Originally, the custom of lobbying the princes did not originate from the Warring States period

During the turn of the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, Confucius and Mohist had already advocated it; " Or under the situation of "preserving the etiquette of a small country", some advocated "taking etiquette as the country", or advocated killing troops "without attacking", which was not as popular as the later strategists. In the middle of the Warring States Period, Mencius was ridiculing "the scholars who were in charge of the discussion", and Zhang Yihuishi, who was at the same time as Mencius, also successively talked about King Hui of Liang. Therefore, Meng Xunli in the Historical Records said: "Meng Ke... Shi Liang, King Hui of Liang If it doesn't work, it will appear that it is far-fetched and far-reaching. At that time, Qin used Shang Jun to enrich the country and strengthen its army; Chu and Wei used Wu Qi to defeat the weak enemy; King Xuan of Qi used his grandson Tian Ji's disciples to defeat the princes. Facing Qi in the east, the people of the world are committed to uniting the vertical and horizontal lines, and are wise in attacking. Meng Ke described the virtues of the Tang and Yu dynasties, and... retreated... Preface poems and books, describing Zhongni's meaning, composed Seven Chapters of Mencius. "After the middle period of the Warring States period, literary scholars started from the fields and shops, and most of them called themselves "bitch", "disrespectful minister", "little mustard", "minister of traveling", and they were distinguished by "walking on the stilts and carrying the scorpion". The princes were granted titles and received lands. They are either known as "wise men" or praised as "think tanks" (Qilizi), who can influence the current situation and turn clouds and rains, so they are famous, "noble and wealthy". This trend is as Han Feizi said, "The people of Zhongmu abandoned their fields and farmed, sold their houses and gardens, and followed the literary scholars, taking half of the city" (Han Feizi Wai Chu said above left). The so-called literary scholars here point out that words are obtained without labor. Rich people. Or another example is Su Qin who did not follow customs and "managed industry, worked hard on industry and commerce, and divided the two as his own business" and "explained the truth and talked about it" (Historical Biography of Su Qin) in order to gain honor; more like Lu Buwei was originally a "big businessman in Yangzhai" "People, they trade at low prices and sell at high prices, and their families are rich in gold." (Historical Records of Lu Buwei's Biography) Commercial capitalists believe that being a businessman is only a hundred times more profitable, and it is better to establish a country and decide its master, which has endless benefits, so they abandon their own profession and engage in big business of "exotic goods can be lived in" . From this we know that the so-called dominance of strategists dates back to the end of the Warring States Period. This can be supported by the Shuoyuan record that Xun Qing hated the wanderers (see the previous quotation) and Han Feizi's rebuke of those who did not engage in farming and fighting but only talked about the masters. Su Qin's person is currently very problematic. The theory of "integration and verticalization" was a principle for the Six Kingdoms to resist Qin in the late Warring States Period. The advocate was not one person. Later generations regarded this principle as a great invention and attributed it to Su Qin. Sima Qian changed his mind. It was early said: "There are many differences between Su and Qin in the world, and those who have similarities in different current events are all attached to Su Qin." (Historical Records of Su Qin's Biography) As for Lian Heng's theory, later generations also attributed it to Zhang Yi, while Sima Qian said: "There are many differences between the three Jin Dynasties and the Jin Dynasty." The people who are adaptable and flexible, and those who are powerful and powerful in the Qin Dynasty, are probably from the three Jin Dynasties." (Historical Records of Zhang Yi) We do not need to think that only with Gui Guzi's secret biography can we have the disciples of Zongheng and the Qin Dynasty. Sima Qian said it best: "When Fang and Qin are strong, the world is especially prone to conspiracy and deceit." Gu Tinglin's Rizhi Record of Weekend Customs is worth referencing. He said: "In the Spring and Autumn Period, rituals and trust were still respected, but the Seven Kingdoms never talked about rituals and trust; in the Spring and Autumn Period, the king of Zhou was still respected, but the Seven Kingdoms never talked about the king; in the Spring and Autumn Period, sacrifices were still strictly performed, and employment and enjoyment were emphasized, but the Seven Kingdoms Then there is nothing else to do; in the Spring and Autumn Period, clan names and clans were still discussed, but none of the Seven Kingdoms were mentioned; in the Spring and Autumn Period, they were still having banquets and composing poems, but the Seven Kingdoms did not hear them; in the Spring and Autumn Period, they were still going to report policies, but the Seven Kingdoms There is no such thing as "a state has no fixed friendship, and a scholar has no fixed master." The so-called "state has no fixed friendship" is the characteristic of the late Warring States period. This reason is attributed to the destruction of the clan system, and history is no longer dominated by the eldest son. "Absorbing people with wealth", however, only when the internal conditions of countries such as Qin and Chu were able to absorb other clans, did they break the "ritual of preserving small countries" and annex through farming and war. Therefore, the covenant of the Spring and Autumn Overlords still has its relative sanctity, while the "hostages" of the Warring States princes have become a symbol of crisis.

At a time when clan ties are being severed and the class representing regional wealth dominates, rights and obligations must change on an international scale, with the strong taking advantage of others and the weak trying to survive. Therefore, the external conditions of diplomatic relations at that time were valued more than the internal conditions. It seemed that as long as the rights treaty with the country or the enemy was good, they could survive and develop. Therefore, the opportunistic mentality was planted among the monarchs and ministers, making tourists and diners Obtained the status of speaking. In fact, internally it should be "doing the best", and externally it should be about strategies. Therefore, the Qin people have a proverb: "Strength leads to humiliation, wisdom leads to Qili" (Biography of Qilizi Ganmao in Historical Records). Since the political situation at that time had to focus on external relations or the unbalanced development of various countries, this led to the so-called strategy of finding a counterbalance to the mechanical force of equilibrium between the destruction and reconstruction of balancing forces. The so-called "scholars have no fixed masters" shows that the national class has broken away from the fetters of the clan and is no longer "industrial, commercial and food officials".

With the development of commercial transportation, the so-called "rich people and good people" and the so-called "cars on the same track", the gap between international clans has been filled before the currency march (this is naturally adapted to the land relationship of abandoned mine fields and open streets). The etiquette system of kinship and respect at that time tended to collapse under the establishment of economic cities; therefore, a group of citizens educated by the new reality would inevitably replace the incompetent old aristocrats and break away from the nationality of the old clan. respect. Strategies are conditioned by the acquisition of wealth and fame. Without the exchange of wealth and commerce among the seven countries, the international political transactions of politicians would be unimaginable. Therefore, the exchange relationship of "selling low and selling high" at that time was reflected as The thought of a strategist who seeks to defraud and gain power.

From this point of view, they represent the interests of the ancient merchant class. Please read the following words of Lu Buwei: "Lü Buwei was in Handan. When he saw Qin's prostitute and a stranger, he returned and said to his father: 'Plow the fields.' How many times will the profit be won? 'Said: 'How many times will the victory of Zhu Yu be achieved? 'Said: 'How many times will the leader of the country win? If you don't have warm clothes and food, you can build a country and establish a king now, and you can leave it to future generations. I wish you could live in the past! '" (Warring States Policy Qin Ce) It was this great Jia Lu Buwei who later said that the Qin Dynasty was successful, and he was granted the title of Marquis Wenxin and lived in Henan! There are 100,000 households in Luoyang, with 10,000 children. In terms of possessing his children, he is a slave owner, but in terms of his "food household", he already meets the conditions of a feudal owner. Commercial capital is inevitably accompanied by usury capital, which had a special status in ancient Greece, and China was no exception in the late Warring States period. The Historical Records of the Warring States Period records that Mr. Mengchang, who was rich in personal wealth, was a moneylender: "Feng Huan... went to Xue and summoned all the people who asked Mr. Mengchang to give him money, and he got 100,000 yuan in interest. He made more wine and bought fat cattle. Those who wanted to collect money were called together for a meeting. The cows were killed and wine was drunk, and the coupons were held together as before. Feng Huan (known as Lord Mengchang) said: ...'If there is anything left, it is important to keep it for ten years. If there is not enough, it will be held for ten years. It was a false plan to make Xue Min kiss the emperor and show his good voice. '" (Historical Records of Mengchangjun) Suppose that Feng Huan collected 100,000 yuan in debt interest and only used it to pay for the banquet, and most of the interest had to be found in other ways. , the number of 100,000 accounts for at most one-tenth of the interest, and the total amount should be more than one million. It is estimated that his capital may be in the tens of millions, which is enough to be called a loan shark. "Xi", there is a danger of escape. When Mengchang lost power, all the diners left. After he returned to power, he deeply resented the fickleness of the diners and had the intention of insulting the guests. The man named Feng persuaded him and used a set of theories based on commercial usury awareness, as recorded in historical records: " All living things must die, and things must come to an end; it is natural for the rich and the noble to have many friends, but for the poor and the lowly to have few friends. If you don't see your husband going to the market, you will rush in through the door during the day. After sunset, those who pass by the market will disappear. If you don't care about it, you will not like the morning but hate the evening, and the things you expect will be lost. ...Now you...can't blame the people." (Ibid.) The awareness of profit and interest is reflected in political life and is the style of the strategist. The so-called "Chao Qin Mu Chu" cannot be explained by the fall of faith, but is just a conceptual certificate of the citizen behavior of commercial speculation in weekend politics. Therefore, the activities of strategists are quite different from the old aristocrats' gratuitous wealth, but they are just like free transactions. For example, Le Yi abandoned Yan and returned to Zhao, and reported to the King of Yan: "A wise and sage king does not use salary to keep his relatives private. He will be awarded to those who have done more, and he will not be given an official position to follow his love. Those who can do the job will be treated. Therefore, if you can detect it, A successful king is one who is awarded an official position, and a person who establishes a reputation through conduct and friendship... A gentleman will never make a bad name in his friendship, and his reputation will not be clean when a loyal minister leaves. The relationship between the emperor and his ministers has not yet been determined by the feudal destiny of later generations. A "reputable man" seems to be selling out his intelligence, and a "successful king" is like a discerning buyer who makes a deal and becomes a monarch and his ministers, but fails to make a deal and becomes a passerby. This seems to be entirely based on an economic relationship. In terms of exchange of equal value, we talk about friendship, but this is just a return of ordinary business behavior to wealth transactions.

Therefore, under such a relationship, Renjun can be compared to a Jia man who buys jade. You can judge whether he is wise or not by looking at whether he knows the goods or not. The following is a piece of material: "Ying Hou said: The people of Zheng said that the jade was unsophisticated, and the people of the Zhou Dynasty said that the jade was unsophisticated. The people of the Zhou Dynasty looked at Zheng Jia and said, "Do you want to buy it?" Zheng Jia said, "If you want it, you will see it as a rat." Also, don’t take it because of thanks.

Now the Lord of Pingyuan has shown himself to be famous in the world for his virtuousness, but he has descended to serve his father Shaqiu. The king of the world still respects him. This king of the world is not as wise as Zheng Jia. He is dazzled by the name and does not know the reality. '" (Warring States Policy Qin Ce) In the same way, the term "strategist" has become a precious jade that is difficult to reproduce. Everyone sells it for a good price and sells it as a commodity to the princes of various countries. As long as it is labeled as a precious jade, it will be the same as the precious jade. The jade of the He clan was also won by other countries. The following is also a piece of material: "The Su Dynasty falsely said to the King of Qi: 'Gan Mao is a wise man, and the Qin Dynasty and the Qin Dynasty are here to welcome him. Therefore, I will not accept the gift from King Maode. I am willing to do it for you. Your Majesty, how can the king be polite to you now? If the king does not stay, he will not be a virtuous king. He uses the talents of Gan Mao to make good use of the people of Qin, but it is difficult to do so! ’ King Qi said: ‘Good. ’ I’ve given you the order and treated him well. "(Warring States Policy Qin Ce) If we change the word "virtuous" above to the word "price" for price, wouldn't it be clearer? There are many such examples, too numerous to quote. At that time, the moral law was returned to its original form and became the law of transaction evaluation. It can be said to be extremely common. For example, the concept of loyalty and filial piety is an extension of the concept of interest. A minister who serves a country and accepts heavy bribes from other countries seems to be the most disloyal and rebellious minister, but the emperor asked him. When he accepted a heavy bribe from a certain country, he admitted it and said: What does it matter? It is not detrimental to your major affairs, and I can get some benefits, so why not do it? ". Below we will quote Chen Zhen's example as evidence. Zhang Yi wanted to impeach him and wanted him to leave Qin. He told King Qin Hui that he wanted to run to Chu. King Qin asked him if he had this intention, and he said: "'Yes. ’ The king said: ‘The words of ritual are true. ’ He said: ‘It is not only known by rituals, but also by everyone who practices the Tao. ’ He said: ‘If you are filial to yourself and love your relatives, the world will want to treat you as your son; if Zixu is loyal to your king, the world will want to treat him as a minister. Those who sell their servants and concubines in Luxiang are also good servants and concubines, and those who marry out of the countryside are also good wives. I am not loyal to you, so why does Chu regard Zhen as loyal? Loyalty but abandonment, I don't know Chu, what's the point? "The King of Qin said: 'Goodness is necessary.'" (ibid.) This is a sophistry. The main premise of the question is that loyalty and filial piety can be sold. However, this did not seem to be abnormal in the minds of Ye Xianjun and Xianxiang at the end of the Warring States Period. Some people even regard political business as a shortcut compared to Lu Buwei's investment, and adopt a gambling approach, selling short and buying short. Zhang Yi once said that if he has a mouth, he will have no problem in gaining honor. Su Qin once bet on the state of Qin, but failed to win, so he bet on the state of Qi again, and actually won the seal of the six kingdoms. Strategists sometimes have a mixed bag of tricks, but they never admit defeat. In front of the king, they can often speculate with their lives and die in front of them to show that they have a "flush" in hand, so they can win wealth. Because "Relatives are afraid of wealth. In this world, how can wealth and position be ignored!" (Same as Su Qin's words) Opportunism has a theoretical premise. As the saying goes, "The times determine the best of everything." All conditions for founding a country are based on opportunities. Above, if you get the opportunity, you will become Yao and Shun; if you lose the opportunity, you will become Jie and Zhou. This is their mantra.

2. The political school of thought is quite similar to the Greek Sophists. Judging from their misuse of formal logic reasoning methods to solve difficult problems for people, their ideological context is the same. However, the politicians in ancient China focused their lobbying on the monarch, while the Sophists in ancient Greece focused on ordinary citizens. This is because the history of Western civilization has been based on regional wealth from the very beginning, and the personification of wealth is the "citizen"; the history of Chinese civilization has taken the path of the reform, and the personification of wealth is the "eldest son". The great national reform movement emerged from the rags, but the annexers still could not get rid of the shackles of the clan. The so-called "absorbing people with wealth" was not purely national in appearance and appearance. Politicians are different from Legalists. Legalists focus on the central issues within society, advocate the legal system of nationalization of land and property, and oppose the clan patriarchal system of wealth, dignity, and inferiority determined by nature. However, Politicians focus on balancing forces. The use of force shifts the center of the problem to the contradiction and offset of forces, so international diplomatic enemies and relations become the only way to solve current affairs. In the Warring States Policy, it is said that "the king's plan is to keep the people safe and have nothing to do to the people. The foundation of keeping the people safe is to choose friends. If you choose friends, the people will be safe." "Those who are good at speaking can present their potential and explain their methods. When people are in a hurry...how can we use force?" Therefore, strategists often focus on the exclusion and combination of diplomatic forces, for example: "The power of the world must be unified, so if Qin is unified, then the weight will be greater. In China, if Zhao, Wei, and Chu gain Qi, they are strong enough to defeat Qin. Therefore, if Qin, Zhao, and Wei gain Qi, they will be more powerful, and if they lose Qi, they will be less powerful. If Qi has this power, it cannot be more important than the world, and its use is excessive.

"(Qi Ce) Strategists put the mechanical balance of current forces at the center of the situation, for example: "When I heard about the use of troops, I was happy to lead the world, but I was worried; Those who get up after the husband are borrowed, but those who are far away and resentful are also the time. Therefore, a saint must rely on his power to do his work, and he must prosper according to the time. Husband's power is borrowed from the speed of all things, and the current situation is the growth of everything. Therefore, there are only a few people who have no right to take advantage of the current situation and achieve things. "(ibid.) Politicians and famous figures are closely related in terms of debate. For example, Gongsun Long once argued with Zou Yan at the gate of Pingyuan Jun, and Hui Shi talked about the kingdoms of Wei and Zhao. Hui Shi seemed to pay more attention to strategy. , and not only took it for granted, he opposed uniting Wei with Qin and Han. He said: "To unite Wei with Qin and Han and attack Qi and Chu is a major event, but the king and his ministers all thought it was okay, but they didn't know it was okay. How bright is it? And the knowledge and skills of all the ministers are also the same? It is possible but not so obvious. And the knowledge and skills of all the ministers are not the same, but there are half obstacles. The so-called person who robs the master is the one who loses half of it. "(Wei Ce) However, politicians are even more current affairsists. They see the changes in the national situation that turn disaster into blessing and crisis into safety very easily. The only prerequisite is the subjective strategy. As long as deception can be sold, all reality All can be changed at will by an intellectual debater. This is called strategy that determines everything, and there is no objective principle in it. They use this to "confuse the princes and think that what is right is wrong and what is wrong is right", and they repeat it among the world. Without strategy, there is "no arrogance". For example: "Zhu Ying said to Chun Shenjun: 'There are blessings and disasters without arrogance in the world. Now that you are living in a world without presumptions, and you are a master who does things without presumptions, is it possible that there are people who are without presumptions? '" (Chu Ce) On the contrary, the premise that strategy determines everything is the common thought of strategists. Chen Zhen said: "Planning is the foundation of things, and listening is the chance of survival. If the plan is lost and heard, there will be only a few who can have a country. Therefore, it is said: It is difficult to contradict one or two of the calculations, and it is difficult to be confused if one does not lose sight of the essence. "(Qin Ce) Su Dai said: "If you have no intention of planning others and make people suspicious, it will be dangerous; if you have the intention of planning people and let people know it, it will be clumsy. If the plan is not revealed and it is heard outside, it will be dangerous. " (Yan Ce) Therefore, those who are vertical and horizontal seem to apply the gains, losses, misfortunes and blessings of the world to their subjective minds. For example, Zhang Yi was praised as "I don't leave the table to make an appointment. The birds were brought to Qi, and the oars were not used, but they entered Qin beyond the Xihe River. "(Qi Ce) Again, the debate skills of politicians mainly adopt the method of seducing the legal officials, which is taboo in logic. The question-and-answer method between them and the rulers of the princes always seduces people deeper into their own assumptions. , and then be forced to admit the inference that suits their own purposes. No matter how problematic the premise is, this premise is always hidden in the psychology of the interlocutors and cannot be doubted. For example, individual examples are special propositions, and politicians often cite examples as examples. The full title of the proposition is established as a premise, and then the conclusion is tempted to admit that it suits him. Cai Ze wants Ying Hou to give him the position, but Ying Hou naturally refuses. Cai Ze's method of convincing him is to use the above mentioned principles. Method of inference. He cited some people who were successful and famous but did not do good things and had good results. He also cited some people who were successful and famous but did not do good things and did not get good results. Then he replaced the full name with affirmative. His main premise is that everyone People who are successful and live out their lives are good at giving in; his minor premise is that Yinghou is a person who wants to be famous and wants to live out his life; therefore, the conclusion is that Yinghou must give up his throne. This inference method is extremely popular in the world. Among politicians, for example, if someone wants to gain the monarch's trust without being suspicious, he will take the example of Zeng Shen who killed someone and sued his mother three times, but the mother was also suspicious. On the contrary, someone wants to gain the monarch's trust and not trust him. If you want to praise me, you will take the example of someone close to me out of selfish fear or seeking, and draw the conclusion that you listen to advice. This inference is very simple, and is logically a fallacy. In this method, they often use a two-pronged approach, that is, both sides are reasonable. For example, if the Yan State is weak, it is unreasonable for Qin, Qi, Chu, Han, and Wei to be enemies of any country, but it is reasonable to rely on any country. Therefore, the Su Dynasty said about the King of Yan: "There are seven Warring States in the world, but Yan is weak and cannot fight alone. If there are attachments, Chu will be heavy. If Chu is attached to the south, Chu will be heavy. If Qin is attached to the west, Qin will be heavy. In the middle, Han and Wei will be attached. Then Han and Wei will be heavy, and the country Gou is attached to will be heavy. This will definitely make the king heavy. "(Yan Ce) This is a kind of two-pronged argument. It is actually based on fallacious logical reasoning. Just like a story in ancient Greece, because there is a sophistry premise that "anyone who teaches people to litigate will win the case", then when When there is a lawsuit between the master and the disciple, the disciple will say to the master: "I won't let you be punished; if you win the case, I will win the case, and if you lose the case, I will also win the case." This is also the behavior of the strategist. It is quite capable of bringing the game ideas of Lao and Zhuang into political "speculation".

They often extend Lao Tzu's "virtual" meaning into false and deceitful strategies, and extend Lao Tzu's "several" meaning into the use of opportunities, and even cleverly argue between having and having nothing, in an attempt to advance for poor people. For example: "For example, if you spread it in a place with no birds, you will get nothing all day long. If you spread it in a place with many birds, you will scare the birds. You must spread it when there are birds but not birds, and then you can catch more birds. . Now you will give to the great people, and the great people will give to the small people. The small people will have nothing to ask for and will waste their wealth. You will give to the poor people now, and you will not be able to get what you want." ( Eastern Zhou Dynasty) They imitated Zhuangzi's fables, and when there was a limit to creating historical examples, they used fables to convey social affairs. There were many examples. For example, when Lord Mengchang wanted to hear about ghosts, Su Qin took the opportunity to tell him fables to stop him. The story of Qin Dynasty is as follows: "When I came, I didn't dare to talk about human affairs. I just wanted to see you with ghost things. ... When I came to Zishang, there was a puppet man talking to Tao Gang. Tao Gang said to the puppet man: :'The soil on the west bank of Zi is like a human being. In the eighth month of the year, when the rain comes and the Zi River comes, you will be left alone!' Tu Ou said, 'No, the soil on my west bank is also there. Today, the peach stems of the Eastern Kingdom are carved and carved to resemble human beings. When the rain falls and the Zi River comes, the children drift away. How will the children drift like ears? "The country with four fortresses in the present Qin Dynasty is like a tiger's mouth, and the king enters it?" Then the ministers will not know what the king is doing! "Mengchang Jun is the only one who can stop" (Qi Ce). It is said in the world that political advisers come up with unique strategies and wisdom, and "support the situation in times of crisis" (Liu Xiangyu, see the records of the school war and national policy). In fact, this kind of counselor and think tank. , it is the actual activities of the sophists that reflect the arbitrary creation of right and wrong in the declining period of ancient Chinese society. Song Zenggongpo expressed the debating point of view of the politicians. He said: "The wanderers of the Warring States Period... ...I don’t know how trustworthy it is, but I am happy to say it is easy to combine. It is just a plan to steal everything. Therefore, it talks about the convenience of deception and conceals its failure. All of them are beneficial, but the harm is outweighed; what is gained is outweighed by the losses." (Yuan Feng Lei - Preface to the Warring States Policy Catalog) We think that Zongheng Thought is the old predecessor of current affairs. From Chinese history to modern times, politicians in political science departments still inherited their tradition of sophistry. Legalism Legalism is the school that attaches the most importance to law among the pre-Qin scholars. They are famous for advocating the "rule of law" of "ruling the country by law" and have put forward a whole set of theories and methods. This provided an effective theoretical basis for the centralized Qin Dynasty that was later established. The later Han Dynasty inherited the Qin Dynasty's centralized system and legal system, which were the political and legal subjects of ancient my country's feudal society. Legalists have made contributions to jurisprudence, including basic issues such as the origin, essence, and role of law, as well as the relationship between law and social economy, the requirements of the times, state power, ethics, customs, natural environment, population, and human nature. Discussions were conducted and were fruitful. But Legalism also has its shortcomings. For example, they strongly exaggerate the role of the law, emphasize the use of heavy punishment to govern the country, "use punishment to eliminate punishment", and implement heavy punishment for misdemeanors, superstitiously believing in the role of the law. They believe that human nature is to pursue interests, and there are no moral standards at all. Therefore, interests and honor must be used to induce people to do things. For example, in war, high rewards, including official positions, will be given to those who have achieved military exploits, thus motivating soldiers and generals to fight bravely. This may be one of the reasons for the strong combat effectiveness of the Qin army. To destroy the six countries and unify China, the role of Legalism should be affirmed, although it has some shortcomings. A brief introduction to the thoughts of Legalism is as follows: Opposition to etiquette Legalism attaches great importance to law and opposes Confucian "rituals". They believed that the emerging landowning class at that time opposed the hereditary privileges of the aristocracy to monopolize economic and political interests, and demanded private ownership of land and the granting of official positions based on merit and talent. This was a fair and correct proposition. The etiquette system that maintained the privileges of the nobility was backward and unfair. The first function of law is to "determine the division and end disputes", that is, to clarify the ownership of things. One of the Legalists carefully made a very simple metaphor: "When a rabbit runs away, a hundred people chase it. Accumulate rabbits in the market and ignore them. Unless you don't want the rabbit, you can't fight over it." It means that a rabbit can't be fought over. Many people chase the rabbits, but they don't even look at the many rabbits in the market. This does not mean that you don’t want the rabbit, but that the ownership has been determined and can no longer be fought for. Otherwise, it will be against the law and will be punished. The second function is to "fear violence after meritorious deeds", that is, to encourage people to perform military exploits and to make lawless people feel fear. The ultimate goal of success is to enrich the country and strengthen the army and win the annexation war. The theory of human nature of "loving benefits and hating harms" Legalists believe that people have the nature of "loving benefits and hating harms" or "taking advantage and avoiding harm".

As Guanzi once said, a businessman travels day and night, even if he travels thousands of miles, he does not feel it is far, because the interests are attracting him ahead. Fishermen are not afraid of danger and sail against the current, not caring about hundreds of miles away. They are also pursuing the benefits of fishing. With this same idea, Shang Yang came to the conclusion: "There are likes and dislikes in life, so the people can be governed." The historical view of "not following the past, not following the present" Legalists opposed conservative retro ideas and advocated vigorous reform. They believe that history develops forward, and all laws and systems must develop with the development of history. They cannot retrogress or follow the old ways. Shang Yang clearly put forward the proposition of "not following the past and not following the present". Han Fei further developed Shang Yang's ideas and proposed that "time changes and governance is difficult, chaos will occur." He caricatured the conservative Confucianism as stupid people who wait and see. A state-governing strategy that combines "law", "technique" and "power". Shang Yang, Shen Dao and Shen Buhai respectively advocated emphasizing law, power and power, each with its own characteristics. When it came to Han Fei, the master of Legalist thought, Han Fei put forward the idea of ??closely integrating the three. Law refers to the sound legal system, power refers to the power of the monarch, who must control military and political power alone, and technique refers to the strategies and means to control ministers, control political power, and implement laws. Mainly to detect and prevent rebellion? There are fundamental differences between the democratic form of rule of law. The biggest one is that Legalism strongly advocates the centralization of monarchy, and it is absolute. This should be noted. We can selectively learn from and use other ideas of Legalism. Mo Zhai, a Mohist, was a native of Lu during the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, and served as a high official in the Song Dynasty. He was influenced by Confucianism in his early years. Later, he "turned against Zhou Dao and used Xia Zheng", abandoned Confucianism and founded the Mohist school. Some of the existing books "Mozi" directly record Mo Zhai's thoughts and activities, while others are works of the Mohist school at the end of the Warring States Period. Mozi called himself a "bitch", worked as a craftsman, and was close to "people who are farmers and workers." Most of his disciples came from the lower class of society. They formed a tight group with strict discipline. Members must strictly abide by Mozi's ideological principles. The main ideas of the Mohist school are reflected in the ten propositions: "universal love". It requires universal, non-differentiated mutual friendship between people. Mozi believed that all the disasters in the world arise from the "differentiation" between people, that is, the distance between people and the differences in mutual interests. Therefore, in order to eliminate the great harm in the world, we must use the method of "loving each other and benefiting each other to change it", that is, "to change it and separate it". The so-called "universal love" means "treating the other person's country as his own country; treating his or her home as his own family; treating his or her person as his or her own body." In order to integrate each other's interests into one. In this way, "for the other as well as for ourselves", we will love each other, thus achieving "mutual benefit". "Non-attack". He called unjust wars "aggression" and opposed wars of aggression and plunder. Mozi believed that launching a plundering war was an extremely unjust criminal act that brought great harm to individual workers. War is "a great harm to the world". Only by stopping mutual conquest can society find peace. The famous story of Mozi "stopping Chu and attacking Song" in history embodies his ideas. "Shangxian" and "Shangtong". "Shangxian" means respecting and using wise people. "Officials are not always high, and people are not always low. If you are capable, you will promote them, and if you are not, you will demote them." "Shangtong" means "selecting the most virtuous people in the world and establishing them as emperors." , and the emperor is still the same as heaven. In this way, the whole society will be unified. How should we treat talents as "worthy"? Mozi said that there are three fundamental methods ("three principles"). That is: to give them noble titles politically, to enable them to enjoy favorable treatment economically, and to give them the actual power to give orders and make decisions on affairs. This is called "Gao Yu's nobility, valuing his salary, allowing him to do things, and cutting off his orders." Mozi also proposed that the basic standard of "virtue" is: those who have strength should help others, those who have wealth should help others, and those who have knowledge and understanding should teach others. "Frugal use", "frugal burial", "not happy". Mozi opposed the extravagance and waste of the nobles and advocated "frugal use". He said: "Anything that is sufficient for the people's use should be stopped; if any extra expenses are not added to the people's benefit, the sage king will not do it." "People's benefit" is the standard for the use of wealth; It is permissible to increase fees and benefit the people; it is not allowed to increase fees but not benefit the people. He criticized the "current masters" for "taking away the people's wealth of food and clothing", which resulted in "the rich being extravagant and the widows and orphans freezing and dying." Mozi also advocated "frequent burials" and opposed the rich burials advocated by Confucianism. He believed that the heavy burials and long mourning that were popular at that time buried the wealth that had been produced, prevented those who could engage in production from participating in production for a long time, and even restricted the "friendship between men and women" so that the population could not reproduce. This was detrimental to the country and the people. unfavorable.

Mozi also used the same reason to oppose music as "non-music", believing that the popularity of music hindered men from farming and women from weaving, and "this deprived the people of their food and clothing" and should be banned. He pointed out that at that time, "the people had three troubles: the hungry had no food, the cold had no clothes, and the laborers had no rest." However, the nobles' ringing bells and drums could not solve these problems, but could only aggravate these disasters. "Feifate", "Heaven's will", "Minggui". Mozi criticized the theory of destiny at that time and believed that the reason why the princes and adults worked hard to govern the government was because they knew that "if you are strong, you will be governed; if you are not strong, you will be chaotic; if you are strong, you will be peaceful; if you are not strong, you will be in danger"; the reason why the officials worked hard to do business and collect taxes is Because they know that "the strong will be noble, the weak will be humble, the strong will be honored, and the weak will be humiliated." Similarly, farmers go out early and come back late, working hard to cultivate, and women work hard day and night, spinning and weaving, and do not dare to be tired. They know that "the strong will be rich, the weak will be poor, the strong will be full, and the weak will be hungry"; "the strong will be warm, but the weak will be cold." Therefore, he believes that "the destiny is made by the tyrant king, and by the poor" (narrated ), not the words of a benevolent person." It means that the theory of destiny is fabricated by the rulers to fool the people. If you believe it, you will suffer. Mozi was "non-fate" and emphasized that "those who rely on their own strength will survive, and those who do not rely on their own strength will not survive." This reflects that the civilian small private owners he represents value material production and are dissatisfied with the parasitic life of the nobles. However, this class is economically and politically weak. On the one hand, Mozi opposed the destiny of heaven, but on the other hand, he believed in the existence of "will of heaven" and ghosts and gods. In his view, Heaven has a will, and Heaven's will is the measure of all words and deeds in the world. He said: "I have heaven's will, just like the rules of a wheel, and the rules of a craftsman." The specific content of Heaven's will is to require people to love each other and benefit each other. He said: Heaven hopes that "people have the strength to support each other, the Tao to teach each other, and the wealth to share". If you follow the will of Heaven, you will be rewarded; if you violate it, you will be rewarded. The will of God must be punished. Taste the Mohist thought, which advocates equality, fraternity, generosity, endeavor, competition, frugality, discipline, and emphasis on natural science. Modern Western thought is close to some of these ideas. Mohist theory is more suitable for democratic society and international competitive society. Therefore, in the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, it was the most prominent school than Confucianism. However, during the period of the unified Chinese Empire, its "not destiny" thought caused it to be ignored. Moreover, compared with Confucianism, Mohism seems commonplace but not profound and rich enough.