Fa school

E504994

Fa school is an ancient Chinese philosophical tradition better known as Legalism, which emphasizes strict laws, centralized authority, and pragmatic governance to maintain social order.

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Observed surface forms (1)

Surface form Occurrences
Ru school 1

Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Chinese philosophical school
Legalism
associatedDynasty Qin dynasty NERFINISHED
contrastsWith Confucianism NERFINISHED
Daoism NERFINISHED
Mohism NERFINISHED
coreConcept centralized authority
collective order over individual rights
pragmatic governance
rule by law
state power
strict laws
countryOfOrigin China
doctrine fa (law) as primary tool of governance
shi (power, authority of position)
shu (techniques of governance)
emphasis codified laws
harsh punishments
impersonal application of law
standardized administration
field legal theory
political philosophy
goal ensure obedience to authority
maintain social order
strengthen the state
historicalImpact ideological basis of Qin unification of China
influenced Qin state reforms
imperial Chinese bureaucracy
influencedBy earlier administrative practices in Chinese states
keyText Book of Lord Shang NERFINISHED
Han Feizi NERFINISHED
language Classical Chinese NERFINISHED
legacy continued influence on later Chinese statecraft
mainNameInEnglish Legalism NERFINISHED
majorFigure Han Fei NERFINISHED
Li Si NERFINISHED
Shang Yang NERFINISHED
Shen Buhai NERFINISHED
Shen Dao NERFINISHED
method rewards and punishments system
surveillance and mutual responsibility
nativeName 法家
opposes rule by moral virtue alone
politicalStance authoritarian
realist
timePeriod Warring States period NERFINISHED
viewOnHumanNature humans are self-interested
viewOnRuler ruler should be absolute
ruler should rely on law rather than personal virtue

Referenced by (2)

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

Legalism hasAlternativeName Fa school
Xunzi philosophicalSchool Fa school
this entity surface form: Ru school