SHANG

YANG
Presentation by Felici
 SHIH-CHI/RECORDS OF THE GRAND HISTORIAN
BOOK BY SSU-MA CH’IEN/SIMA QIAN
he Lord of Shang was one of the descendants, by a concubine, of the family of Wei. His name was Yang, and his family name was Kiung-sun. His ancestors had,
originally, the surname of Chi. In his youth, he was fond of the study of criminal law ; he served Kung-shu Tso, the Minister of Wei, and became chung-shu-tzu.
Kung-shu Tso knew that he was capable, but before presenting him at court, it so happened that (Kung-shu) Tso fell ill. King Hui of Wei went personally to inquire
after his illness and said : — Your illness is too serious not to speak about it : what provision should be made in future for the altar of the soil and grain? Kung-shu Tso
said : — My chung-shu-tzu, Kung-sun Yang, though young still in years, has talent. May the King be pleased to listen to him in all state affairs. The King was silent.
When the King was on the point of leaving, Tso bade everyone go out, and laid : — If Your Majesty will not listen to Yang, nor employ him, then You should put him
to death and not allow him to leave the country. The King assented and departed. Kung-shu Tso called Yang, and taking leave of him said : — To-day, the King
inquired of me who could be appointed councillor, and I mentioned you. From the King’s appearance. I believe he did not agree with my suggestion. I then placed the
interest of the King before that of the subject, and therefore said to the King, that if he were not going to employ Yang he should kill him, and the King agreed to my
suggestion. You had better leave as soon as possible or else you will be arrested. Yang replied : — If the King does not act on your words to appoint me, how should
he act on your words to kill me ? In the end he did not leave. As soon as King Hui had left, he said to his entourage : — It is regrettable that Kung-shu is so ill ! He
desires me to employ Kung-sun Yang as state councillor — is this not absurd ?
As soon as Kung-shu had died, Kung-sun Yang heard that Duke Hsiao of Ch’in
had issued an order, inviting the capable men throughout the country, in order to
restore the heritage of Duke Mu, and to recover the occupied territory in the east.
He, thereupon, went westward to Ch’in and through Ching Chien, a favourite of
Duke Hsiao, obtained an interview with Duke Hsiao.
He made Wei Yang Tso-shu-chang. Finally he fixed the mandate by which the laws were altered. He ordered the people
to be organized into groups of fives and tens mutually to control one another and to share one another’s punishments.
Whoever did not denounce a culprit would be cut in two ; whoever denounced a culprit would receive the same reward
as he, who decapitated an enemy ; whoever concealed a culprit would receive the same punishment as he, who
surrendered to an enemy. People, who had two males or more (in the family), without dividing the household, had to pay
double taxes. Those, who had military merit, all received titles from the ruler, according to a hierarchic ladder. Those,
who had private quarrels, were punished according to the severity of their offence. Great and small had to occupy
themselves, with united force, with the fundamental occupations of tilling and weaving, and those who produced a large
quantity of grain or silk, were exempted from forced labour. Those, who occupied themselves with secondary sources of
profit, and those who were poor through laziness, were taken on as slaves. Those of the princely family, who had no
military merit, could not be regarded as belonging to the princely clan. He made clear the distinctions between high and
low, and between the various ranks and degrees, each according to its place in the hierarchy. He apportioned fields,
houses, servants, concubines, and clothes, all differently, according to the families. Those, who had merit, were
distinguished by honours ; while those who had no merit, though they might be rich, had no glory whatever.
When the mandate was already drawn up, but still unpublished, fearing that the
people would not believe it, he placed a pole of 30 feet near the south gate of the
capital, and having summoned the people, said that he would give ten ounces of gold
to anyone, who could remove it to the north gate. The people thought it strange, but
there was no one who dared move it. Thereupon, he said that he would give fifty
ounces of gold to anyone who would remove it. There was one man, who removed
it, and forthwith he gave him the fifty ounces of gold, to make it clear that he
deceived no one.
Finally the mandates were published. When they had been enforced upon the people for the term of a
year, the people of Ch’in, who came to the capital and at first said that the laws were not appropriate,
could be counted by the thousand. Then, the Crown Prince infringed the law. Wei Yang said : — It is
owing to the infringements by the highly placed, that the law is not carried out. We shall apply the
law to the Crown Prince ; as, however, he is Your Highness’s heir, we cannot subject him to capital
punishment. Let his tutor, Prince Ch’ien, be punished and his teacher, Kung-sun Chia, be branded.
The following day, the people of Ch’in all hastened into (the path of) the law. When it had been in
force for ten years, the people of Ch’in greatly rejoiced : things dropped on the road were not picked
up; in the mountains there were no robbers ; families were self-supporting, and people had plenty ;
they were brave in public warfare and timid in private quarrels, and great order prevailed throughout
the countryside and in the towns. From among those of the people of Ch’in, who had at first said that
the mandates were inappropriate, some came to say that the mandates were appropriate. Wei Yang
said : — These are all disorderly people ; they should be banished to the frontiers. Thereupon, none of
the people dared to discuss the mandates.
Then was Yang appointed Ta-liang tsao and at the head of an army he laid siege to An-i
in Wei, and conquered it. After a lapse of three years, he built pillars for the issuing of
mandates and constructed a palace at Hsien-yang. Ch’in moved its capital from Yung
thither, and an order was issued forbidding fathers and sons, elder and younger brothers
from living together in the same houses; the small cities, villages and towns were to be
combined into districts, hsien over which he placed officials called prefects, ling, and
assistants, ch’eng, altogether thirty-one districts. In The book of Lord Shang 17 order to
obtain arable land he opened up the longitudinal and horizontal paths and the border
country, and the fu and shui taxes were equalized; he standardized weights, scales, and
measures of quantity and length. After the orders had been in force for four years, Prince
Ch’ien again infringed the law, and his nose was sliced off as punishment. After five
years the people of Ch’in were rich and strong, and the Son of Heaven sent a present of
sacrificial meat to Duke Hsiao, and all the feudal lords congratulated him.
In the following year, Ch’i beat the army of Wei at Ma-ling and captured their crown prince, Shen, and
killed their general, P’ang Chüan. In the following year, Wei Yang counselled Duke Hsiao as follows :
— The relations between Ch’in and Wei are like a man with a disease in his stomach and heart .If Wei
does not annex Ch’in, Ch’in will annex Wei. For what is the situ ation? Wei occupies the country west
of the mountain passes and has its capital in An-I; it has the Yellow River as frontier in common with
Ch’in, but it alone usurps all the advantages of the country east of the mountains. If it is successful,
then it will come westward to invade Ch’in, but if it suffers reverses, it will still keep its territory in the
east. Now considering, on the one hand, the ability and wisdom of Your Highness, and the prosperous
state of the country, and on the other hand, the fact that Wei, in the past year, has suffered severe
defeats from Ch’i, and that all the feudal lords have defected from it, we should avail ourselves of this
time to attack Wei. If Wei is unable to withstand Ch’in, it will certainly move its capital eastward, and
if it does so, Ch’in will be able to rely on the natural strength of the river and mountains, so that in an
easterly direction, we shall be able to control the feudal lords. This is an undertaking worthy of an
ancient emperor or king !
Duke Hsiao consented and sent Wei Yang, at the head of an army, to attack Wei, while
Wei sent Prince Ang at the head of its army to engage him in battle. When the armies
were opposite each other, Wei Yang sent a letter to the general of Wei, Prince Ang,
saying : — Originally, I had friendly relations with you, and now we are the generals
of two different countries ; it is unbearable that we should fight each other, and so I
suggest that we have a personal interview, make an alliance with music and drinking,
and desist from war, so that Ch’in and Wei may have peace. Prince Ang agreed to the
proposal ; they met and made an alliance, and when all was over, sat drinking, when
suddenly armed soldiers, hidden by Wei Yang, sprang forward and captured Price Ang.
Following up this advantage, they attacked his army and completely destroyed it and
then returned to Ch’in
 When Wei Yang had defeated Wei, on his return to Ch’in, he was awarded
fifteen cities in Shang, as fief, and was called the Lord of Shang.

When Lord Shang had been Chancellor of Ch’in for ten years, the majority
of the members of the princely family and of the nobility bore him a grudge.
Chao Liang went to see Lord Shang
The Lord of Shang did not follow this counsel, and, five months later, Duke Hsiao of Ch’ in died, and the
Crown Prince was set up as his successor. The partisans of Prince Ch’ ien accused the Lord of Shang of
planning a rebellion. Lictors were sent to arrest him, but he had fled to a place in the passes. When he
desired to lodge at an inn, the innkeeper, not knowing that he was Lord Shang, said : — According to the
law of the Lord of Shang, whoever shall receive at his inn guests, who cannot be identified, will be
punished. The Lord of Shang heaved a sigh, saying : — Alas, that the worthlessness of the law should reach
such a point ! He left and went to Wei, but the people of Wei, who hated him for having tricked Prince Ang
and for having defeated the hosts of Wei, refused to receive him. When the Lord of Shang wished to go to
another country, the people of Wei said : — The Lord of Shang is a rebel of Chin ; as Ch’ in is a powerful
country, when its rebels come to Wei, we have no choice but to send them back. Thereupon, Lord Shang
was forced to re-enter Ch’ in. As soon as the Lord of Shang had re-entered Ch’ in, he hastened to the cities
of Shang, and, combining with his followers, raised an army in these cities and marched to attack Cheng.
Ch’ in sent an army, which attacked the Lord of Shang and slew him at Min-ch’ ih in Cheng. King Hui of
Ch’in had him torn to pieces by chariots as an expiatory punishment, saying : — Let no one rebel like
Shang Yang! Thereupon, he exterminated the family of the Lord of Shang
PHILOSOPHY OF SHANG YANG
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL

The school is more concern about the primacy

of law rather than the good life of Confucius
based on heaven, it desires to help average
rulers be efficient in their duties which is more
likely to be the case rather than a virtuous one.
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL

shu should be done in evaluation, great

punishment must be done for the wicked and
great reward to the valiant. Aristocrats without
merit is to be with no honor, peasants of great
valor are to be esteemed.
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL

There is an emphasis on agriculture and war.

Scholars are pointless and those occupations
that are not centered on the two that is stated
above
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL
Poems, Documents, rites, music, goodness, self-
cultivation, benevolence, uprightness,
argumentativeness, cleverness: when the state has these
ten, superiors cannot induce [the people] to [engage in]
defense and fighting. If the state is ruled according to
these ten, then if the enemy arrives it will surely be
dismembered, and if the enemy does not arrive, the state
will surely be impoverished. (Book of Lord Shang 3.5,
“Agriculture and warfare”)
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL
If virtuous officials are employed, the people will love their own
relatives, but if wicked officials are employed, the people will love the
statutes. To agree with, and to respond to, others is what the virtuous
do ; to differ from, and to spy upon, others is what the wicked do. If the
virtuous are placed in positions of evidence, transgressions will remain
hidden ; but if the wicked are employed, crimes will be punished. In the
former case the people will be stronger than the law ; in the latter, the
law will be stronger than the people. If the people are stronger than the
law, there is lawlessness in the state, but if the law is stronger than the
people, the army will be strong. Therefore is it said : « Governing
through good people leads to lawlessness and dismemberment ;
governing through wicked people leads to order and strength
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL
why the empire was glad to have a ruler was because he would create
order. Now, having rulers but no law, the evil is the same as if there were
no rulers, and having laws that are not equal to the disorders is the same as
if there were no law. The empire does not feel tranquil without a prince,
but it takes pleasure in being stronger than the law, and thus the whole
world is perturbed. Indeed, there is no greater benefit for the people in the
empire than order, and there is no firmer order to be obtained than by
establishing a prince ; for establishing a prince, there is no more
embracing method than making law supreme ; for making law supreme,
there is no more urgent task than banishing villainy, and for banishing
villainy, there is no deeper basis than severe punishments. Therefore those,
who attain supremacy, restrain by rewards and encourage by punishments,
seek offences and not virtue, and rely on punishments in order to abolish
punishments
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL
A sage, therefore, in organizing a country causes the people in home affairs to
adhere to agriculture, and in foreign affairs to scheme for war. Now, agriculture
makes the people suffer hardships, and war makes them run dangers, and the
means whereby they can be led to encounter hardships and to perform actions
that expose them to danger, is calculation. For the people, when alive, scheme
for profit, and when in danger of death, are anxious for fame. It is necessary to
examine whence fame and profit spring. If the profit comes from the soil, then
people will use their strength to the full ; if fame results from war, then they will
fight to the death. Now if, at home, the people are directed to use their strength
to the full, then the fields will not lie fallow ; and if, abroad, they are directed to
fight to the death, then they conquer their enemies. If enemies are conquered
and at the same time fields do not lie fallow, then without moving, the result
will be obtained of having both wealth and strength
 FA AND THE LEGALIST SCHOOL

In summary, primacy of law, primacy of state,

and primacy of practicality.
THANK YOU