.of, pertaining to, or characteristic of Draco or his code

of laws. 2.(often lowercase ) rigorous; unusually severe or cruel:

Draconian forms of punishment. Draco (pronounced /ˈdreɪ.koʊ/; from Greek Δράκων,

pronounced [ˈdra.kɔːn]) was the first legislator of ancient Athens, Greece, 7th century BC. He replaced the prevailing system of oral law and blood feud by a written code to be enforced only by a court. Because of its harshness, this code also gave rise to the term "draconian".

Unified Ideology

“ ” 定秦律， 燔詩書而明法令 Books burning (213 BCE) per Qin’s

Legal Code; As a result, Qin, either as a state or as

an empire, did not leave much literature behind; the landscape is barren. It is a cultural wasteland.

Unification of Weight and Measurement

Unification in weight and measurement, which paved the way for later regulations standardized by Qinshihuang, the first emperor in China.

Shang Yang’s Royal/Loyal Supporter秦孝公 Duke Xiao of Qin

(381 BC - 338 BC) Duke Xiao is best known for employing the

Legalist statesman Shang Yang from the Wei state (衛 ), and authorizing him to conduct a series of upheaving political, military and economic reforms in Qin. Although the reforms were potentially controversial and drew violent opposition from many Qin politicians, Duke Xiao supported Shang Yang fully and the reforms did helped to transform Qin into a dominant superpower among the Seven Warring States.

秦孝公 Duke Xiao of Qin

In a recent TV series, The Great Qin Empire, Duke Xiao of Qin is depicted more like a brother to Shang Yang than a king.

PostersThe Great Qin Empire

More brotherlike

Legalism: Rule by LawLegalists: Shang Yang; Li Si; and Han Feizi

Legalism was a system that proved to be quite effective in gaining power but was problematic for establishing a stable political power.

The doctrine of Legalism originated in the practical political operations of the State of Qin.

In the 3rd century BCE, the philosopher Han Fei developed an intellectual rationale for Legalism. Han Fei argues that people need careful guidance by strong rulers to live in an orderly society.

The Qin State, with Legalism as its ideology, succeeded in ending the Warring States era.

Theoretical Rationale for Shang Yang’s Reform

The Left Landgrave of Qin, equivalent to chancellor or the prime minister 丞相 in the mid-4th century BCE was Shang Yang who set out the basic ideas of Legalism.

The central principle of Legalism was the use of rewards and punishments， two handles, to produce conformity to the rule of clear and well-developed laws.

The law was to be applied uniformly and strictly to both high and low so that everyone understood their duties and knew the penalties for failing to fulfill them.

Consult Xunzi: “Human Nature Is Evil” (worksheet on the Three-Way Thought)

Is Human Nature Good or Evil?

Implicit or explicit behind Shang Yang’s model of rewards and punishments lies a crucial question regarding whether human nature is good or evil.

Xunzi or Xun Kuang: Human Nature Is Evil; the essay is uploaded online on our class website; (See Xun Kuang ppts)

Mencius: Human nature is good…(a baby falling into a well…)

Western PerspectivesThe original sin

The original sin by Augustine of Hippo

Ancestral sin or collective sin;

The fall of man—Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden 伊甸园— the Book of Genesis;

Consult Biblegateway http://www.biblegateway.c

om/

Concupiscence

Concupiscence 强烈的邪欲 1. sexual desire;

lust. 2. ardent, usually

sensuous, longing. "hurtful desire"

Calvinist TULIP 加尔文的郁金香主义

The Five Pointsof Calvinism

Total depravity 全然败坏

Unconditional election 无条件的拣选

Limited atonement 有限的救赎

Irresistible grace 不可抗拒的恩典

Perseverance of the saints 聖徒的堅忍

Thomas Hobbs 霍布斯1588 – 1679

English philosopher, best known today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation for most of Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory to curb the evil nature of human beings.

Tabula rasa 白板说John Locke

Tabula rasa, means "blank slate" in Latin.

Female Figure (Sibyl with Tabula Rasa) by Diego Velázquez, c 1648

An Essay Concerning Human Understanding, 1689

Confucius’ Dissatisfaction with Legalism

“Guide them by edicts, keep them in line with punishments, and the common people will stay out of trouble but will have no sense of shame. Guide them by virtue, keep them in line with the rites, and they will, besides having a sense of shame, reform themselves” (The Analects 2.3).

Limit of Legalism

Legalism nurtures heteronomy 他治，他律rather than autonomy 自治 , 自主 ;

Autonomy in Immanuel Kant’s definition means self governing, out of the sense of duty, doing the right thing for its own sake, not for the benefits derived from it;

Heteronomy refers to the condition of being under the domination of an outside authority, either human or divine.

Two Idioms associated with Shang Yang

徙木为信 【 xǐmùwéixìn 】 Before the new law was

promulgated, A three-yard pole to be moved

from the south gate to the north gate for 50 gold pieces—to establish credibility

Shiji 68: The Biography of Lord Shang

See Burton Watson’s translation: The Record of the Grand Historian, Qin Dynasty published by Columbia University Press, page 93

作法自毙 【 zuòfǎzìbì】 make a law

only to fall foul of it oneself; be hoist with or by one's own petard; get caught in one's own trap.

Right after Duke Xiao of Qin passed away, Shang Yang tried to escape. He could not even check into a hotel without an ID, a law made by himself;

车裂【 chēliè】 tearing a person asunder by horse-drawn chariots going in five directions.

Guan Zhong vs. Shang Yang