10/28/2025
Session 7
HUM 101: INTRODUCTION TO
WORLD CIVILIZATION AND CULTURE
Dr. Md Tariqul Islam
Rise of the Early Empires:
Ancient China’s Idea of Governance
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Historical Context: From the Shang to the Han
Shang Dynasty (c. 1600–1046 BCE)
• Earliest verified dynasty.
• Political legitimacy rooted in ancestor worship and divine right.
• Oracle bones served as both records and divinatory tools, showing early
bureaucratic communication.
• Governance based on ritual and divination — the ruler as mediator
between heaven and earth.
Historical Context: From the Shang to the Han
Zhou Dynasty (1046–256 BCE)
• Introduced the Mandate of Heaven (Tianming) — a moral justification for
rule.
• Kings governed under divine approval, but loss of virtue justified
rebellion.
• Decentralization → Feudal system → Rise of regional warlords.
• Early articulation of moral-political accountability; set the ideological
foundation for later dynasties.
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Historical Context: From the Shang to the Han
Warring States Period (475–221 BCE)
• Period of chaos, warfare, and philosophical innovation.
• Emergence of the Hundred Schools of Thought, including
Confucianism, Daoism, and Legalism.
• Intellectual responses to chaos gave rise to Confucianism, Daoism, and
Legalism.
• Questions of how to restore order and harmony dominated political
philosophy.
Historical Context: From the Shang to the Han
Qin Dynasty (221–206 BCE)
• China’s first unified empire under Qin Shi Huangdi.
• Adopted Legalism as official ideology:
• Centralized bureaucracy, strict laws, harsh punishments.
• Book burnings and suppression of dissent (213–212 BCE).
• Short-lived but laid administrative foundations for later dynasties.
• Created a highly efficient but oppressive state; standardized weights,
measures, script.
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Historical Context: From the Shang to the Han
Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE)
• Synthesis of Confucian moral values with Legalist administrative
control.
• Civil service examinations and Confucian education institutionalized.
• Bureaucratic stability combined law with virtue — the “Confucian-
Legalist” balance.
• Confucian moral order integrated into Legalist bureaucracy, forming
the model for future Chinese empires.
The Mandate of Heaven (Tianming):
Moral Legitimacy and Political Order
“Heaven sees as the people see; Heaven hears as the people hear.”
— Book of Documents (Shujing), ca. 9th century BCE
• The Mandate of Heaven was the Zhou dynasty’s key innovation in
political thought.
• Heaven (Tian) granted the right to rule based on virtue (de), not
birth.
• When rulers became unjust or corrupt, Heaven withdrew its
mandate, justifying rebellion.
• The ruler’s legitimacy depended on moral conduct, not absolute
divine right — a recurring idea in East Asian political traditions.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Confucianism: Rule by Virtue
• Founder: Confucius (Kongzi, 551–479 BCE)
• Key Text: The Analects (Lunyu)
• “If the people are led by virtue, and order is sought through rites,
they will have a sense of shame and will reform themselves.”
(Analects 2.3)
• “The virtue of the ruler is like the wind; the virtue of the common
people is like the grass. When the wind blows, the grass bends.”
(Analects 12.19)
Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Confucianism: Core Concept and Meaning
Benevolence, humaneness; the foundation of
Ren (仁)
moral governance.
Ritual propriety and social order; behaving
Li (礼)
appropriately within one’s role.
Xiao (孝) Filial piety; loyalty to family and ruler as moral duty.
The “gentleman” or ideal moral leader who leads by
Junzi (君子)
example.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Confucianism: Rule by Virtue
• Governance model:
• The ruler leads by moral example, not coercion.
• Confucius believed that moral leadership inspires voluntary obedience
and inner reform. Law and punishment, by contrast, only create fear and
superficial compliance.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Confucianism: Rule by Virtue
• Political implication:
• Society thrives when rulers embody virtue.
• Emphasis on education and moral cultivation.
• The state should cultivate virtue — through education, ritual, and
example, not coercion.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Legalism: Governance through Law and Punishment
• Key Thinkers: Shang Yang (d. 338 BCE), Han Feizi (280–233 BCE)
• Key Text: Han Feizi
• “The ruler controls the people with two handles — punishment
and favor.” (Han Feizi, “The Two Handles”)
• “The wise ruler relies on the law and not on men. If he depends on
men, they will follow their private interests; if he depends on the
law, both the wise and the foolish will be obedient.” (Han Feizi,
“Wielding Power”)
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Legalism: Governance through Law and Punishment
• Core principles:
• Human nature is self-interested and requires discipline.
• Law (fa 法) must be clear, impersonal, and strictly enforced.
• The ruler’s strength lies in control, not virtue.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Legalism: Governance through Law and Punishment
• Governance model:
• Ruler maintains power through punishment and reward.
• “If laws are clear and rewards and punishments are applied with
certainty, the ruler need not be wise.” (Han Feizi, c. 240 BCE)
• Legalism assumes human beings are self-interested and must be
restrained by firm laws and certain punishment. The ruler’s strength lies in
control, not moral example.
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Philosophical Responses to Disorder
Legalism: Governance through Law and Punishment
• Political implication:
• Ensures order through fear and consistency.
• Prevents chaos but risks tyranny and resentment.
• To prevent chaos, the state must prioritize discipline, standardization,
and impersonal justice over ethics.
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Comparative Framework:
Confucianism vs. Legalism
Aspect Confucianism Legalism
View of Human People are naturally good People are selfish and must be
Nature but need guidance. restrained.
Moral virtue and benevolent
Basis of Authority Law and coercive power.
leadership.
Primary Education, ritual, and moral Clear laws and strict
Mechanism cultivation. punishments.
Moral exemplar; “father of Absolute authority; enforcer of
Role of Ruler
the people.” law.
Goal of Social harmony through Stability and control through
Governance virtue. discipline.
Historical Han Dynasty bureaucracy Qin Dynasty’s centralization
Example and Confucian education. and harsh codes.
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From Theory to Practice:
Qin and Han Dynasties
The Qin Experiment (221–206 BCE)
• Qin Shi Huang unified China after centuries of warfare.
• Adopted Legalist reforms: strict laws, standardized weights, currency,
and script.
• Enforced harsh punishments and censorship (book burnings and
executions of scholars).
• Legalist policies unified China but led to rebellion due to excessive
harshness.
• The Great Wall, standardized weights, currency, and script all
uniformed from Legalist efficiency.
• Achieved short-term unity but caused widespread resentment.
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From Theory to Practice:
Qin and Han Dynasties
The Han Synthesis (206 BCE–220 CE)
• The Han dynasty learned from the Qin’s excesses.
• Retained Legalist bureaucracy but infused it with Confucian
moral education.
• Emperor Wu (r. 141–87 BCE) established Confucianism as the
state ideology.
• Civil service examinations tested moral and literary knowledge.
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From Theory to Practice:
Qin and Han Dynasties
Long-term Influence:
• A stable empire grounded in moral rhetoric but legal order.
• Chinese governance for two millennia reflected a Confucian moral
framework within Legalist institutions.
• Confucian and Legalist principles coexisted in Chinese political
culture:
• Confucianism guided moral ideals and social hierarchy.
• Legalism provided the practical tools of administration.
• The balance between virtue and law continues to influence modern
East Asian governance and bureaucratic culture.
• In modern governance, echoes of this balance appear in emphasis on
order, hierarchy, and harmony.
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Reflection
• How would Confucian vs. Legalist methods affect ordinary
people’s daily lives?
• Which philosophy is better for long-term stability?
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