The Warring States period saw the rise of a number of
schools of thought (Confucianism, Daoism, Mohism, Legalism, etc.) that
fundamentally differed in their visions of political governance and social
conduct. Using primary sources and historical background, evaluate the relative
success and failure of two or more of these ideologies.
In contemporary times, many can witness that Confucianism is
the core in which many Chinese education based their teachings and values on. As
quoted, “There is no denying the deep and encompassing influence of
Confucianism in Chinese society” [1],
the presence of Confucianism in the Chinese society is imperative and the
influence is strong. The advocation of Di
Zi Gui is one of the examples of Confucianism influence in our modern
society. Confucianism is not just an ideology but also a way of life for the
Chinese people and to analyse it, the extent of how ingrained and widespread
the practices are have to be examined[2].
Confucianism dates back to the ancient period when the ideology has its roots
ingrained since the Warring States period in 475 BC – 221 BC by the famous
philosopher, Confucius. Amidst states fighting and competing to attain power
and to seize the throne of China, Confucianism ideology was thought to be contrastingly
inferior to the prospering ideology of Sun Tzu (Sun Tzu Bing Fa) which
advocated war fighting strategies. It was often ridiculed for being overly
philosophical and unrealistic. Notwithstanding such criticism, Confucianism
emerged as one of the most influential ideology till date.
Because Confucianism advocated intrinsic values of human
beings such as the art of benevolence, righteousness, filial piety and one’s
personal values, in time to come, these qualities still hold true to everyone
and was able to sustain and spread its ideology, and even became a way of life for
the Chinese people that is still prevalent in today’s society.
Confucianism has been the guide and way of life for the Chinese people but it was not necessarily restricted to the social influences on the people and the Chinese society only. Confucianism was largely integrated into the political and social sphere and other aspects of the Chinese government throughout dynasties. During Liu Bang’s rule in the Han Dynasty (206 – 195 BCE), Confucianism was made the state ideology alongside with the preceding Qin system which was largely based on the idea of legalism[3]. Liu Bang has always thought that the Qin dynasty and the idea of legalism was too harsh and had the vision to eradicate this system if he was put on throne[4]. Such sentiment and decision from Liu Bang could suggest the success of Confucianism as it had not gained such high level of recognition previously and was even downplayed when the famous Sun Tzu Bing Fa was introduced. The recognition also reflected the possible superiority of Confucianism over other competing ideologies at that time. Being made the state ideology during the Han dynasty could also meant greater degree of exposure of the ideology to people and the world. Policies and ruling decisions could also be geared and based on Confucianism ideologies and this would help significantly to flourish the ideology. The citizens would also be encouraged to learn and be educated in Confucianism study with the ideology flourishing at that period, and the acknowledgement of the ideology from the state. After the Han dynasty, Confucianism was glorified as the later period still showed remnants of Confucianism penetrating into various aspects and ways in China’s heritage.
The most notable was the presence of Confucianism in the Chinese literature context. The Five Classics (wujing) and Four Books (si shu) served as the foundation of Confucianism. To be adept in the Confucianism way, people studied these books. These books were also canonised to be classics and the books were evidences which speak of the success of Confucius teachings in ancient China period. The most famous would be the Analects of Confucius which was attributed to Confucius himself. The book was so famous that people started to evaluate and analyse the content themselves. It was believed that the analects had layers of hidden meanings and moral stories behind it. It might also be the reason that intrigued people to study so diligently the art of Confucianism. The terse nature of the analects however was an obstacle to people who were less educated and the Mao commentary was subsequently written to allow the analects to be understandable to the masses. The increasing curiosity and knowledge of Confucianism reflected the ability of Confucius teachings to gain rapport and consensus from the people. Because the values of benevolence, righteousness, filial piety were exemplary values and people deemed these values to be essential in cultivating them to become a good and refined man, many were motivated to study and be educated following the Confucius way. Confucianism was not just an ideology but the way to improve and better themselves. Till date, it is undeniable that many qualities of people stemmed from Confucianism.
On the other hand, Confucianism has its critics and failures in ancient China history as well. The most apparent was the criticism of Han Fei Zi on Confucius’s teachings[5]. This was however rather bizarre as Han Fei Zi was educated under one of Confucius’s disciples, Xun Zi, and therefore it could be likely that he was taught some inside knowledge of Confucianism[6]. Yet, he criticised the Confucius ideology through the story of the stump watcher and proved that learning from the past in Confucianism was wrong and irrelevant using a rabbit and a farmer as comparatives. This criticism could be argued to have portrayed the possible loopholes in the Confucius teachings and could be seen as one such failures of Confucianism. Confucianism advocated learning from the past as he felt that people would be able to revisit their errors and mistakes and it would allow them to learn from it. The critic of Han Fei Zi on this issue was nonetheless still relevant to a certain extent. History had happen and would not replay itself in the future and even if it does it would be just mere coincidence and should not be treated with utmost importance.
Confucius values if placed into many contexts and situations, would display a certain degree of contradiction. An example would be the treatment of one’s friends or companionship. Confucianism dwells a lot on benevolence and the need to be kind and have good virtues and intrinsic wellness. But if this notion of benevolence was to be enlarged, would one still be able to display the same degree of benevolence to everyone or would they be benevolent to only a certain group of people. Take for instance when Confucius was once in trouble between T’sai and Chi’en, he lived on soups made from greens and wine offered to him. However Confucius did not question and asked of nothing about the origins of the food that was served. Subsequently, when he was received by Duke Ai of Lu, he would not eat or drink unless his mats were straighten and his food cut up for him. Confucius baffled his disciple on his contrastingly different attitude in these two instances and was enlightened by Confucius thereafter. Confucius commented that he would grab anything in order to stay alive when he is in trouble but he will act hypocritically to appear refined when he is satiated[7]. Such statement was appalling to have come from Confucius. From this instance, Confucius reflected his hypocritical nature and the possible façade he would put up in order for him to deal with the current situation he was placed in. Which explains why he was readily acceptable to anything that was offered to him in times of trouble but he would appear lofty and critical when he is in good circumstances. Such was the opposite of the belief of one should do good to people and people would do good to them. Confucius was definitely not acting righteously but just riding on the wave and doing what was favourable to him at that point of time. As such, the values present in Confucianism could also be seen to be refuted and contradicted by Confucius himself in this instance.
Despite its loopholes and criticism, Confucianism was still widely recognised by the people as the values and teachings it advocated was nonetheless exemplary and of good nature to begin with. Therefore it was still able to hold true to people in the ancient China period and continue on its legacy.
The other ideology discussed in this paper will be legalism. Legalism was most notable in the period of the Qin Dynasty under the reign of Emperor Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor to unite China. He oppressed Confucians and tried to get rid of all humanist culture. Qin Shi Huang has taken a liking to the legalism ideology and praised Han Fei Zi’s on that, and it was also Han Fei Zi’s idea of prohibiting the study of ancient works[8]. This period could be seen as the success of legalism as it was able to prevail over Confucianism and gotten the recognition from the Emperor in the Qin Dynasty. It was also from that point which paved the way for legalism to flourish and build its strong hold in the Qin Dynasty as it eventually became the guiding influence to rule China in that period. Han Fei Zi’s two handles – punishment and favour was like a two edge sword that could wield disastrous consequences or favourable gains. This sword was however not easy to control and maintain during the Qin Dynasty as the ministers were smart in bypassing the loopholes of the theory of two handles. As everyone prefers rewards than punishments, it was therefore sensible and reasonable for them to cajole the ruler to get what they wanted[9]. This however places the system of favours into jeopardy as it was highly exploitable to the ministers’ wishes. The system of rewards or punishments presented an extreme opposite and it also served as the basis for its failure. Although it was logical to reward those who have done and contributed well, it was however not entirely logical to reward those who have done well in an ethically wrongful way. This rationale also applies to the idea of punishment as well. It would not be morally right to meter out punishment for people who have done wrong in an ethically right manner. This rationale can be reflected in the case of Marquis Chao of Han, who was drunk and cold and his keeper of hat covered him with his robe. However both the keeper of the hat and robe were punished when the Marquis woke up as one was seen as overstepping his duty and one was seen as failing to accomplish his duty[10]. There seems to be some degree of grey area present in both the system of punishment and favour. And it should be argued that this grey area should be guided or influenced by a morale core or ideology such as Confucianism. The failure of the Qin Dynasty was that it was unable to wield this sword accurately despite the “sword” that possesses great potential for ruling a country.
Legalism was however not entirely negative and dangerous on its own. The success of Legalism was that it was able to establish parameters and limits for people to follow and abide to. Because there is a parameter, it would be obvious if one is competent or not competent in completing or fulfilling his task. The case of the Marquis Chao of Han can be used as an example to illustrate the notion of the mentioned parameter[11]. And thus it allows evaluation on the person’s performance pertaining to the task and the necessary punishment or rewards that should be metered out. The idea of the two handles provides a form of governance guidelines and guidance for both the emperor and the ministers as well. The Emperor could use it to evaluate the performance of his subordinates and the ministers could use it as a personal guide to ensure they do not overstep their authority. The system seems to be able to establish a line of balance for the court at that time. This balance could also help in ensuring political stability in the country and as such, it can be argued as the success of Legalism. However, this balance could not be maintained in the long run as people were born greedy by nature and subsequently they would start to incline and align themselves on the favour end of the system. This could be reflected in the case of Ti’en Ch’ang and Duke Chien whereby Ti’en Ch’ang conned Duke Chien into giving him the power to bestow punishments and rewards which eventually got Duke Chien assassinated[12]. This example also reflected the outcome when this balance was upset and people were exploiting the system to their own interest and benefits.
Legalism was a power tool and ideology on its own but if it was not used accurately it could destroy the entire governance rule and the entire system would crumble as the balance was not maintained and kept.
Legalism was not only observed in the Qin dynasty but it was highlighted and portrayed in greater light during the Qin dynasty due to Emperor Qin Shi Huang. Subsequently Legalism faded into the background in the preceding dynasties and Confucianism was brought into light once again. At this point, Legalism was downplayed but was not totally diminished or eradicated as it still had some presence in the governance structure of the Han dynasty. Legalism and Confucianism were the two ideologies discussed in this paper. Both ideologies have their peaks and downfalls across the long ancient China history but nevertheless able to sustain its legacy till contemporary China.
Confucianism, being very intrinsic and individually-based ideology is contrastingly different from Legalism which advocated practicality in general. Both ideologies should be used to complement each other as it can help to fill in the areas which each ideology is lacking in. Legalism is too practical in nature and should be complemented with Confucianism for its moral judgements, and Confucianism is overly philosophical and unrealistic at some point of time and should be complemented with Legalism to establish the practicality of the situations.
Across the long history of China, different school of thoughts sprouted out in different period of time and some school of thoughts were slowly diminishing. It should not be the case where one ideology is oppressed and another ideology is glorified as there would not be a perfect guiding ideology or concept/system to govern China. All these ideologies have their own pros and cons and is subjective to the individual. Take for instance how Confucianism is perceived by the anti-Confucianism and criticised for its values and beliefs, these values and beliefs are used by the pro-Confucianism to serve as their guiding principle to their way of life. These ideologies should be smartly used to complement one another in order to tap into the good areas/aspects of both or all of the ideologies instead of just depending solely on one single ideology.
[12] The Two Handles, n.d, p.31
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Watson, trans., (Columbia, rpt. 1964) Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu: “Against Confucians”: p.124-136
Watson, trans., (Columbia, rpt. 1964) Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hsun Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu: “The Two Handles”: p.30-34
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