Confucian And Legalist Essay Research Paper n

Confucian And Legalist Essay, Research Paper

?n the history of Imperial China the issue of the authority of rulers has been worked out in relation to the prevailing philosophies of their times. The longest, most influential and enduring of these is Confucianism.The philosophy and the w?? in which it demands virtue and duty from a ruler has n?t always gone down well with rulers of a more autocratic nature and has at times been displaced by the school of thought known as Legalism. “Notably the Legalist believed that the people existed for the sake of the state and its ruler while the Confucians believed that the state and its ruler existed for the sake of the people”. (Dawson 1978, ?? 15). I will make ? comparison and contrast of the ideas of the two schools ?n how to govern.

Confucius was apart from contemporary and later philosophers, the original and chief contributor to the school of thought known as Confucianism.Confucius put forth an ethical system in which harmony was founded upon the right functioning of five key relationships:

¨ Father-son filial piety

¨ Ruler-subject loyalty

¨ Brother-brother brotherliness

¨ Husband-wife love and obedience

¨ Friend-friend faithfulness

(Hucker 1975, ?? 84)

The “Mandate of Heaven” was a concept that had its basis in the relationship ruler-subject. It was used by many historians as a wa? of explaining the fall and rise of Dynasties as being subject to the will of Heaven, based ?n the conduct of the ruler, who was the son of Heaven.The idea was as follows: ? ruler can not rely upon military and political power alone to maintain his rule. If he neglects the right relationship to Heaven and to his people he may lose the Mandate of Heaven and be overthrown ?r meet defeat in battle.

One very important feature of Confucian ideas ?n how to govern was the less active, more spiritual and ritual role of the emper?r, which was expressed in perhaps its most radical form by the Confucian philosophers of the ?an Dynasty: “He who is the ruler of men takes non-action as his Way and makes impartiality his treasure.He sits upon the throne of non-action and rides upon the perfection of his ?fficials. His feet do not move but his ministers lead him forward; his mouth utters no word but his chamberlains give him words of support; his mind does not concern itself with problems but his ministers put in effect the appropriate action. Thus nobody sees him act and yet he achieves success. This is how the ruler imitates the ways of Heaven.? (Dawson 1987, PP 7)

China in ancient times was split into smaller states and it was ?nly under the Ch’in that a unity was achieved. Under the ?an a lot of the harshness of Ch’in rule was ameliorated and the ?an permitted the rise of an inteIlectual Confucian scholarly class who quickly achieved prominence in administrative roles and became prominent in p?litical roles as counselors to the emperor. Confucian thought found its way into the highest circles and the r?ya? children were drilled in the Confucian classics. Emperors then were encouraged by sculars to live ?? to the ideals of Confucianism.

This affected their government, and the role of ministers in relation to the power of the ruler, a?? ?f which were refered to in Confucian philosophy. The aristocrats n? longer had a monopoly of government and the Confucian tradition strongly emphasized the importance of family ties and the hereditary principle. Even after the decline of Confucianism, its philosophy continued influencing the ??? period.