Comparing and Contrasting Confucianism and Legalism

Andrew Simedru Ms. Komar AP World History September 3, 2013 Comparing and Contrasting Confucianism and Legalism Confucius once said, â€Å"The more man meditates upon good thoughts, the better will be his world and the world at large.† Amidst the chaos of political instability and constant warring of the Zhou era, many philosophers arose that impacted China in the fields of politics, religion, and philosophy. Two of these philosophers were Confucius, who lived from 551 to 479 B.C.E., and Han Feizi, who lived around 233 B.C.E. These two created the Confucianism and Legalism that significantly changed the society is still in use in modern China. Confucianism became the dominant way of thinking and the later philosophy of Legalism†¦show more content†¦Strength produces force; force produces prestige; prestige produces virtue. Virtue has its origin in strength. The sage ruler alone possesses it, and therefore he is able to transmit humaneness and rightness to all-under-he aven†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Shang 259). However, I believe this is not quite concisely what the Legalists hold a firm believe in; such rhetoric might only represent the idea from an angle that the ruler could accept at ease. Being a political institution and a critical part of the regime, the Legalists have concerns for themselves and may therefore seek personal and power advancement as well in their assisting the state. With such a thought, the third premise can be better stated as: all individuals, authorities and government apparatus will never run into interest conflicts with, and will always reside under, the centralized administration headed by a tiny minority of people who have the ultimate supremacy and power. Noteworthily, such a precondition has an immediate accord with the social need at that time as mentioned earlier, in which a rationalShow MoreRelatedThe Two Chinese Philosophies Of Confucianism1816 Words   |  8 PagesThe two Chinese philosophies of Legalism and Confucianism could not be more opposite. Even though two of the writers of Legalism were students of Xinzu, a philosopher of Confucianism, there are more of differences than similarities between the two. Because of this, legalism, which preceded the concept of Confucianism, had a lot of reasons why Confucianism was considered wrong. While towards the fall of the Qin Dynasty, Confucian beliefs started to revamp and become more widely accepted and thus theyRead MoreThe Between The Prince And Han Fei Tz1817 Words   |  8 Pageseastern concepts. Therefore, in this essay, I will be comparing and contrasting the similarities and the unlikeness between The Prince and Han Fei Tz. Throughout the essay, my purpose is to analyze whether or not these two theories can be applied to the real world efficiently. To start with, I would like to introduce more about Han Fei, whose status in China is as important as Machiavelli’s in the western country. Before the Qin Dynasty, Confucianism was the mainstream and most of the people followedRead MoreWorld History AP8768 Words   |  36 Pageswas no less reliant on military force and no less brutal than the centuries-long Roman effort. †¢ Unlike Rome’s transition from republic to empire, the creation of the Chinese empire had only brief and superficial domestic repercussions. 7. In comparing the Roman and Chinese empires, which do you find more striking—their similarities or their differences? †¢ The Roman and Chinese empires shared many common features, though they did also differ in important ways. In general, the Chinese empire was