Confucianism Principles Essay

Submitted By dtriplet
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About three thousand years ago in China during the Zhou dynasty, two major forms of government were created. Legalism was created during a violent time in China called the "warring state period", and Confucianism was created in the same period in one of the smaller states of the kingdom that was more independent than most . Both of these forms of government looked to obtain a strong central government and respect traditions; however, the way they obtained this authority and the people’s role in society differed very much between the two philosophies, which is the focus of this paper.
Legalism, which was created by a man named Han Fei, looks toward the government for control over the lives of all citizens. Legalist believed that human nature was naturally wicked (Bulliet, 41), and that people should give up most of their freedoms for the state because they were incapable of making choices on their own. In order for the citizens to act right, the government thought they must enforce an extensive set of laws and punish people very harshly if they broke them. Han Fei stated in his writings “To try to use the ways of a generous and lenient government to rule the people of a critical age is like trying to drive a runaway horse without using reins or whips” (Bulliet, 43), which basically says that a government like Confucianism would never function properly. The government also played a stronger force in the economy by collecting taxes directly, imposing monetary standards, and managing large scale public works projects (Bulliet, 41). The next philosophy, Confucianism, takes a completely different look at the way that government should be run. Confucius viewed the government as a family, with a father, son, and mother. Like in a family the father is seen as the head of the household. In this case the father is the leader of the people, and the son and mother look to him for support. The son and mother (citizens) however are shown equality and respect. Furthermore, Confucius assumed that in order for the people of a kingdom to act well, they needed a strong leader who was able to set a proper example for the people to follow. He believed the king would show this with no violence, equality, and running a powerful kingdom. I believe you can see that in this quote from the writings of Confucius “When you have gotten your own life straightened out, things will go well without your giving orders. But if your own life isn’t straightened out, even if you give orders, no one will follow them.” What I believe Confucius is saying is that if you are ruled by a leader who is violent and not respected, then he barks out orders to the people he reigns over. People might do what he says because there frightened of punishment but they won’t support him, and consequently they may want to rebel. If the leader is a man that the people truly look up to because of his kind heartedness and he is respected, the leader won’t even have to speak a word about laws, because the people will follow his actions.
All things considered you can see that these two philosophies have rather different views, I would even say practically opposite. Legalism is a much more strict form of government why Confucianism believes in leniency and non-violence; but which government is a better option? Personally, I believe that a government like Confucianism would be more successful and run more efficiently because people well always want to rebel against a government that suppresses them like Legalism. Yet, if you look at China today which is communist, I would say that their government has been influenced and reflects legalism much more. The government controls most aspects of people’s lives and plays a heavy roll in the economy. Only time will tell if China will return to a Confucius like type of government, and how long it will last.

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