Dichter

Legalism, which supplied the ideological underpinnings of the streamlined stat

e of Qin, holds that mans nature is evil. Goodness, however, could be gene
rated by concerted action directed by the state.

streamline
streamline

33


Zhou System
1

------------------- 1The conversion from the Zhou system to a state structure that put th
e entire population directly under the command of a single king administering t
hrough a bureaucracy was by no means a Qin invention. The Qin was no pione

er.

2The steps taken included the total abolition of the aristocracy, the intr
oduction of a system of merit appointments, dismantlement of the well-field
system, taxation by acreage on transferable landownership, military service
by conscription, and promotion of food production and the textile industry at
the expense of all other pursuits.

3Although it geared up to face wartime circumstances, nationalism playe

d no part in Qin conquests.