Ancient ChinaQin and Han

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The heyday of Legalism was in Qin just before the creation of the Chinese Empire. The Legalist hammered Qin into a strong state with a strong military. That enabled its armies to defeat the other kingdoms and create the Chinese Empire. But the Qin dynasty survived only a few years after the death of the first emperor. The Han dynasty that took over control of the empire adopted the Qin innovation of a professional bureaucracy to run the empire.

Legalism went beyond the proposition of the need for a comprehensive set of laws. The three elements of proper

government according to Legalist theory were:

Shih: Power and position Shu: Administrative techniques and methods

Fa: A Comprehensive system of laws.

The Legalists not only asserted that humans were by nature evil but they expanded their notion of evil to include those activities which were not deemed socially productive, such as reading and scholarship. The Legalists believed that the

only productive occupations were farming and weaving. This meant that reading was simply a waste of the labor

resources of the society. So all books other than those on farming, weaving and divination were burned, and those scholars who refused to heed the administrators' edicts

against pursuing useless activities were punished and some were even buried alive.

CENTRALIZATION & STANDARDIZATION:Eliminating regional differences, his central government standardized everything from money to weights & measures. For instance, he mandated that all cart axles all have the same length. .

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End of Lesson #1Qin to Han

Han Dynasty 202 B.C.E.-220 C.E.

Han Feizi

Han dynasty (202 B.C.E.-220 C.E.)

Han Bureaucracy Readings:#1

#2

Han Bronze Horse

Han Jade Burial Suit

Han Coin

Han Ship