Grace

1/13/16
Period #2
Legalism

One of the three chinese philosophies of ancient China is Legalism. Legalism was based
on the teachings of Hanfeizi. Hanfeizi was a prince of the royal family of Han, who lived to see
the ending of the Warring States Period as well as the Zhou dynasty. Hanfeizi and others who
followed Legalism believed that people were naturally selfish and could not be counted upon to
make positive influences on others. This led to the belief that in order to create a strong society,
you must enforce strict laws and punish those who break them. However, if your actions
consisted of good behavior, you would be rewarded. In order for this to be established, you
must trust no one-even your family and closest friends. Infact, Hanfeizi wrote; he who trusts
others will be controlled by others. These teachings of Legalism were then adopted by the Qin
dynasty at the end of the Warring States Period, which had almost an immediate influence on
the society.
In my groups silent film on Legalism we showed a great example of what would happen during
the times of Legalism. The film is about a thief who tries to steal the kings precious jewelry.
However, we established that this was against the rules and anyone caught doing so will be
harshly punished. The thief is then caught by a loyal bystander who alerts the guards who
brings the thief before the king. As a punishment for the thiefs actions, he is sentenced to
death, while the bystander is rewarded in great amounts of money. This clearly shows that
those who break the laws and have bad behavior, would be punished harshly. But, if you had
good behavior and were loyal to the king, you would be rewarded greatly.