As we all know, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, this historical stage is called the era of one of the two major axes of human civilization. From the chaos of the Eastern Zhou Dynasty to the unification of great Qin, in the history of more than five hundred years, under the shadow of the sword and the shadow of the sword and the smoke of the flock of deer, the cultural idea of the Hundred Sons and Hundred Families that has influenced Chinese civilization for thousands of years has been bred.
It is no exaggeration to say that even today and in the future, any kind of problem we encounter can return to the pre-Qin period and seek some ideas for solving problems in the doctrines of the Hundred Schools and Sons.
Today, we will talk about the main ideological system formed during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and why only the ideas of the Legalists finally stood out and were favored by the princes.
Then
In the era of a hundred schools of thought at that time, the most well-known to the world was the "House of nine streams", that is, Confucianism, ink, Tao, law, zongheng, yin and yang, name, agriculture, miscellaneous, if you add soldiers, doctors and novelists, it is the origin of the saying "nine streams and twelve families".
Many ideas have emerged, forming a set of cultural ideologies in the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period. In this huge academic system, the one who is most enthusiastic about changing the law and reforming is naturally the non-legal.
At that time, in the era of collapse and happiness, if you want to open up a world in the chaotic world, you must find a new way to govern the country. Previously, the system of ritual music promoted by the Zhou Dynasty had been eliminated by the times. Therefore, what kind of governing theory can be used to guide the prosperity of the country, which has become the goal pursued by the disciples of the Fa family all their lives. That's it
In the course of their long-term development, the Legalists have gradually formed three forces, namely, the "Jurisprudence School" that advocates the standardization of the country by severe punishment and harsh law, the "Jurisprudence School" that advocates the use of imperial techniques to rule over the subjects, and the "Power School" that advocates the appointment of important official positions with the control of the king.
Between these three different schools,
There have also been such as Li Wu, Shen Zhi, Shen Bu Harm, Shang Martin, Li Si, and Han Fei
and a series of famous representatives. Among them, in particular, Shang Martin and Han Feizi have the most famous reputations. After all, it was precisely because of the Shang Martingale Transformation Law that the weak Qin gradually became stronger through reform, so that in the end it was strong enough to annex the Six Kingdoms and unify the world. And Han Feizi, although he was finally framed to death by Li Si, who was jealous of Xianxian's ability, but he was passed on through the ages with a "Han Feizi". His book, which is a collection of legal scholars and the theories of the three schools of thought, provides rich historical materials and reference information for future generations of legal scholars and reformers. As for the other representatives of the digital Dharma, although they have succeeded or failed, they have also written a brilliant and brilliant stroke on the long scroll of Chinese civilization.
Looking at the development process of the Fa, in the Spring and Autumn Warring States, it can be found that when each princely state changed the law and tried to become stronger, it was the period when the sages of the Fa entered the political stage of the country. For example, Wu Qi's change of law in the Chu State once made the Chu State stronger for a short time, and the "Wu Pawns" of the soldiers trained by Wu Qi made the Qin State also have to be afraid of three points.
It is no exaggeration to say that in that era, the Dharma family had become synonymous with becoming stronger, quickly emerging from the hundreds of sons and daughters, and being favored by the princes.
If you want to explore the mysteries, you must start with the three types of ideas that the Dharma has always adhered to.
First of all, the first type of thinking is the famous "lawless king, no etiquette."
How is this sentence explained? According to the discussion in "Han Feizi", the ancients pursued benevolence and righteousness, the Middle Ages chased after wisdom, and today they compete for strength. This means that in ancient times, the people lived and worked in peace and contentment, and only in this good atmosphere of prosperity and prosperity could they promote the set of benevolence and righteousness advocated by Confucianism. However, during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the ceremonies collapsed, the princes of all walks of life fought and fought, and there were few benevolent and righteous masters, so the benevolent and righteous system of the ancient sages was no longer used.
The so-called "lawless kings, no etiquette" expounds such a truth. Under the premise that the liturgical system has not played any restrictive role in the princes of the world, to talk about the set of doctrines of benevolence, righteousness, and wisdom will only make the country weaker and weaker, and the territory will be reduced day by day. After all
At that time, strength was the right way.
Coupled with the fact that the monarchs of various countries want to be angry and strong, they are not interested in the Confucian set, and naturally need a more hegemonic doctrine to achieve their lofty ambitions. In this way, the theory that the Fa's lawlessness did not follow the past and the present naturally opened up a new world for these princes. Therefore, the reform of the law by the legalists is not only always relied upon by the princely states, but also a manifestation of the progress of the times.
In fact
In essence, this theory has a very advanced "view of historical development", that is, according to the more advanced ideological propositions put forward by the social reality at that time, it has achieved specific analysis of specific problems.
The second type of thinking is "governing the country according to law, rich country and strong army"
The reason why the Fa scholars were given a "law" word by later generations was because no matter how they changed the law and reformed, no matter which branch of the three schools, they always adhered to the absolute principle of governing the country according to law. The so-called punishment of the doctor and the like, in the eyes of the Legalists, is simply an empty piece of paper. You must know that when qin Xiaogong's son, the prince broke the law, not only the prince himself was degraded by Shang Martin, but even the prince's wife Fu was also cut off his nose. What's more, at the beginning of the Shang Martingale Reform Law, in order to deter the people, he once gathered tens of thousands of capital offenders on the banks of the Weishui River and executed them one by one, resulting in the Weihe River being completely stained red and the blood color not dispersing for many years.
So
In the face of the Dharma, only the prince broke the law and committed the same crime as the common people, and there was no situation in which the serious was avoided or the light was taken.
But, in this way, wouldn't the authority of the monarch be challenged? In fact, don't worry,
Although ruling the country according to law is the fundamental idea of the legalists, the idea of safeguarding the monarchy and ruling the country according to law complement each other.
As for how to strengthen the monarchical rule, each of the three schools has its own method. therefore
No matter what harsh laws are imposed, they will not touch the fundamental interests of the monarch.
Besides,
Ruling the country according to law is for the sake of enriching the country and strengthening the army
。 It is precisely because of such an iron-faced and selfless law enforcer as Shang Martin that the poor and weak Qin State has been helped step by step to the peak, and with the Qin State as a lesson for the future, which future kings do not want to achieve the same goal? And what can contribute to the achievement of this goal is naturally only the doctrine of the Law.
This third type of thinking is what Han Fei summed up: "Things are in the four directions, they must be in the center; the saints insist on it, and the four parties come to effect."
From the background of the times to examine,
The "saint" here is synonymous with the monarch. What is it? If it is the art of imperial power, it is the fundamental method of ruling the group as a generation of monarchs. What is the matter? Things are things that refer to the world.
The king lived deep in Miyagi, and it was impossible to understand all the things of the world. Therefore, according to Han Fei, as long as the king has a good grasp of the "want" of the rulers, he can command the subjects to solve all the "things" in the world for himself.
This point is actually similar to what Lao Tzu said about "ruling by doing nothing". The so-called "rule by doing nothing" originally meant "doing nothing to win over doing something.". Because, only when the king completely controls the group of subjects, and the group of subjects do their best to be loyal to the king, naturally there will be no more troubles spread to the ears of the king, so that the country is safe and the people are safe, and the place has nothing to play. Isn't that "inaction"? In contrast, how many of the monarchs who are busy with the government all day and are also susceptible to the control of the courtiers have a good fate?
It is precisely because in the process of changing the law and reforming the law, the legalists can not only achieve reform and strive to be strong, but also pay attention to consolidating the monarchy's power and stabilizing the monarch's authority. This made the princely states often more inclined to rely on the power of the Fa school when choosing to change the law, so that the Fa family quickly stood out from the hundreds of sons.
Moreover, the Fa jia also helped the Qin state to unify the world in the end, which shows that the contribution of the fa's thought and its characters to the course of history is obvious.
Of course, the drawbacks of the legal doctrine are also obvious, that is, no matter how the reform of the law is carried out, its fundamental purpose is to maintain the rule of the king. But it is precisely because of this that the princes have vigorously promoted the Dharma.
All in all
The Dharma was able to quickly emerge from the hundreds of sons and daughters, one was to correctly analyze the social situation at that time and put forward corresponding countermeasures, that is, to conform to the "national conditions" at that time; the other was to cater to the needs of the rulers to strengthen their rule, and also to achieve the prosperity of the country and the strength of the army!