LEGALISM

school of Chinese philosophy that attained prominence during the turbulent Warring States era (475221 Bc ) and, through the influence of the philosopher Han Fei-tzu, formed the ideological basis of China's first Imperial dynasty, the Ch'in (221206 BC). The Legalists believed that political institutions should be modelled in response to the realities of human behaviour and that men were inherently selfish and short-sighted. Thus social harmony could not be assured through the recognition by the people of the virtue of their ruler, but only through strong state control and absolute obedience to authority. The Legalists advocated government by a system of laws that rigidly prescribed punishments and rewards for specific behaviours. The Legalists stressed the direction of all human activity toward the goal of increasing the power of the ruler and the state. The brutal implementation of this policy by the authoritarian Ch'in dynasty led to that dynasty's overthrow and the permanent discrediting of Legalist philosophy in China.