Shi Huangdi
![Picture](/uploads/9/8/3/2/98320734/editor/qinshihuang18thcentury.jpg?1486955152)
Shi Huangdi, the ruler that founded the Qin Dynasty, employed Legalist ideas to subdue the warring states and unify his country. The emperor had begun his reign by ending the internal battles that had crippled China’s strength. He was determined to unify China, and his attention was focused on defeating invaders and crushing resistance within the country. Huangdi established an autocracy-a government that has unlimited power and uses it in an arbitrary manner. "Shi Huangti ordered the destruction of any history or philosophy books which did not correspond to Legalism, his family line, the state of Qin, or himself, and had over 400 Confucian scholars executed."-5 Peasants hated him because they were forced to work on the building of a huge defensive wall. It was either that or death. In the end, it was under Shi Huangdi that China had been unified.
5. Emily Mark, Legalism, (New York, 2016)
5. Emily Mark, Legalism, (New York, 2016)
Han Feizi
![Picture](/uploads/9/8/3/2/98320734/editor/hanfei.jpg?1486957539)
Han Feizi was a famous Chinese Legalist philosopher. When he was young, his teacher was a well-known Chinese Confucian philosopher named Xunzi. "Confucian philosophers believed that the best societies helped take care of people’s needs and helped people become kind and virtuous."-6 Morality was not as important to Feizi than having a powerful ruler that knows how to control and influence people. Han Feizi thought people should compete for government jobs based on objective qualifications and that officials should have to meet strict standards of performance. His ideas about government jobs influenced societies around the world.
6. Erin M. Cline, Legalism, (Washington, D.C., 2017)
6. Erin M. Cline, Legalism, (Washington, D.C., 2017)
Liu Bang
![Picture](/uploads/9/8/3/2/98320734/editor/382457.jpg?1489276183)
The Han dynasty began with the accession of Liu Bang. Liu Bang fought for control of the government, and was awarded the title ‘King of the Han’ in recognition of his decisive defeat in the final battle against the Qin forces. Thanks to Liu Bang’s great general, they were able to defeat the forces of Chu, and Bang was proclaimed emperor. "Liu Bang worked and lived within the most important years of conflict, is highly regarded, and achieved a great deal."-7 Liu Bang treated all of his former adversaries with respect and united the land under his rule.
7. T. P. M. Thorne, Yellow Sky, (New York, New York, 2015)
7. T. P. M. Thorne, Yellow Sky, (New York, New York, 2015)
Emperor Wudi
![Picture](/uploads/9/8/3/2/98320734/editor/pimg-720298193882572.jpg?1489510321)
Emperor Wudi vastly increased the authority of the Han dynasty and extended Chinese influence abroad. He made Confucianism the state religion of ancient China. “From his relatives and his teachers, the future emperor absorbed influences from two basically antagonistic schools: the Daoists, inclined to the legalist philosophy favoring an autocratic ruler guided by the rules of expediency, and the Confucianists, who sought through rituals and other means to check the growing power of the Han monarchs.”-8 The Wudi emperor is best remembered for his military conquests; hence his title, Wudi, meaning “Martial Emperor.”
8. Jack L. Dull, Wudi, (Seattle, Washington, 2008)
8. Jack L. Dull, Wudi, (Seattle, Washington, 2008)