Shang Yang in the context of "Legalism (Chinese philosophy)"

The Qin dynasty (/tʃɪn/ CHIN) was the first imperial dynasty of China. It is named for its progenitor state of Qin, a fief of the confederal Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BC). Beginning in 230 BC, the Qin under King Ying Zheng engaged in a series of wars conquering each of the rival states that had previously pledged fealty to the Zhou. This culminated in 221 BC with the successful unification of China under Qin, which then assumed an imperial prerogative – with Ying Zheng declaring himself to be Qin Shi Huang, the first emperor of China, and bringing an end to the Warring States period (c. 475–221 BC). This state of affairs lasted until 206 BC, when the dynasty collapsed in the years following Qin Shi Huang's death. The Qin dynasty's 14-year existence was the shortest of any major dynasty in Chinese history, with only two emperors. However, the succeeding Han dynasty (202 BC – 220 AD) largely continued the military and administrative practices instituted by the Qin; as a result, the Qin have been credited as the originators of the Chinese imperial system that would endure in some form until the Xinhai Revolution in 1911.

Qin was a minor power for the first several centuries of its existence; its strength greatly increased in the 4th century BC, in large part owing to the administrative and military reforms of Shang Yang. They sought to create a strong, centralised state and a large army supported by a stable economy, which were developed in the Qin homeland and implemented across China following its unification. Reforms included the standardisation of currency, weights, measures, and the writing system, along with innovations in weaponry, transportation and military tactics.

Li Kui (Chinese: 李悝; pinyin: Lǐ Kuī; Wade–Giles: Li K'uei; 455–395 BC) was a Chinese hydraulic engineer, philosopher, and politician. He served as minister and court advisor to Marquess Wen of Wei (r. 403–387 BC). In 407 BC, he wrote the Canon of Laws. Said to have been a main influence on Shang Yang, it served the basis for the codified laws of the Qin and Han dynasties.

His political agendas, as well as the Book of Law, had a deep influence on later thinkers such as and Shang Yang and Han Fei, who would later develop the philosophy of Legalism based on Li Kui's reforms.

Shen Buhai (Chinese: 申不害; c. 400 BC – c. 337 BC) was a Chinese statesman, reformer and diplomat. According to the Shiji, Shen Buhai served as Chancellor of the Han state under Marquis Zhao of Han, for around fifteen years to his natural death in office in 337 BC, ordering its government and doctrines emphasizing Shu 术 (administrative) technique, though the likely late term is Han Fei's. A contemporary of syncretist Shi Jiao and Shang Yang, Shen was born in the central State of Zheng, likely serving as a minor official there. After Han completed the conquest and division of Zheng and Wei in 376 BC, he rose up in the ranks of the Han officialdom, reforming its administration, military defenses, and to a lesser extent law only about a half century after its founding.

Influencing the Han Feizi, Shen Buhai seemed to play an influence on Han dynasty reformers, and likely even the establishment of the civil service examination. With the imperial examination extending in influence to the European civil service, Shen Buhai could perhaps be considered a founder in world bureaucracy, and even the first political scientist. However, it is not as evident that he was as well known as another of the Han Feizi's figures, Shen Dao, during their lifetimes. His administrative ideas were influential enough to become one of the Xun Kuang's critiqued "Twelve Masters" in the later Warring States period, and might have been renowned by the time the Han Feizi was written.

The Han Feizi (simplified Chinese: 韩非子; traditional Chinese: 韓非子; pinyin: Hánfēizi; lit. 'Book of Master Han Fei') is an ancient Chinese text attributed to the Legalist political philosopher Han Fei. It comprises a selection of essays in the Legalist tradition, elucidating theories of state power, and synthesizing the methodologies of his predecessors. Its 55 chapters, most of which date to the Warring States period mid-3rd century BCE, are the only such text to survive fully intact. The Han Feizi is believed to contain the first commentaries on the Dao De Jing. Traditionally associated with the Qin dynasty, succeeding emperors and reformers were still influenced by Shen Buhai and the Han Feizi, with Shang Yang's current again coming to prominence in the time of Emperor Wu.

Often considered the "culminating" or "greatest" Legalist texts, Han Fei was dubbed by A. C. Graham amongst as the "great synthesizer" of 'Legalism'". Sun Tzu's The Art of War incorporates both a Daoist philosophy of inaction and impartiality, and a 'Legalist' system of punishment and rewards, recalling Han Fei's use of the concepts of power and technique.

Li Si ([lì sɹ̩́]; c. 280 – 208 BC) was a Chinese calligrapher, philosopher, and official of the Qin dynasty. He served as Qin state Chancellor from 246 to 208 BC, first under King Zheng — who later became Qin Shi Huang, the "First Emperor" of the Qin dynasty. He then served under Qin Er Shi, Qin Shi Huang's eighteenth son and second emperor. In the Shiji, Li Si is said to have admired and utilized the administrative ideas of Shen Buhai, repeatedly referring to the technique of Shen Buhai and Han Fei, but regarding law, followed Shang Yang.

John Knoblock, a translator of classical Chinese texts, considered Li Si to be "one of the two or three most important figures in Chinese history" for his efforts in standardizing the Qin state and its conquered territories. Li Si assisted the Emperor in unifying laws, governmental ordinances, and weights and measures, standardizing chariots, carts, and characters used in writing, facilitating the cultural unification of China. He "created a government based solely on merit, so that in the empire sons and younger brothers in the imperial clan were not ennobled, but meritorious ministers were", and "pacified the frontier regions by subduing the barbarians to the north and south". He had the metal weapons of the feudal states melted and cast into bells and statues. He also lowered taxes and eased draconian punishments for criminals that had originated from statesman Shang Yang.

The Canon of Laws or Classic of Law (simplified Chinese: 法经; traditional Chinese: 法經; pinyin: Fǎ Jīng) is a lost legal code that has been attributed to Li Kui, a Legalist scholar and minister who lived in the State of Wei during the Warring States period of ancient China (475-220 BCE). This code has traditionally been dated to the early fourth century BCE. Still, a considerable amount of scholars now consider it to be a forgery from the fifth or sixth-century CE.

According to the traditional account, which first appeared in the monograph on law (Xingfa Zhi 刑法志) of the Book of Jin, the Canon of Laws was the earliest legal canon of ancient China and became the basis for all later legal works. It is said that Legalist reformer Shang Yang took it to the State of Qin where it became the basis of the law of the State of Qin (Chinese: 秦律; pinyin: Qīn Lü) and later, the law of the Qin dynasty.

The Book of Lord Shang (traditional Chinese: 商君書; simplified Chinese: 商君书; pinyin: Shāng jūn shū) is an ancient Chinese text from the 3rd century BC, regarded as a foundational work of "Chinese Legalism". The earliest surviving of such texts (the second being the Han Feizi), it is named for and to some extent attributed to major Qin reformer Shang Yang, who served as minister to Duke Xiao of Qin (r. 361 – 338 BC) from 359 BC until his death in 338 BC and is generally considered to be the father of that state's "legalism".

The Book of Lord Shang includes a large number of ordinances, essays, and courtly petitions attributed to Shang Yang, as well as discourses delivered at the Qin court. The book focuses mainly on maintaining societal order through a system of impartial laws that strictly mete out rewards and punishments for citizens' actions. The first chapters advise promoting agriculture and suppressing other low-priority secondary activities, as well as encouraging martial virtues for use in creating and maintaining a state army for wars of conquest.