Li Ssu was born around 280 BC. AD in Ch`u State or Chu (楚) in the Yangtze River Valley. As a young man, he served as a petty clerk in his home state of Ch`u. He was, like Han Fei (韩非), a disciple of Xunzi (Hsün Ch`ing, Hsün Tzu, 荀子). Hsün Ch`ing was a Confucian who synthesized legalism, a doctrine that advocated the use of rewards and punishments to control the population and strengthen the position of the ruler, with the more humanistic values of Confucianism. For more than 200 years, the Chinese people have experienced war as their daily reality, and a legalistic approach to trying to control people`s worst impulses – controlling people through the threat of severe punishment for injustice – would have been the best way to deal with the chaos. Shang Yang`s legalism dealt with everyday situations, but also extended to how to behave in wartime, and he is credited with the tactic of total war, which allowed the Qin state to defeat other warring states in order to control China. Li Ssu or Li Si (李斯, Lǐ Sī, Li Ssu) (c. 280 BC; † September or October 208 BC) was the influential prime minister (or chancellor) of the feudal state and later of the Qin or Ch`in dynasty between 246 BC. A.D. and 208 B.C. A native of the state of Ch`u, he served as prime minister under two rulers: Qin Shi Huang, King of Qin and first Emperor of China, and his son, Qin Er Shi. He used the political philosophy of legalism to formulate Ch`in state policy, including those on military conquest, draconian centralization of state control, normalization of weights, measures, and writing, and persecution of Confucianism.

His policies were crucial to the founding of the Ch`in dynasty and set precedents that remained for the next two thousand years. Li Ssu was also an outstanding calligrapher. During the Qin Dynasty, all books that did not support legalistic philosophy were burned, and writers, philosophers, and teachers of other philosophies were executed. The excesses of legalism of the Qin Dynasty made the regime very unpopular with the people of the time. After the fall of Qin, legalism was abandoned in favor of Confucianism, which significantly influenced the development of Chinese culture. Rewards and punishments (especially promotion and demotion) are the main handfuls by which the leader must control his officials. But how do you evaluate their performance? Here, legalists advanced the idea of xing ming 刑名: «performance and title». Although this link is only attested to Han Feizi, throughout the ancient Han Dynasty, it was most often identified with what we now call «legalism.» Han Fei explains what he means by xing ming: Han Feizi is said to have been a disciple of the Confucian reformer (and last of the five great sages of Confucianism), Xunzi (l.

c. 310-c.235 BC), who departed from the central command of Confucianism that people are fundamentally good, claiming that they were definitely not for it, If they were, They would not need instruction in kindness. Today, [the leader] relies on many civil servants and many employees; To monitor them, he set up assistants and superiors. Assistants are installed and supervisors are set up to prohibit [staff] from making [personal] gains; But assistants and superiors also aspire to profit, so how can they forbid each other? (Shang jun shu 24:133; Book of Lord Shang 24:2) These sayings and many others like explain Shang Yang`s image as the «slayer of the people.» No other thinker was as explicit as he was when he pointed out the persistent contradiction between society («the people») and the state. The intrinsic selfishness of the people constantly endangers the social order; And in order to ensure this order, the ruler must resolutely restrict his subjects by law (fa 法 in this context refers mainly to criminal laws). The state should strictly control its subjects: the system of compulsory registration of the population and the creation of mutual responsibility groups within the population will ensure that every crime is reported and that the criminal – especially those fleeing the battlefield – knows that «there is no place to escape the ranks of the army, and migrants cannot find refuge.» (Shang jun shu 18:108; Shang jun shu 18.3). In order to impress the people, the text also advocates imposing severe penalties even for minor offenses, because only then will the people be sufficiently afraid to behave properly. Eventually, severe punishments eliminated the need for punishment: from 230 BC, Cheng began his campaign of conquest. In less than a decade, he had conquered and annexed the six enemy kingdoms. In 221 BC. He proclaimed himself «Qin Shi Huangdi», which means the first great emperor of China.

Based on the above statements, Shang Yang gained notoriety as an advocate of oppression; But in fact, his attitude towards people is much more balanced than is often imagined. Lord Shang`s book frequently speaks of «love/care of the people» (ai min 愛民) and «benefit of the people» (li min 利民) and repeats other contemporary texts that proclaimed the welfare of the people as the ultimate goal of policy-making (Pines 2009:201-203). The people are not only the potential enemy of the sovereign: they are his greatest asset. Without their hard work in the fields or their courage on the battlefield, the state is doomed. But people will not accept ploughing and war just for fear of coercion. A more complex system is needed: one that introduces attractive positive incentives as well as impressive negative incentives. Shang Yang explains: Although the term «legalism» was only coined during the Han 漢 Dynasty (206/202 BC – 220 AD), its roots – or more precisely, the idea of grouping together several thinkers who are eventually called «legalists» – go back to Han Fei 韓非 (died 233 BC), who is often considered the most important representative of this intellectual current. In chapter 43, «Defining Standards» («Ding fa» 定法) by Han Feizi 韓非子, the thinker presents himself as a synthesizer and enhancer, the ideas of two of his predecessors, Shang Yang 商鞅 (died 338 BC) and Shen Buhai 申不害 (died 337 BC). (Han Feizi 43:397-400).

The pairing of Shen Buhai and Shang Yang and the addition of Han Fei himself to them have become common since the beginning of the Han Dynasty (see for example Huainanzi 6:230; 11:423; 20:833). Historian Sima Qian 司馬遷 (c. 145–90 BC) A.D.) identified these three thinkers as adherents of the doctrine of «fulfillment and title» (xing ming 刑名) (Shiji 62:2146; 68:2227; Translation borrowed from Goldin 2013: 8). This term was synonymous with the last fa jia (Creel 1974:140). While in Qin, Li Si became a guest of Premier Lü Buwei and had the opportunity to hold talks with Ying Zheng, the future first emperor of a unified China, Qin Shi Huang. Li Si expressed that the Qin state is extremely powerful, but that the unification of China is still impossible if the other six states join forces to fight Qin. Qin Shi Huang was impressed by Li Si`s view on how to unite China. After accepting Li Si`s proposal, the ruler of Qin spent generously to attract intellectuals to Qin State and sent assassins to kill key scholars in other states. These scholars learn only from the old, not the new, and use their scholarship to resist our domination and .. People..

This diminishes the emperor`s reputation and leads to the formation of factions below. It must be stopped. Let all historical documents, except Qin`s, be destroyed. According to Sima Qian, Li Ssu persuaded Qin Shi Huang to issue a decree to suppress intellectual dissent, and when Confucian scholars protested, 460 of them were buried alive. Li Ssu himself wrote the edict in 214 BCE, which banned the widespread destruction of historical documents and literature in 213 BCE. , including important Confucian texts that he considered detrimental to the welfare of the state. Many books have been lost forever. What is called «unification of doctrine» is that. Fathers and older brothers, minor brothers, acquaintances, step-parents and colleagues all say, «What we should consecrate is a just war, and that is all.» This is what I, your preacher, call «the union of doctrine.» People`s desire for wealth and nobility does not cease until their coffin is sealed. And entering the gates of wealth and nobility must be done through military service.

So when they hear about war, people congratulate each other; Whenever they move or rest, drink or eat, they are just singing and singing about war. (Shang jun shu 17:105; Book of Lord Shang 17.4) When the emperor died in 209, Li Ssu was involved in a conspiracy by the eunuch Chao Kao (Zhao Gao, 趙高) to persuade the heir to the throne, Fu-su, to commit suicide so that a younger son of the First Emperor could be placed on the throne. Within a year, rebels began attacking government offices in eastern China. Chao Kao controlled access to the young second emperor Qin Er Shi (Huhai, Erh Shih huangti), so Li Ssu could not inform the ruler of what was happening. Chao Kao then slandered Li Ssu, who was thrown into prison. Li Ssu maintained his innocence and highlighted his many contributions to the Ch`in Empire, but the second emperor was completely dominated by the ruthless Chao Kao, and in 208, he sentenced Li Ssu to be cut in half at the waist. According to Shi Ji, Li Ssu was responsible for the death of Han Fei, a petty prince of the state of Han and an excellent writer whose essays caught the attention of the King of Qin. When Qin waged war against the Han, Han Fei was sent to Qin as a diplomatic envoy.

Li Si, who envied Han Fei`s intellect, convinced King Qin that he could neither dismiss Han Fei (since his superior abilities would pose a threat to Qin) nor employ him (since his loyalty would not match Qin). As a result, Han Fei was imprisoned and Li Ssu convinced him to commit suicide by poisoning.