In the writing, The Book of Lord Shang, written by Shang Yang, he describes how he believes people's guiding principles do not represent their values. He also talks about how he believes how people rise to power. He touches on the topic of how a smart ruler knows how to govern his people. He also explains why having your priorities straight makes for a good ruler. Overall, I do agree with the majority of his points.
His first point of people's guiding principles does not represent their values was a rather interesting statement. I never put much thought into it, but this is not true. People make their life's guidelines based on their morals. Why would someone who does not value education continue to go to school? It would not make any sense. It would be a waste of money, time, effort on their part. If people were forced to follow principles they did not believe in, they would not follow it in the first place.
Shang Yang believes that there are two ways people rise to power, through knowledge and force. There are many examples throughout history of this happening. It only makes sense if someone who does not know how to rule, to educate themselves. By gaining more knowledge they can easily overthrow a monarch who does not have a clue on how to govern a country. Likewise, someone who is powerful can easily conquer a kingdom that is weak.…show more content… I interpreted this as he believes a ruler must be physically strong, and if he is then it automatically makes him a good monarch. I, however, only agree with the first half of his statement. Strength is not the key factor of being a good ruler. Strength can and is easily abused by those in positions of power. I could easily give 1001 examples of rulers abusing their power. To be a benevolent and righteous ruler, you must be able to balance your wisdom, knowledge, and power. By balancing these three, you will be able to keep everything in
