Shang Yang was an important statesman of
QinQín or Ch'in , was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. It eventually grew to dominate the country and unite it in 221 BC, after which it is referred to as the Qin Dynasty...
in the
Warring States PeriodThe Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from 476 BCE to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE...
of ancient
ChinaChina is a cultural region, an ancient civilization, and, depending on perspective, a national or multinational entity extending over a large area in East Asia....
. With the support of Duke Xiao of Qin, Shang enacted numerous reforms (in accordance with his legalist philosophy recorded in
The Book of Lord ShangThe Book of Lord Shang was an early Legalist work generally attributed to the eponymous Lord Shang. It is a foundational work of that harsh tradition: ""The Book of Lord Shang teaches that laws are designed to maintain the stability of the state from the people, who are innately selfish and ignorant...
) in the state of Qin that helped to change Qin from a peripheral state into a militarily powerful and strongly centralized kingdom, changing the administration by emphasizing
meritocracyMeritocracy is a system of a government or other organization wherein appointments are made and responsibilities assigned to individuals based upon demonstrated talent and ability . In a meritocracy, society rewards those who show talent and competence as demonstrated by past actions or by...
and devolving power from the
nobilityNobility is a state-privileged status which is generally hereditary, but which may also be personal only. Titles of nobility are usually associated with present or former monarchies. The term originally referred to those who were "known" or "notable" and was applied to the highest social class in...
.
Reforms
The vast majority of Shang's reforms were taken from policies instituted elsewhere, such as from
Wu QiWu Qi was a Chinese military leader and politician in the Warring States period. Born in the State of Wei , he was good at leading an army. He had served in the states of Lu and Wei. In the state of Wei he commanded many great battles and was appointed Xihe Shou...
of
ChuChu or CHU may refer to:Surname:* Chu , a common Chinese surname for 朱 , but it can also refer to any Chinese surname whose pinyin is "chu", such as 楚, 储, 褚, 初, 除 and other possible surnames....
; however, Shang's reforms were more thorough and extreme than those of other states. Under Shang's tenure, Qin quickly caught up with and surpassed the reforms of other states.
After Duke Xiao of Qin, posthumously Qin Xiaogong, ascended to the Qin throne, Shang left his lowly position in
WeiThe Wei was a state during the Warring States Period in China. Its territory lay between the states of Qin and Qi and included modern areas in Henan, Hebei and Shanxi and Shandong...
(to whose ruling family he had been born, but had to obtain a high position in) to become the chief adviser in Qin, at Duke Xiao's behest. There his changes to the state's legal system (which built upon
Li KuiLi Kui was an ancient Chinese government minister and court advisor to Marquis Wen of Wei in the state of Wei. In 407 BC, he wrote the Book of Law , which was the basis for the codified laws of the Qin and Han dynasties...
's
Book of Law or
Fajing, 法經) propelled the Qin to prosperity. His policies built the foundation that enabled Qin to conquer all of China, uniting the country for the first time and ushering in the
Qin dynastyThe Qin Dynasty was the ruling Chinese dynasty between 221 and 206 BC. The Qin state was named because the people of is homeland were called the qin. The Qin's strength had been consolidated by Lord Shang Yang during the Warring States Period, in the 4th century BC...
.
He is credited by Han Feizi with the creation of two theories;
- Ding Fa (定法; fixing the standards)
- Yi Min (一民; treating the people as one)
Shang
Shang believed in the rule of law and considered loyalty to the state to be above that of the family.
Shang introduced two sets of changes to the Qin state. The first, in 356 BC, were as follows:
- Li Kui's Book of Law was implemented, with the important addition of a rule providing punishment equal to that of the perpetrator for those aware of a crime but failing to inform the government; codified reforms into enforceable laws.
- Stripped the nobility of land right and assigned land to soldiers based upon military success. The army was also separated into twenty military rank
Military rank is a system of hierarchical relationships in armed forces or civil institutions organized along military lines. Usually, uniforms denote the bearer's rank by particular insignia affixed to the uniforms...
s, based upon battlefield success.
- As manpower was short in Qin, Shang encouraged the cultivation of unsettled lands and wastelands, and favoured agriculture
Agriculture is the production of food and goods through farming and forestry. Agriculture was the key development that led to the rise of human civilization, with the husbandry of domesticated animals and plants creating food surpluses that enabled the development of more densely populated and...
over commerceCommerce is a division of trade or production which deals with the exchange of goods and services from producer to final consumer. It comprises the trading of something of economic value such as goods, services, information, or money between two or more entities...
Shang introduced his second set of changes in 350 BC, which included a new, standardised system of land allocation and reforms to taxation.
Domestic policies
Shang introduced
land reformLand reforms is an often-controversial alteration in the societal arrangements whereby government administers possession and use of land...
s, privatized land, rewarded farmers who exceeded harvest quotas, enslaved farmers who failed to meet quotas, and used enslaved citizens as rewards for those who met government policies.
As
manpowerManpower may refer to:Organizations:*Manpower Inc., an international employment agency, headquartered in the United States*Manpower Incorporated, a criminal enterprise in the Honor Harrington science fiction series...
was short in Qin relative to the other states at the time, Shang enacted policies to increase its manpower. As Qin peasants were recruited into the military, he encouraged active
immigrationImmigration is the arrival of new individuals into a habitat or population. It is a biological concept and is important in population ecology, differentiated from emigration and migration.-As a political term:...
of peasants from other states into Qin as a replacement workforce; this policy simultaneously increased the manpower of Qin and weakened the manpower of Qin's rivals. Shang made laws forcing citizens to marry at a young age and passed tax laws to encourage raising multiple children. He also enacted policies to free
convictA convict is "a person found guilty of a crime and sentenced by a court" or "a person serving a sentence in prison", sometimes referred to in slang as simply a "con". After a conviction, convicts often become prisoners. Persons convicted and sentenced to non-custodial sentences often are not termed...
s who worked in opening wastelands for agriculture.
Shang abolished
primogeniturePrimogeniture is the common law right of the first-born son to inherit the entire estate, to the exclusion of younger siblings. It is the tradition brought by the Normans to England in 1066. According to the Norman tradition, the first-born son inherited the entirety of a parent's wealth, estate,...
and created a double tax on households that had more than one son living in the household, to break up large clans into nuclear families.
Shang moved the capital to reduce the influence of nobles on the administration.
Shang Yang's death
Deeply despised by the Qin nobility, Shang could not survive Qin Xiaogong's death. The next ruler, King Huiwen, ordered the execution of Shang and his family, on grounds of rebellion; Shang had previously humiliated the new Duke "by causing him to be punished for an offense as though he were an ordinary citizen." Shang went into hiding and tried to stay at a hotel. Ironically, the hotel owner refused because it was against Shang's laws to admit a guest without proper identification. Shang is said to have been executed by being fastened to four
chariotThe chariot is the earliest and simplest type of carriage, used in both peace and war as the chief vehicle of many ancient peoples. Chariots were built in Mesopotamia by the Mesopotamians as early as 3000 BC and in China during the 2nd millennium BC. The original chariot was a fast, light, open,...
s and pulled apart. Despite his death, King Huiwen kept the reforms enacted by Yang.
Confucian scholars were highly opposed to Shang's legalist approach.
See also
- The Book of Lord Shang
The Book of Lord Shang was an early Legalist work generally attributed to the eponymous Lord Shang. It is a foundational work of that harsh tradition: ""The Book of Lord Shang teaches that laws are designed to maintain the stability of the state from the people, who are innately selfish and ignorant...
- Chinese philosophy
Chinese philosophy is philosophy written in the Chinese tradition of thought. Chinese philosophy has a history of several thousand years; its origins are often traced back to the Yi Jing , an ancient compendium of divination, which uses a system of 64 hexagrams to guide action...
- Han Feizi
- Li Kui
Li Kui was an ancient Chinese government minister and court advisor to Marquis Wen of Wei in the state of Wei. In 407 BC, he wrote the Book of Law , which was the basis for the codified laws of the Qin and Han dynasties...
- Qin
Qín or Ch'in , was a state during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States Periods of China. It eventually grew to dominate the country and unite it in 221 BC, after which it is referred to as the Qin Dynasty...
- Qin Dynasty
The Qin Dynasty was the ruling Chinese dynasty between 221 and 206 BC. The Qin state was named because the people of is homeland were called the qin. The Qin's strength had been consolidated by Lord Shang Yang during the Warring States Period, in the 4th century BC...
- Warring States Period
The Warring States Period , also known as the Era of Warring States, covers the period from 476 BCE to the unification of China by the Qin Dynasty in 221 BCE...
- born 350-290
External links