The Confucians Law Origins Dynasty

This dissertation intends to study the source and course of Confucianism and Legalism by researching the birth and development of some important categories in these two schools of thought.Ceremony(Li)and Law(Fa),two important categories in Confuˉcianism and Legalism,came into existence in religious sacrificial activites and tribal wars respectively.During the originality of ancient Chinese political culture,Ceremony and Law were two wheels of the state machinery.There were differences between the Xia,Shang and Zhou dynasties,but where Ceremony and Music were concerned,the three dynasties were in the same strain.Therefore,it could be said that cultures of these three dynasties made an integrated system.The thought of Ceremony and Music in the Zhou Dynasty carried within itself the seeds of Confucianism and Legalism.The development of the concept of Potency(De)and the prosperity of the thought of Ceremony in the Spring and Autumn Period led to the splitting up of Ceremony and Law,hence promoting the esˉtablishment of Confucianism and bringing about the rudiment of Government by Law.Leˉgalism took shape in the reformations during the Warring States Period.There existed a complicated relation between Legalism and Confucianism,especially When concerning Ceremony and Law,King(Wang)and Overlord(Ba).Confucianisn and Legalism both opposed and overlapped in Government by Ceremony or Law,and King or Overlord.The end-result of these two schools was the integration of political thoughts in the Qin and Han dynasties.With social development and cultural changes in the Qin and Han dynasˉties as the background,this integration was different from the fusion and synthesis of the schools of thought in the Pre-Qin Period.The integration was the concerted result of the rulers'active choice and reformation of Pre-Qin ideological resources for the sake of lastˉing political stability and some thinkers'active collaboration with the rulers.What the inˉtegration resulted in was the statesmanship of integrating King,Overlord and the Way.This model of political culture played an important role in the Han Dynasty.Having expeˉrienced shocks and adjustments during the period from the Wei and Jin to the Tang Dyˉnasty,this model ripened,and exerted a lasting influence ever since.Modern Chinese scholars discussed the problem of ruling by man or by law in Chinese ideological history,and they claimed that Confucianists advocated ruling by man while Legalists advocated ruling by law.But in fact,ruling by man or by law is a conception coming from the Westˉern culture.Therefore,their opinions were open to doubt.Since1840,traditional Chiˉnese political culture mainly experienced shocks and disintegration.At present,the politiˉcal culture is in the process of being reconstructed.