Legalism

E118155

Legalism is an ancient Chinese political philosophy that emphasizes strict laws, centralized authority, and harsh punishments as the primary means to maintain social order and strengthen the state.

All labels observed (2)

Label Occurrences
Legalism canonical 16
Legalist tradition 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (48)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Chinese philosophy
ancient Chinese ideology
political philosophy
school of thought
advocates abolition of hereditary privileges
agriculture and war as key state activities
merit-based rewards for service to the state
strict control of ministers
uniform enforcement of law
associatedWithRuler Qin Shi Huang
contrastsWith Confucianism
Taoism
surface form: Daoism

Mohism
coreConcept administrative techniques
centralized authority
collective order over individual rights
harsh punishments
political realism
rule by law
state power
strict laws
countryOfOrigin Ancient China
criticizedFor authoritarianism
harsh penal system
downplays filial piety as political principle
ritual and tradition
emergedInPeriod Warring States period
emphasizes codified laws
control of the populace
impersonal application of law
punishment and reward system
strengthening the state
hasAlternativeName Fa school
Fajia
historicalImpact legal and administrative foundations of later dynasties
unification of China under Qin
influenced Qin dynasty political system
imperial Chinese bureaucracy
languageOfOrigin Classical Chinese
majorText Book of Lord Shang
Han Fei
surface form: Han Feizi
majorThinker Han Fei
Li Si
Shang Yang
opposes rule by moral virtue alone
region East Asia
viewOnHumanNature humans are selfish
humans respond to incentives

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (17)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Confucianism opposedBy Legalism
Qin dynasty ideology Legalism
Lord Shang influencedBy Legalism
this entity surface form: Legalist tradition
Qing Code influencedBy Legalism
Chinese traditionalPhilosophy Legalism
Eastern Zhou religion Legalism
Qin Shi Huang ideology Legalism
Li Si movement Legalism
Qin law code basedOn Legalism
state of Qin dominantPhilosophy Legalism
subject surface form: State of Qin