Legalism
Also known as Fajia, Fǎjiā
one of the six classical schools of thought in Chinese philosophy
AI overview
Legalism was one of the major schools of Chinese philosophical thought that emphasized strict laws, harsh punishments, and strong state authority as the best way to govern society and maintain order. It matters historically because legalist ideas significantly influenced Chinese governance and had lasting impact on how Chinese states were organized and administered.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Chinese
- 法家
- Literal meaning
- School of law
- Hanyu pinyin
- Fǎjiā
- Bopomofo
- ㄈㄚˇ ㄐㄧㄚ
- Wade giles
- Fa -chia
- Ipa
- [fa ̀ .tɕja ́ ]
- Yale romanization
- Faatgā
- Jyutping
- Faat3 gaa1
via Wikipedia infobox
Article
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Fajia (Chinese: 法家; pinyin: fǎjiā), or the School of fa (incl. law, method), often translated Legalism, was a bibliographic school of primarily Warring States period classical Chinese philosophy, incorporating more administrative works traditionally said to be rooted in Huang-Lao Daoism. Addressing practical governance challenges of the unstable feudal system, their ideas contributed greatly to the formation of the Chinese empire and bureaucracy, advocating concepts including rule by law, sophisticated administrative technique, and ideas of state and sovereign power. They are often interpreted along realist lines. Though persisting, the Qin to Tang period was more characterized by the 'centralizing tendencies' of their traditions.