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Necessity East and West: The Book of Lord Shang Compared to Machiavelli
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NECESSITY EAST AND WEST:
THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG
COMPARED TO MACHIAVELLI
by
Markus Fischer
Assistant Professor
Department of Liberal Studies
California State University, Fullerton.
Prepared for delivery at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association,
September 2 - September 5, 2004. Copyright by the American Political Science Association.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Book of Lord Shang
The Book of Lord Shang (Shang-chüng shu)
1
is one of the most important documents of the
legalist tradition in Chinese political thought, which argues that strict laws, aimed at maximizing
the power of the state and backed up by harsh punishments, are needed to generate order.
2
A
copy of this book was reportedly kept in every family during the third century B.C.
3
The
1
The Book of Lord Shang: A Classic of the Chinese School of Law, trans. J. J. L. Duyvendak (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1963 [1928]).
2
The other major figures in the legalist tradition or "School of Law" (fa chia) are Shen Pu-Hai (c. 400-337 B.C.),
Shen Tao (also known as Shen Tzu; c. 350-c. 275 B.C.), and Han Fei Tzu (c. 280-233 B.C.). The thought of Shen Pu-Hai and Shen Tao is known only from fragments, whereas Han Fei Tzu’s extensive synthesis of his predecessors’ ideas has been largely preserved. For the texts, see Herrlee Creel, Shen Pu Hai: A Chinese Political Philosopher of the Fourth Century B.C. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974); P.M. Thompson, The Shen-tzu Fragments (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979); The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu: A Classic of Chinese Legalism,trans. W.K. Liao, 2 vols. (London: Probsthain, 1939, 1959).
On the legalist tradition in general, see Zhengyuan Fu, China’s Legalists: The Earliest Totalitarians and Their
Art of Ruling (New York, M.E. Sharpe, 1996); Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, vol.I: The Period of the Philosophers (from the beginnings to circa 100 B.C.), 2nd ed., trans. Derk Bodde (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1952 [1931]); A.C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1989), pp. 267-92; Kung-chuan Hsiao, A History of Chinese Political Thought, vol. I: From the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D., trans. F.W. Mote (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1945]), pp. 368-424; Vitaly A. Rubin, Individual and State in Ancient China: Essays on Four Chinese Philosophers, trans. Steven I. Levine (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), pp. 55-87; Benjamin I. Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), pp. 321-49; Leon Vandermeersch, La Formation du Legisme (Paris: Publications de l'Ecole Française d'Extreme-Orient, 1965); Arthur Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1982 [1939]), pp. 151-96.
3
Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu, II, XLIX, p. 290.
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| | Authors: Fischer, Markus. |
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1
NECESSITY EAST AND WEST:
THE BOOK OF LORD SHANG
COMPARED TO MACHIAVELLI
by
Markus Fischer
Assistant Professor
Department of Liberal Studies
California State University, Fullerton.
Prepared for delivery at the 2004 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association,
September 2 - September 5, 2004. Copyright by the American Political Science Association.
______________________________________________________________________________
The Book of Lord Shang
The Book of Lord Shang (Shang-chüng shu)
1
is one of the most important documents of the
legalist tradition in Chinese political thought, which argues that strict laws, aimed at maximizing
the power of the state and backed up by harsh punishments, are needed to generate order.
2
A
copy of this book was reportedly kept in every family during the third century B.C.
3
The
1
The Book of Lord Shang: A Classic of the Chinese School of Law, trans. J. J. L. Duyvendak (Chicago: University
of Chicago Press, 1963 [1928]).
2
The other major figures in the legalist tradition or "School of Law" (fa chia) are Shen Pu-Hai (c. 400-337 B.C.),
Shen Tao (also known as Shen Tzu; c. 350-c. 275 B.C.), and Han Fei Tzu (c. 280-233 B.C.). The thought of Shen
Pu-Hai and Shen Tao is known only from fragments, whereas Han Fei Tzu’s extensive synthesis of his predecessors’
ideas has been largely preserved. For the texts, see Herrlee Creel, Shen Pu Hai: A Chinese Political Philosopher of
the Fourth Century B.C. (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974); P.M. Thompson, The Shen-tzu Fragments
(Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1979); The Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu: A Classic of Chinese Legalism,
trans. W.K. Liao, 2 vols. (London: Probsthain, 1939, 1959).
On the legalist tradition in general, see Zhengyuan Fu, China’s Legalists: The Earliest Totalitarians and Their
Art of Ruling (New York, M.E. Sharpe, 1996); Fung Yu-lan, A History of Chinese Philosophy, vol.I: The Period of
the Philosophers (from the beginnings to circa 100 B.C.), 2nd ed., trans. Derk Bodde (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1952 [1931]); A.C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China (La
Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1989), pp. 267-92; Kung-chuan Hsiao, A History of Chinese Political Thought, vol. I: From
the Beginnings to the Sixth Century A.D., trans. F.W. Mote (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979 [1945]), pp.
368-424; Vitaly A. Rubin, Individual and State in Ancient China: Essays on Four Chinese Philosophers, trans.
Steven I. Levine (New York: Columbia University Press, 1976), pp. 55-87; Benjamin I. Schwartz, The World of
Thought in Ancient China (Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1985), pp. 321-49; Leon Vandermeersch,
La Formation du Legisme (Paris: Publications de l'Ecole Française d'Extreme-Orient, 1965); Arthur Waley, Three
Ways of Thought in Ancient China (Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press, 1982 [1939]), pp. 151-96.
3
Complete Works of Han Fei Tzu, II, XLIX, p. 290.
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