Qin Conquers Its Rivals And Expand Its Territory

By Author: Henter White
Total Articles: 73
Comment this article

The minister's proclivity for the Legalist school became clearer in the ensuing exchanges. When defending the current economic and military policies, Daifu repeatedly cited the achievements of Shang Yang, the most renowned practitioner of Legalism. Shang Yang was an advisor to a king of the Qin at the end of the Warring States period. He proposed a series of measures to consolidate the king's power. Daifu recounted Shang's deeds with admiration: He established a civil code and punished violators severely. He reformed politics and education, so evil and dishonesty had nowhere to hide. He found countless ways to fill up the state coffer and Juicy Couture taxed those who developed woods and lakes. The country became rich and the people healthy. Farmers had sufficient equipment and harvested more than what they needed. Therefore, Qin was able to conquer its rivals and expand its territory; it was able to support its troops without taxing its own people.

With Shang Yang's measures, the state of Qin finally united China by annexing the other six states. Comparing the current policies ...
... to those of Shang, Daifu argued that they similarly benefited the state and did no harm to the people. By making such a comparison, and by favorably citing Shang Yang's example thirteen times in the entire debate, Daifu identified himself as a contemporary Shang Yang a reformer and a loyalist to Legalism. The officials further revealed their Legalist leanings when explicating the suasive power of the present civil code. Daifu argued that when strict law and order are established, they deter the people from behaving recklessly or dishonestly: We judge robbery-inflicted injuries as the same crime as homicide because we want to castigate the offender's evil intentions. Likewise, The Spring and Autumn Annals condemned the State of Lu despite that it attacked the State of Qi indirectly by using the State of Chu's troops. So there are good reasons why a light offence should be Juicy Couture Watch
severely punished or why a minor crime be judged the same way as a major crime is judged.

Daifu cited the Annals, a Confucian classic, to argue for the need to punish offenders based on their intentions. When making the same argument, Daifu cited another renowned Legalist, Han Fei, for understanding the nuanced rhetorical power of the civil code: "Master Han was angry that rulers did not understand the power of either the common law or their unique social position in governing their officials. Confused by the words of Confucian literati, these rulers even became doubtful of the strategies proposed by their advisors". By citing Legalist sources, officials, as represented by Daifu, clearly harbored a deep trust in the Legalist approach to governing a state, that is, "to establish unity and stability through the singularities of a common law or order (fa), strategic method (shu), and position/ power of the ruler.