Legalist Thought and the Legalist Spirit (Revised Edition)

Author: Wu Shuchen, Li Li
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2007-01-01
Features: The Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods were the Axial Age in the history of Chinese culture. During this time, various schools of thought emerged, and intellectual discourse flourished with intense debate. Just as ancient Greek philosophy is the source of Western philosophical thought, the doctrines of the pre-Qin philosophers have been the source of Chinese intellectual development for over two thousand years. The governance techniques of the Legalists were adopted by rulers throughout the ages, and there must be reasonable elements within them. The Legalist thought and spirit must contain essence. These offer valuable lessons for our "governance according to law and building a socialist rule of law state" today. Even the dross of Legalist thought is not entirely without benefit in helping us deepen our understanding, further eliminate feudal remnants, and accelerate the development of socialist democracy and the rule of law.